Some Christmas gifts strike us to the core, whether it’s due to the excitement, the thoughtfulness, or the emotion. There are years where I can look back and remember opening certain gifts so distinctly, and the feeling I felt when I opened them.
I remember the year in elementary school when I asked my mom to get me a leather hat like the one Alyssa from “All That” on Nickelodeon wore in the opening credits, and she actually found one just like it! I wore it all of Christmas Day and in the months after.
I remember the year in high school when my friend Andrea made me a poetry writing notebook just like one of her own, with a paperclip chain along the spiral and photos of The Beatles and old library book pages pasted on the cover and insides. After admiring her notebooks for so long, it meant so much to have one made just for me.
I remember just a few years ago, before getting pregnant with Margot, when Zack surprised me with a weekend trip to Boston, planning only the flights and hotel because he knows how much I love planning restaurant reservations and excursions down to the hour. I spent our Christmas Day commute to my parents’ house securing our dinners and getting tickets to see Guster at the Boston House of Blues.
And I will always remember this Christmas as the year I received a gift so unexpected, so sentimental and precious, that it caused me to break down in tears at the sight of it.
Today I visited my sister in law Lynn and niece and nephew to exchange presents, because we didn’t get to see them on Christmas Day.
As I was opening presents, I remarked that the one very lightweight box felt like an ornament, and Lynn nodded. I saw what looked like a clear bulb ornament with a burlap ribbon, but as I looked more closely, I saw something suspended on the inside.
Handwriting. I knew that handwriting immediately. The handwriting of a certain generation. My grandma’s handwriting.
I burst into tears. My grandma died in the summer of 2016, and this was our second Christmas without her. I have been particularly sad lately as I watch Stella flourish in her piano lessons and performing in her recitals, knowing how much my grandma would have loved it all.
I’ve kept old cards from her and love seeing ones that she has signed “Maka” or “The Muck,” as we called her often. But I’ve never thought of doing anything more with these keepsakes of her handwriting and loving sentiments. I didn’t expect this gift when I opened it, and the surprise paired with the thoughtfulness behind it meant so much.
This ornament will be treasured always, and I can’t thank Lynn and Justin enough for this precious gift. Each year, as we put ornaments on the tree, we’ll be getting Maka’s wishes of a Merry Christmas and New Year, with love.
Lynn said that she ordered this gift from Etsy. Here is a link to similar loved ones’ handwriting gifts.
