By Scott Anthony

Remember when you were a kid and you wrote letters to St. Nick, ticking off the toys, the dolls, the bicycles that you desperately wanted in the days before the Jolly Elf made his annual appearance?

I could try to pull a tear from you with a sad story about a little kid who only wants world peace, but truth be told, kids are materialistic little critters, pawns of the television merchandising machine and when they don’t get what they want, you may expect a serious, week long pouting session.

I asked Mrs. Anthony what she wanted and what she got for Christmas gifts as a child and her first answer was, ‘A Raggedy Ann doll.’ I thought that was sort an ordinary gift, but she explained that the doll that ‘Santa’ brought was nearly five feet tall. Now that’s a good memory. How about you? What particular gift did you get for Christmas, and was it what you wanted? I asked a few locals about their experience.

My friend Kraig responded first;
I remember dropping off my letter to Santa at the Federal Way News!
One memorable present was a sting ray bike with sport's car like shifter when I was around 11 years old. I walked around the corner, saw the bike and just looked at it with my jaw agape. My sister said, "It’s real…you can touch it!"

The first brother to respond to my question said, “The most memorable gifts? A train set shared with my brothers, a Pogo Stick like my friend's next door, an Ice Hockey game with metal rods on each end that allowed us to maneuver the players, and a foosball game, home made, we used ping pong balls for pucks.” That’s already quite a list, but he added, “Actually, the most memorable gift was a sputnik space radio (crystal) and I listened to it on Christmas eve.”

To put things into perspective, My father-in-law, whose family immigrated her from Russia in the 1930s said, “My mother used to put oranges in our stockings…that was a real treat during the depression.”



And finally, I asked my Dad;

“Things were far different when I was a tad. Nobody had any money in our family except my oldest brother who was married and had some kind of job. He and his wife always came over to the house with a big box of stuff all gaily wrapped and we knew there was something for each of us little kids.

Usually I got a pair of gloves or something I needed from my parents but brother George once got me a genuine gyroscope. That was a big deal for me. Some of my school mates got bikes or electric trains but I loved my scope. You wind a string around the spindle and pull it sharply. The wheel spins swiftly and no matter how you gripped it the gyro insisted on remaining upright.

‘It was the greatest except for two beautiful blue and red marbles my brother owned. He also knew I worshiped them and one year when I was eight he wrapped them in a big box to fool me and gave them to me. His most prized possession. Wow. I still get goose bumps when I think about his sacrifice.

Even when he pounded me I knew he truly loved me.”

How about you? What’s your most memorable Christmas gift, received or given?