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The best present I ever gave...
Feb 19, 2010 - 10:12:33 AM

    None would dispute the momentary thrill of opening a beautifully-wrapped present; however, that feeling is often fleeting, quickly forgotten when the paper lies crumpled on the floor. More lasting— and more rewarding— is the joy of giving, a sentiment expressed by seventh graders at the Middle School when describing the best present they have ever given. Here are their essays, in their own words. As a candle lights a welcoming window, we hope they brighten your holiday season.

The best present ever
    About three years ago my family decided that we were going to give our dog Heidi away. We were going to give her to a  lady whose husband died. She use to have a dog but then that one died. I felt sad about giving Heidi away but I knew I was doing a good thing.
    She really enjoys having Heidi around because she keeps her company. Plus she won’t be lonely anymore. Sometimes she lets Heidi come visit for the weekend. My mom was proud that I was able to give Heidi away.
    I still miss my dog, but she is with someone that will care for her. When she lived with us she was always in her box because we were always busy. Hopefully someday I will get another dog, and Heidi could visit and play with the other dog. That is the best present I have ever given anyone.
    —Abram Miller

The best gift
    It started out as one regular day over summer vacation when I decided to do a favor for my mother. I thought I would give her a break from babysitting and babysit for her.
    It was the best present I ever gave to someone. Why? Well, because when I give a gift I usually buy it, and it’s not worth as much either. Another reason why it was a good gift was, because I am lazy for most of the part and usually wouldn’t do that kind of thing.
    Mom still treasures this gift. At that time mom was relieved that she has to take them to the store with her. So she could go to the store and get home quicker. Even though I didn’t enjoy doing this it still felt good deep down inside and I would happily do it again for her anytime!              
    —Angelina Antonyuk

The Big Move
    Sometime last year my dad and I helped my grandparents move. It took about two months to complete the move. They were going to have an auction to get rid of some old stuff.
    My grandparents lived on a farm. Throughout the year they had gathered a lot of junk. First we started with one of the barns. There was fencing, bricks, oil tanks, sharp metal, and a random cat bowl. We took the stuff that wasn’t wanted and put it on a junk pile. Then we started in a shed. There were bikes, doors, saws, a shopping cart, road signs, and other junk. They kept a couple things, and put stuff up for auction, and put the rest on the junk pile.
    Then we started in on two more sheds. They had, tractors, sleds, a four wheeler, tools, wood, and air tanks. They kept most of the stuff and put the rest up for auction. Then they rented a dumpster to put the junk in. they put the action stuff on a wagon. Then we took truck load by truck load up to the new house.
    A couple of days later we had the auction. It rained all day. My dad and I were directing cars into an open field. There were a lot of cars. My cousin and I sat in the barn and drank hot chocolate the whole time. I left before it was over.
    —Braden Keefer

 The Best Present I Ever Gave
    A very important person in my life is my gram. She does everything for me like takes me out to eat and buys me stuff. She does all this stuff for me so I felt the need to do something for her.
I made her a bookmarker because she likes to read all the time and she needed a new one. I made it in school with my teacher. I put snow leopards to remind her of me. I made it on the computer. It took me a day and a half to make it.
She loved it so much that she uses it every time she gets a new book it made me feel good that I finally did something for her.  
    —Brian Anderson

The Perfect Gift
    The gift I gave to my dad was to help him cut wood for the winter. The reason I wanted to do this for him was so it would take less time and he wouldn’t have to work all day. He was very thankful for what I did and that it meant a lot to him. It also made me feel good with myself.    
    My job was to haul the wood out of the forest. While I was doing this, he was chopping each tree into smaller but still big pieces that would fit on the tractor. Later, after I was done hauling all the wood out, we had to make them even smaller. We would use the wood splitter for this. The last thing we needed to do was stack all the pieces into a pile.
    My dad really enjoyed the help. He and I also spent a lot of time together. This was during the month before winter when I was 11 years old. Whenever you have a chance to help someone, go for it.
    — Isaac Badinger     

 The Best Present I Ever Gave
    The best gift I ever gave was mowing the lawn for my elderly neighbor. I was ten years old at the time. I did it because he had a broken leg and he couldn’t do it himself. After I did it I felt good about myself. The reason it was the best gift I ever gave is because I helped the elderly man.                My mom, dad and my neighbor were very proud of me. When I was finished mowing the lawn, my mom gave me ten dollars.
    —Joey Shaffer

