Holiday Stories from Readers
Spoiled Little Poor Girl
My parents are no longer together, so every year
I get more than my share of presents. And when I
was a little girl I was spoiled to death (some say I
still am). Well, being the first grandchild on one
side and the only granddaughter on the other
side, it was a given fact that I was to be spoiled!
So one year we went up to my uncle’s house
after Christmas (now keep in mind that I had
already gotten my stuff from my parents and
grandparents). Everybody in the family was
there. Parents, their parents, and me, the only
grandchild. But now you have to know that I was
only 3 (the dreaded age).
So we all get there and eat and then it’s time for
presents!! They would read the names and then
hand them to me to give out. I guess they had fun
watching me do whatever they said,. Like a
power trip or something?! After all the stuff was
handed out we opened them in age order.
Youngest goes first, meaning me!!! I had been so
busy handing out stuff that I hadn’t seen how
much stuff had piled up for me! How many?
ONE!!!!! I cried that they didn’t love me anymore
and things like that ‘cause I only got one! They
(my parents) have a picture of me sobbing,
holding up 1 finger. To this day they still tease me
about it! Being the spoiled little poor girl!!
-- Meredith, age almost-15, NC
They’re broken! No wait...make that
BLINKING...
Well, for everybody that doesn’t know me that
well, I am incredibly strange. And I proved that
by putting up Christmas lights in my room
during the middle of the summer. Okay, well, I
was testing the lights, to make sure that they
were all working. The first strand of lights (or
whatever you want to call them) worked fine. The
second didn’t work at all. The third started
working -the whole thing was working. Then like
all of a sudden, half of the lights went out. I was
like, “What?? I don’t wanna have to replace any
bulbs...” Well then I touched them, and they came
back on! I was like “Okay, hey cool...I won’t have
to replace any after all...” Well then I like touched
them again, and they went back out!! I was like
“Okay....you stupid lights....make up your mind!”
Okay well by now I was pretty frustrated with it.
So, after trying to figure out what the heck was
up with these lights, it suddenly dawns on me.
These are the blinking lights! They weren’t
broken at all...just blinking....!!
-- Hollie, age almost-15, MO
It Isn’t Turkey on Turkey Day!!
My holiday story is kind of sad, but it taught a
lesson, so I thought it was worth sharing! It’s
about my Thanksgiving last year. My biological
parents are divorced, so I happened to be
spending the day with my dad and his wife
Brenda. I don’t usually spend holidays with them,
and soon you’ll know why!
We had driven quite a distance in the early
morning to get to the house where Brenda’s
family had gathered. I had met a few of them
before, but most were strangers to me, and I to
them. I should mention that the circles my Dad
and Brenda “travel” in are not Christian and it’s
amazing how different the two “societies” can be.
Everything looked okay at first - well, as “okay”
as an unfamiliar situation on what I consider a
“family day”. We dashed to a store to pick up a
couple extra instant pies, and I sat around in the
living room watching TV -and they were actually
decent movies! There were no kids my age, of
course, but that was okay ‘cause none of them
talked to me anyways. And then they called
everybody to eat. There was no turkey and the
ham was too salty, but hey that’s just food. Of
course, traditions mean a lot, and when
everybody sat around on chairs sprawled all over
the house, but mostly in the living room to watch
the movies, I can’t say that I was too thrilled by
the prospect of my Thanksgiving. Of course, the
worst part was that they didn’t pray over the
meal or thank God for anything; in fact there was
a complete lack of real meaning in the whole
affair. Sad, isn’t it. That conclusion was really
hammered down when we witnessed (it’s hard
not to see all the details when you’re gathered
closely around the front picture window)
someone else’s “happy Thanksgiving” across the
street. The group appeared to be some kind of
gathering of family and friends, like ourselves,
and they caught our attention by congregating
on the sidewalk in what looked to be a fierce
argument, mainly between a certain man and
woman. There was some pushing and shoving, a
lot of yelling, and they ended up in the middle of
the street before some of their group, which was
gathered around them, stopped them. Most of
them went inside, slamming the door on the man
involved in the fray. We weren’t the only ones to
see it and call the police on them, and the cars
drove up soon after. Of course, whatever went on
behind those doors is a mystery to us. but it was
most obvious that, for these people, the
celebration was pretty much ruined.
My Thanksgiving wasn’t very special, and I’m
looking forward to a better one this year. I
learned that day that there really is much to be
thankful for, even if only a nice day to give
thanks on! I always want to remember who we’re
thanking on that day. May God bless you all with
that knowledge! And by the way, I’m dreaming of
turkey for Thanksgiving this year!!
-- Alicia, age 15, KS
The Hot dog Thanksgiving
Our Thanksgiving Day in 1997 was very unusual,
and quite memorable. Our Grandpa and Grandma
were in Virginia over the holiday with some
relatives, so we weren’t able to have a big family
meal, like we always do. We didn’t know quite
what to do, and it seemed awfully quiet around
here with just us.
Anyway, we finally decided to have a big bonfire
and burn all the brush, trash, and junk that had
been accumulating for that purpose. (We’d been
meaning to have a big bonfire since spring.) So
Daddy took lots of loads up to the big pile on the
tractor. It took him all day, so we didn’t really eat
lunch -- just had a few snacks. It ended up being
a HUGE pile: way taller than us and very wide.
Daddy lit it and we roasted turkey franks in the
oven and took them up to eat after dark. (We
would have roasted them over the fire, but there
was some plastic in it and Daddy said it wouldn’t
be healthy.) It was a real treat for us to have hot
dogs -- we just never have them because we
have our own meat that we know is so much
better for us.
Anyway, as we were eating, we pretended that
we were really poor and had to burn all of our
treasures just to stay warm. We also played that
we couldn’t afford a real turkey, and had to save
up to buy the turkey franks. And they cost us so
much that we had to go without lunch to pay for
them....It was funny, but it really helped us to see
just how much we actually so have to be
thankful for! You know, it’s so very easy to forget
how much you really do have and only think
about what you don’t have! But we did end up
having a good day, and it was a good job to have
done!
--Abigail, age 18, Iowa
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