30 Of The Most Brilliant Presents People Ever Got

My family was abusive, and poor. Growing up I always kind of hated Christmas time, because it just sort of highlighted how s****y my own life was.

Well one year after I moved away to college, I was scheduled to work Christmas day, since I was a Resident Advisor. A student who had been evicted from housing for selling [illegal substances] came after me and attacked me. The school told me I should leave campus until the police caught the kid. I didn't have any where to go, so I called my best friend. Her and her dad drove all the way to my school on Christmas eve to get me.

When I woke up, I discovered that my friends mom had some how conjured up a a full stocking and a couple small gifts. It was the most amazing gift, because I had never had a good Christmas, and then her mom just went so above and beyond to make me feel loved.

When I was a kid, my Mom went into the hospital in November, dying there on Christmas Eve. She hadn't Christmas shopped, obviously, except for one small package I'd found weeks earlier in her dresser. It was wrapped and had my name on it. Christmas morning, I soberly opened the package. It was a simple ornament, a happy dog with a frisbee in its mouth. The frisbee read "Merry Christmas." It didn't look anything like my own frisbee-crazed dog, but it didn't matter. Cue the waterworks.

This isn't my best Christmas gift by any objective measure, but decades on, it's the one that still means the most.

When I was really young, I thought I might want to be a scientist. My grandmother didn't really understand what scientists do and gave me a stethoscope. Some clinical scientists use stethoscopes but for the most part, not really useful. I pretended to like it and the stethoscope sat in my closet for years.

I'm graduating from med school now and have used the same stethoscope across all these years. It's my good luck charm.

My brother was starting a new fitness routine, and told me he wanted to make a competition out of who could improve their body dimensions. I wasn’t planning on working out or anything but wanted to encourage him so said “screw it” and let him measure my upper body. Turns out it was for a custom made Captain America leather motorcycle jacket. I screamed like a little girl on Christmas morning

Edit: I should mention the helmet too. They took my ski helmet, painted it up nice (silver wings on the side) and seamlessly affixed the “A”. It was beautifully done and part of the surprise

I don't even know if it's the "best" present but just one of those I'll never forget.

My dad and I have an extremely distant relationship. He was never an affectionate or emotional person. All birthdays, celebrations, events, etc went to my mom to organize. It was just simply not a task he was involved in. He didn't give gifts or engage in the theatrics of any of it and I can't blame him - he is an immigrant, lived a very hard life, and culturally speaking, this is just how it was for him. One Christmas, I was probably like 10 or 11, I noticed among all the other presents I had from my mom and other family, there was an actual present from my dad addressed to me. I opened it and it was like this child's picture book, not a baby book, but definitely aimed for about age 7-8 and way too young for me. It was just shocking to me that he would first of all, care about getting me a present at all and secondly, choose this child's book out of all the things he could gotten. I realized, at 10 years old, that my dad genuinely had no idea what to get me, but wanted to get me SOMETHING. He only knew that I loved to read and read books all day long, so he got me a book, even though he had no idea what level reading I was on.

Maybe that is not a very good story or makes him seem bad, but it will always stick with me. He is such a non-sentimental and stoic person, I can't imagine him going to a bookstore, choosing this very cutesy, colorful book with me in mind, and actually giving it to me as a gift, but he did. He wanted to give me something, in his awkward way, and tried his best.

When I was 20, my dad was diagnosed with colon cancer right after my birthday in September, but it was very aggressive and he was eventually put on hospice in early December. He passed away the night before Christmas Eve, but he managed to write a Christmas card with help from my mom. The card had some cash in it (I don't remember how much), but he essentially wrote a long letter to me explaining how proud of me he was and how he'll always be looking over me. I pull that card out every Christmas for the past 7 years and anytime I need a little pick me up. Hands down, best Christmas gift ever.

We are pretty poor and I’m disabled but my Daughter is obsessed with Hamilton the musical. She’s an amazing kid and really helps me a lot and never complains. I saved from the second I’d heard the show was coming to London. So Last Christmas year we bought tickets to see Hamilton in London for our Daughter. I honestly thought she was going to pass out she was so happy.
We saved like crazy for the hotel and flights as we are at the opposite side of the country. We made a mini holiday of the trip. She had never had a holiday either. It was one of the best experiences ever, I love the show but I couldn’t stop watching my Daughters face. Best seats in the house too, cost a fortune but definitely worth it.
It was my best Christmas present watching her face getting her best Christmas present.

When I turned 16, my first boyfriend stiched a pair of pants for me. He used colored thread to stitch a candle, a heart, a sun, the year, and more. Pretty f*****g cool embroidery. When you turned the jeans inside out, He had written love notes all over the inner fabric. Made me melt.

A jar of Nutella.

I had quit a job I was going nowhere in, applying and interviewing like crazy while supporting my then-gf while she was getting through college. I had burned through most of my savings...I was throwing parties every weekend so I could take the empty beer bottles that friends left at home to the grocery store (there’s refundable fees where I live) and buy food with the little amount I would get...

I would barely eat breakfast, then feign interest in dinner so my gf could eat and succeed at school.

One night, we went to the restaurant with my parents and one of their friends, who thought I had lost some weight...

My dad slipped me some money before leaving, and when I called later that week, to borrow some more money for rent, he asked me if I was ok. I told him that things were tight, but that we managed. He told me « I don’t want you to sell your guitar... » I didn’t answer.

Parents called back a few days later, saying that they would stop by, since they would be in town. I was in for a surprise.

When I got the door, my mom was standing there with a box filled with groceries... « go help your dad » she said, « there’s more... »

They had brought us three big boxes full of food, including homemade meals...

While we were unpacking and putting stuff away, my mom took out a jar of Nutella from one of the boxes.