The Best Gift
    My father, brother, and I were at Ocean City in the summer of 2005. No matter how much fun I had I couldn’t help but wish my mother was there with us. We just moved and I knew I wouldn’t see her for a while once school started again. I had fifty dollars left over from my birthday and I knew exactly what I was going to do with it.
    My mother’s favorite animal is a dolphin and we were in Ocean City! I knew she loved looking at pictures of me so, I bought camera and took lots of pictures of me near the beautiful, bright, gray dolphins. Later that week, my father took me to get my pictures and a scrapbook to put them in. When we walked into the gift shop I saw something beautiful on the shelf.
    I walked over and looked at the beautiful shining golden brown trinket box with a gold, sparkling dolphin with ruby, red eyes on the top. The inside was laced with red silk with a three inch mirror, it cost thirty dollars and my dad refused to pay that much for a box, so I spent the rest of my birthday money on the trinket box and placed the pictures I took on the inside. I couldn’t wait to see the look on my moms face when she opened this.
    The ride to her house was long but worth the wait. I handed my mom the box that was wrapped beautifully in royal blue wrapping paper with a big golden bow on the top, at that moment I knew my birthday money did not go to waste. When my mom unwrapped her gift she smiled and gave me a huge hug, but her gift wasn’t over yet. “Open it,” I whispered waiting to see her face. When she opened the trinket box and saw the pictures she cried and said it was the best gift she’s ever had because I bought it on my own, on vacation, and it had her two favorite things in it her baby girl and her favorite animal.
    —Jordan Musser

A Gift is A Gift
    One day I felt the need to write a letter to my brother who died at birth. I just had to get my feelings out. It was simple stuff like I miss you, and I can’t wait to meet you one day. It made me feel a lot better.
    Even though he was dead, I knew he got it. I knew Jared would be a great person because I have the world’s greatest parents. The letter only took 15 minutes but it doesn’t matter how long you spent on it or how much it cost. Giving a gift is giving a gift, simple as that. The love is what counts, and it’s in the most important place, your heart. I will never forget it. It is in my drawer adjacent to my bed. Jared if you can hear me I love you!
    —Jordan Wagner

My Special Gift
    On Mother’s Day, when I was in first grade, I came home with a little book
    In my hands saying Happy Mothers Day to mom. In school we had to make something for mother’s day, so I made gift card book. It said things on the pages like. “Will do chores for a whole month, Sweep the house with out you telling me for a week, Clean dog pen and wash it for two weeks.
    When I gave it to her she was surprised that I made it all by my self and gave it to her in a little bag saying, “To mom, Happy Mother’s Day.” She was very happy the whole day. She asked me how long it took me to make it and I told her it took me about five to ten minutes to make. She kept saying, “I’m so proud of my five year old boy.” I think she still has it in her room somewhere.
    There were a couple people proud of me like my Mom, Dad, and my Grandparents were happy of me. That was the best gift I ever gave my mom on Mother’s Day.
    —Kaleb Kerstetter

Flo; a lifelong friend
    Some family members are so extraordinary that they affect your life forever. On February 21, Flo Migury Kridler will be 92 years old. Flo grew up in Massachusetts and spent almost her whole life traveling around the country with her husband, Harvey, who was in the wars.  Flo’s husband died a few years back; she lives in a house all by herself. She has made minor but helpful changes in the way she lives. For instance, she can’t climb onto the counter to get a snack so she puts all her snacks into the empty dishwasher, since she hand washes all her dishes. Also, she has a single egg frying pan instead of a hug unneeded frying pan. With few minor changes and her creativity, she can still live in her house all by herself.
    As mentioned before, her husband died a few years ago. That leaves Flo and a full size house all to herself. When my mom makes supper, it’s usually my job to take it over to her. But unlike any other job, this is one that I love doing. When I walk out into the dark, creepy night, my dog Callie is over there. Callie and Flo get along great, and she always enjoys having her over there with me. When Callie was just little, Harvey would come over and open the door to let us in. Then he would disappear into the kitchen and come out with three mint chocolate chip ice cream. Then he would direct me to a big red chair. I would sit down and listen to the amazing and detailed stories from when they were kids all the way to the three wars he was in. Ill never forget the various stories, and all the photos that go along with the stories.
    Sadly, one night the ambulance came rushing by and took Harvey away, and didn’t bring him back. A couple days later, my mom took me to the nursing home that Harvey was attending. I was shocked and sad to see one of my best friends, lying there, helpless. Ill never forget the day I found out Harvey was gone.
    Flo is always happy when I show up at her door, to come keep her company. We talk about anything and everything, from the new trends, to things on the news. Flo is always finding something new to talk about, to keep me there longer. I feel really good about myself when I go over there because I can keep her company and listen to the amazing stories that she lived through. Flo is one of my best friends and has been there since I was born. I don’t know what I would do without her, and I’ll never forget that gift of company I gave her. It might not seem like much, but it’s one of the best gifts I have ever given.
    —Katelyn Sheesley

