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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