« Sometimes, all you need is a little bit more than the bare minimum »she said.

My eyes were wet...dad made me promise to never put my health in danger by being proud...

When I was a little girl (5 or 6) I was obsessed with ballerinas. My dad got me tickets to a professional performance of the Nutcracker. It was just him and me. I still remember feeling so grown up when we had dinner beforehand in a grown up restaurant. The ballet was beautiful. It was just a wonderful day. I

Not witty or anything but my parents got me a dog when I was 9. I'm 22 now and she's 13. I had some tough times as a teenager and Molly really got me through.

My mom passed from cancer this year, she had been stage 4 for 11 years and passed at 55 years old, so pretty young.

Last year Christmas was really emotional as things were taking a turn for the worse.

My mom made me a large shadow box with ticket stubs she had saved from every concert we went to since I was a kid (both big fans of music). Mr. Dressup, Pearl Jam, White Stripes etc. Not only had she saved these over the years, she went online and got post cards, buttons and patches from the specific tour dates we attended to go with the stubs.

The moment I unwrapped it, and realised what it was, I burst into tears and cried for a good while. It was a very heavy moment and one of the best gifts I've ever been given.

A cookbook that my mom made. She handwrote out each recipe of my favorite dishes growing up. The day that I moved out of the house, she gifted this to me.

I know you’re not supposed to give pets as gifts, but a few days before Christmas, when I was nine, my mum gave me a little kitten. She was the last one left and was small, skinny with runny eyes and runny nose. I adored her and for 12 years she was the light of my life.

My prosthetic leg.

I had a below the knee amputation the Saturday before thanksgiving this year. Infection in my blood got into the bone and almost took my life. Been on medical leave from work since. Today I saw the surgeon for a post surgery visit. Was told I’m ahead of schedule healing and recovery wise.

I won’t get my prosthetic for a while yet but being told I can start getting fitted for one is a pretty great early gift.

The Christmas before my father passed away he gave me a necklace, which was very unusual. He normally just gave me cash. The necklace was three hearts intertwined, and engraved on the back was, “My little girl yesterday, my friend today, my daughter forever.”

He knew how sick he was but he never told anyone, and he died the following August. The pattern of that necklace is my first and only tattoo (I got it done a week after he died.). I plan on giving the necklace to my own daughter someday.

I was seven years old in ICU with pneumonia. It was horrible timing because Christmas was that week.

The nurses brought in a massive television with a Nintendo GameCube hooked up to it. The only game I played was Mario sunshine the entire time I was in the hospital.

I love that game so much! It was so colorful and just super exciting to play since I didn’t even know the game existed. It is still my favorite Mario game ever made but I’m biased.

Well I made it out of the hospital just a few days before Christmas and on Christmas Day we went to my aunties house. We started opening gifts and they got me my very own GameCube but it didn’t appear I had any games for it. They tricked me and hid the other gift they bought. It was Mario Sunshine.

I’ve never ever had tears of joy but when I opened these gifts I couldn’t help but cry. I was so surprised and so happy! I’ve still never experienced the same emotions I had in that day.

When I was in the eighth grade my band teacher called my mom and told her that I was talented, and that if I wanted to continue to play, my current instrument would hold me back. At the time, I played my dad's trumpet, and it was 30 years old. That Christmas/birthday/the next Christmas my gift was my trumpet. I had to agree to play all the way through high school, and it was difficult for my parents to afford it- I believe it cost about $700-800. It cost enough that we timed the purchase for the same time we were going to a neighboring state that had no sales tax just to save the hundred bucks. I still remember the rain in the parking lot as I walked to the car, clutching the blue case to my chest. It was the most expensive thing I owned, or would own for a long time.

Band got me up in the morning, it made it so I went to school even when other kids sucked. It gave me something to work for, it gave me camaraderie and made me depend on others as others depended on me. It gave me pride, and showed me the correlation between hard work and reward. It kept me in college when I may have otherwise chickened out, given up and gone home. There is no rush like running onto a field with 30k people screaming in the stands, and music was the only thing that would ever give me that feeling.

I'm 33 now, and I don't play that much anymore- but that trumpet, a music stand and a book of exercises still sits next to my desk. I hope to allow my son to play it someday. The trumpet, band, music in general changed my life, it made me a better person and it made me who I am today.

I've posted this before, so if it looks familiar that's why. Also, since I posted this the first time I've joined my local community band and I'm playing again. It makes my heart happy.

Christmas 2015.

In the September of that year my mum was taken to hospital with severe stomach pains. It was pancreatitis bought on by a rogue gall stone getting stuck in the pancreatic duct. She spent all night in agony & didn’t call an ambulance until 7am. She was ICU for a day or so, then HDU for around 3 weeks & then a normal ward for around a week. When she got back home I’d go round to help her out but she was really struggling to eat & couldn’t keep anything down. She was having tests done but nobody seemed to have a solution.

All the time when mum was ill what I wanted more than anything was just to see her back to normal. One thing was seeing her driving around in her little red car looking all lovely (she always takes pride in looking nice & I know how much it was getting to her in hospital) & most of all her eating a full meal.

So Christmas Day I’m over at my dads and look out the front window. Up pulls mums little red car & she gets out with her new coat on & her lipstick & make up & all. I was beyond happy! Then we sit down for dinner... she clears her plate! Then we have Christmas pudding & to top it off... she asks for seconds!

That was the best present I could ever have received!

The wife and I built a little lake house a few years back. Did it all ourselves. She was a real trooper during the whole project and I was able to teach her a lot about construction. The Christmas after we got it done, she used all the progress pictures to make a book through that online thing Wal-Mart has. It was a really special present because of all of the commentary she put with the pictures. There are a lot of inside jokes and happy memories in that little book.