Something as Small as a
Stuffed Gray Kitten.
    The best gift I have ever given was a stuffed gray kitty.  About four or five years ago, I gave it to a little girl who I had caught crying.  She was trying to win a little cat in the claw machine at Sunset Skating Rink.  Every try she took; she would miss it by an inch.  
    That’s when I new what I had to do! So, I slipped 50 cents into the coin slot, and the claw was ready.  I watched it swing as I turned the handle left, right, up, down.  It paused in its tracks as I pressed the red button, Rrrrr.  Down it went lined perfectly on its target.
    “Oh I hope I get it. I hope I get it!” I repeatedly whispered to myself.  That’s when I heard the greatest sound I have ever heard before.  Winner! Winner!
    “Yes!” I got it.
    Instantly,  I yanked the kitten out of the open flap, and headed towards the saddened girl.  Watching me the whole time, her eyes lite up when I stopped in front of her.
    “Would you like to have this?”  I questioned.
    “Oh yes please”, she quickly answered back.
    She took it from my hands and squeezed it like she was giving it a huge bear hug.
    “Thank you so much!”
    “No problem.”  I responded.   Off she went running for her mom.  That was the last time I ever saw her.  It felt good to give someone something you know wants it or needs it more than you do.  Even something as simple as a stuffed cat, it was the thought that count.
    —Kayla Forcheskie

A Gift From A Sister
    I can remember sitting on the hospital bed getting ready to get my blood drawn for a test, I was only six years old. In order to be a match I must have four out of the six matches to be my sister’s bone marrow donor. It turns out I had all six matches. The pain of the needle breaking through my skin was worth saving my sister’s life. This was the greatest gift I ever gave.
    About a month later I was laying on a bed with my mom and Aunt Amie looking at me. I started “catching fuzzes” from all the sleepy medicine, then I finally fell asleep. It almost felt as if I were dead. I couldn’t feel anything not even the 66 needles in my back taking out the marrow. When I finally woke up, I asked to see my mom. She kept going on about how good I did and how proud everyone was of me, I just smiled and fell asleep. Then I woke up and I was in my hospital in Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).
    As soon as I felt awake enough I wanted to see my sister. I walked over to her room. My dad pushing my IV and my mom was there to make sure I didn’t fall over. I was still a little drowsy when I got to her room. Everyone was taking pictures of us, I almost fainted. I saw my “gift” hanging from her IV. My blood was going into her; this was helping her fight cancer. This gift helped my sister live two more years.
    —Kylie Kuhns

The Christmas gift
    Every year for the last three years our family puts together shoe boxes for kids in other countries. The gifts usually take a few days to make. Sometimes we use shoeboxes and sometimes we use plastic boxes.
    These presents usually contain toothpaste and stuff like that. Also besides that we will put candy in them and depending on the age either a toy or a game. Once completed we get stickers to put on them that show what age it should go to and what gander.
    Doing this always fills me with joy and seeing pictures of kids who have received these gifts bless me. I hope to continue this for years to come. This always takes place around Christmas and the boxes can be taken to participating churches and other buildings.
    —Levi Ebersole

The Shoebox
    It was around Christmas, and, in church, my pastor was talking about giving items in a shoebox. He told us that we would be donating this to the homeless. The directions were simple, choose someone around our age, write them a letter, and give items that were necessary and items we thought they would like. The items would then go into a shoebox and be shipped to them. This seemed like a cool way of giving.
    I first went to work finding a shoebox. My mom had been planning on running to get groceries and other items. So I went with her. We first found the necessary items like shampoo, toothpaste, and a toothbrush. I also chose to give school items such as: pencils, pens, and notepads. My idea was to get them something cool that they could play with, so we got a slingshot. The shoebox was now complete.
    Lastly, I had to write a letter. I wrote a letter talking like I would to anyone my age. I wrote about how I hope they would enjoy these items and that I hope they had a great holiday!
    —Gordy DeFacis

