After he unwrapped his gifts on Christmas morning, 6-year old Henry's mother asked him which one of his presents he would donate to the orphanage.
“None”, he replied.
She sat him on her lap and explained to him that sharing with those who were less fortunate was part of the holiday spirit and how that child who was less fortunate would probably receive only one gift for Christmas. The boy eventually agreed to part with one of his gifts after a long persuasion.
The next day, the boy spread his gifts in front of him to decide which one to part with. It was a difficult decision.
His eyes scanned over the ivory-coloured flute, the red choo choo train, Transformers school bag, and the yellow toy car with doors that really opened.
He decided that he will part with the flute. “Where do we take it ?”, he asked his mother. She explained that there was a donation box two streets away and that the people who emptied this box would make sure that it got to a child who needed a gift.
This parting with a gift on Christmas became a yearly ritual. When he was 10 years old, the boy loved every gift he received that the decision needed to be made by eenymeny-miny-mo and a set of wooden chess was picked. “I really love these Mom”, the boy said.
She said that he could select something else but there wasn’t any one which he wanted to let go. His mother left the room and returned with a piece of cardboard, some coloured pencils and his erasers collection. Together they created a board and set of chess. “I'm sure no one else would have the same set of chess!”, he declared.
Two years later when he saw the chess set at his friend Jerry’s house. Jerry had told him that she received it during Christmas at the orphanage before she was adopted.
Henry fought back the temptation to say , “It was me - I made that”. He couldn't describe the feeling seeing how much Jerry treasured the home-made chess set. The ritual of giving continued into adulthood and was eventually passed on to Henry's son.
"What was the best gift you got for Christmas?" His 5 year old son asked.
Henry wanted to explain that the best gift he ever received didn’t come in a box, it wasn’t wrapped and he couldn’t even hold it in his hand.
It was actually the joy in watching the surprised looks as the gift-receiver opened the gifts. Material gifts can be precious but the greatest gifts that we can give are more than those.
The receivers of these material gifts are often initially unaware of what they are actually receiving. The gifts of love, forgiveness, sharing, and caring are the most valuable ones.
For these are the gifts that we can give away but still keep.
By the way, Henry’s story was shared to us by one of our new staff. We thought this is a very special Christmas story that we want to share with you. We at Pods and Petals’ Giftlab are passionate about passing on these priceless thoughts for you. We desire to convey the message exactly the way you wanted them to be. Visit www.gift-lab.com to start your selection today!
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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