12 Days of Christmas: The most meaningful Christmas gift you've ever received?

[Martin-O2]

Hi everyone! 

Welcome to day 4 of our 12 days of Christmas celebration!      

Santa has kindly gifted us with some £15 Amazon vouchers which we'll be giving out to one random participant from each of the 12 Christmas topics!! We'll announce the winners in the Christmas Day topic so you have lots of time to take part in each of the topics until then. 

Today's topic of discussion is below. You can find yesterdays topic here if you still want to take part in that discussion. 

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What's the most meaningful Christmas gift you've ever received?

[MI5]

In the late 70's my parents bought me a digital watch (back then, they were horrendously expensive and my parents were not well off at all).
It wasn't the watch or it's value that is significant though, it's the sacrifices that I now know they would of had to have made to get it for me that holds the true sentiment for me.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think presents are meaningful.. it’s just stuff! that’s why I don’t do them.. it’s acts of kindness and the odd word of encouragement that make the world go round..

i’m quite lucky to have a few friends who reciprocate these sentiments all year round & not just for a day!

[jonsie]

The very best Christmas present my wife and I could possibly receive was in 2004 when the Tsunami hit Thailand. This was on Boxing Day and we woke up to the news.

My son was in Phuket backpacking and of course as soon as the news broke that the island had been hit by the Tsunami panic set in.

Despite repeated calls to the emergency number it was constantly engaged. There was obviously no local Thai networks available as all communication networks had been knocked out so we had no way of phoning him.

It was an awful time and in desperation we emailed him and all the while the disaster was replayed over and over and my wife was glued to the screen hoping against hope she could catch a glimpse of him as the cameras were constantly switching locations.

I still have the emails :

From: Steve Jones [mailto:stevyjones**Personal info**] 
Sent: 26 December 2004 10:24
To: Paul Michael Jones
Cc: Paul Jones
Subject: Please get in touch xx

Pauly can you please contact us as soon as you receive this as we are worried sick re: earthquake and tidal waves

Dad xxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was only a few panic-stricken hours later we got a reply :

From: Paul Jones [mailto:gwydion_runebear**Personal info**] 
Sent: 26 December 2004 12:03
To: jajones121**Personal info**; stevyjones**Personal info**
Subject: No problems at this end xxx

Hi ma and pa,
Just seen the news so thought I'd check my mail cos I knew you'd be
worried.....everythings fine here, and we didn't even feel a tremor (which
is weird cos according to the news we were in the earthquake
radius)...yeah,
no problems here- we've been sat on the beach all day and didn't even see
any big waves.
Trouble is we've booked a ticked to Panang (Malaysia) for 2morrow, which
apparently was quite badly flooded- so not sure if the bus will run or
not. 
either way we'll go to the border so not a big problem.
Anyway, no need to worry- apparently the worst is over; I already survived
the Phillipines Typhoon :).
Take care and and see you soon,
Love Pauly xxxx
I can't describe the relief at such wonderful news after constantly checking emails, phoning the emergency number on the landline and waiting for the mobiles to ring. 

From: Steve Jones [mailto:stevyjones**Personal info**] 
Sent: 26 December 2004 13:50
To: Paul Jones
Subject: Re: No problems at this end xxx

THANK GOD.

We have not been able to get through to the help line.

We are SO glad to hear from you.

Phuket is the worst hit and although we knew you were on the other side it didn't help.

I hope you will be OK tomorrow, there are a lot of places not hit.

Oh God Paul you don't know how much this email means.

We love you so much. Take care.

Ma & Pa

From: Paul Jones [mailto:gwydion_runebear**Personal info**] Sent: 26 December 2004 14:47 To: stevyjones**Personal info**

Subject: Re: No problems at this end xxx

Hi ma and pa, Please don't worry- I know its hard, but honestly things are fine here. There;s probably gonna be a few aftershocks as well, but Its unlikely I'll feel 'em, and I'll mail u in a couple of days 2 let you know everythings okay. Luckily, left Phuket over a week ago- though got a couple of friends there so slightly worried. And Smiley Jill is teaching in Sri Lanka so a tad worried about her. And just in case (and not wanting to worry you) heard about a possibly terrorist attack at the Moon Party- but we've already left, and are now 20 miles away, so don't worry about that either.....probably just a rumour, but I'm travelling all day day 2morrow, so won't be albe to contact you Anyway, promise that everythings fine here, and even had one friend complaining that the surf was crap (despite the tidalwaves).....Geogetown should be fine, so please don't worry. Take care, All my love, Pauly xxxx

So, the worst day ever but the best possible belated Christmas present we ever received. 

[Anonymous]

Best present was probably having family & friends around you

[pgn]

After being envious of my friends and their UK101 or, later, the ZX81, Spectrum or Commodore ViC20, when I got my first computer from Boots one Christmas, an Amstrad CPC464, I was overjoyed. It wasn't cheap, and it replaced the old and much abused Atari 2600 console that we'd had for a few years from a previous Christmas...

And how, I hear you think, is that meaningful?  It meant everything to me, as I'd been discovering computers at college and was hooked!

[viridis]

A Sega game gear.
I remember how ecstatic I was to get this, back then mobile gaming in colour was an unheard of experience, my how times have changed

[viridis]

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@pgn wrote:

After being envious of my friends and their UK101 or, later, the ZX81, Spectrum or Commodore ViC20, when I got my first computer from Boots one Christmas, an Amstrad CPC464, I was overjoyed. It wasn't cheap, and it replaced the old and much abused Atari 2600 console that we'd had for a few years from a previous Christmas...

And how, I hear you think, is that meaningful?  It meant everything to me, as I'd been discovering computers at college and was hooked!

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10 print "cool gift I remember those awful tape loads well"

20 goto 10

Run

[pgn]

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@viridis wrote:

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10 print "cool gift I remember those awful tape loads well"

20 goto 10

Run

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Oh, the joys - only marginally better than the klunky 5.25in floppy drive on the BBC micros or Apple IIes, provided you were a dab-hand with the cotton-buds and rubbing alcohol 

[Baldychops66]

When i was about 6 my mum got me a tractor not a real one lol a toy one you sat on with peddels i loved that tractor , it was blue and had a smiley face on the front, my mum brought 3 of us up on our own and had 2 jobs bless her so she wasnt well off either and that was in the seventis too the presents seemed better then i think no ipads no phones no playstations and we used to go outside and play i know its different now days