I Love My ABC’s
    An ABC book is an excellent present to give to your parents when you’re little. An ABC book basically tells what you love to do with your parents for each letter. When I was five, I did everything with my mother. I also enjoyed spending my free time with her. I work hard and tirelessly on the book. This is the best present I ever gave because I felt proud of what I accomplished.
    The reason I made this book all started on a mild summer day. I was riffling though a cabinet that contained a bunch of old papers in it. That’s when I stumbled across a book titled “Anthony’s ABC book.” I flipped through it and realized it was a book my older brother made when he was my age for my mom. The colorful little book was filled with activities my brother really liked doing with her. A light bulb went off in my head. I would make the coolest book for my mother!
    It was hard doing everything with out my parents finding out. I had to sneak computer paper and crayons in my room since I wasn’t usually aloud to have them in there. Everyday I wrote one saying and drew one picture for each paper. One of my favorites was “L is for watching lightening storms with you.” After I finished decorating a paper, I shoved them under my bed to hide them. A few weeks later everything was complete. 26 pages with heart-felt sayings and drawings were finally done. I snuck into the office room; hole punched each paper three times, and strung a red ribbon through it to keep it together. It wasn’t as pretty as my brothers, but it was still wonderful.
    The next day, I peaked around the corner into the living room. My mom was sitting on the couch with her eyes glued to the television. I skipped in.
    “Mommy,” I squeaked in my childish voice. She turned to me and smiled.
    “What is it dear?” I pulled the book from behind my back.
    “I made this for you.” I handed her my book and I climbed into her lap. I snuggled in as she read the cover out loud. Her eyebrow crooked up in confusion. She opened the book to the first page. As she cruised through the pages her smile got bigger and wider. When she was at the end, she smiled a huge goofy smile. I grinned back up at her. I had a fuzzy feeling in my stomach. It was a good feeling though. My mom then surprised me with a bone-crushing bear hug. She giggled and ruffled my hair. She called me silly but, I knew she loved the book and me. Every now and again she pulls my ABC book out and she flips through it. While she looks at the pages, a great look of nostalgia crosses her face. She really loved this present because it came from her little girl’s heart.  
    —Breanna Kramer

HUGGIE SNUGGIE
    I know that some people out there think that a hug is just something you give to your parents or to the people you love. You might also think that a hug is just a hug and that it doesn’t mean anything. (Well, it means a whole lot maybe not, but to the person that you have given it to.)
    When you give a hug it’s the best thing you can ever give. It’s the best gift you can ever give because it’s the gift of love. THERE’S NO GREATER GIFT THEN LOVE!!!!! It also shows whoever you gave that hug to that you care for them. I give my dad a hug every morning and every night. When I give my dad a hug I show that I care and that I love him.
    My dad also gave me hug because he cares for me. He also shows that he loves me.
    I felt good because I gave something to someone. It also would have felt good because I love him. It felt good because he’s my dad and I love him. It’s the best gift because it’s the gift of love.
    —Nick Bury

The Best Present I Ever Gave
    The best present I gave was helping my youth group wrap and fill shoe boxes for soldiers in Afghanistan.  They deserve to know that someone wishes them a Merry Christmas.  My youth group usually does something different, but I suggested this instead.  Everyone instantly agreed with me!
The next week in Sunday school, everyone was busy with thinking of ideas for things that we could fill the shoe boxes with.  Everyone mostly thought of the same ideas.  We ended up filling the boxes with food, tooth brushes, tooth paste, soap, shampoo, conditioner, and many more items.
    The soldiers in Afghanistan deserved a little holiday present for all their hard work.  They need to know that someone thanks them for risking their life everyday for our freedom!  After wrapping the last box, I felt great knowing that I did something that will help someone else.  That is the time I gave the best present ever!
    —Olivia Finerghty

The Best Present
    I have the best grandparents anyone could ever ask for. My Mimi is my number one best friend, I can go to her for ANYTHING. My Pop is the nicest guy you could ever meet. They both mean the world to me. So I decided to get my cousins Bobby and Chase to help me clean the woods for my Mimi and Pop.
    It started on a day during summer vacation. Their neighbor started cleaning the woods up by piling up acorns, rocks, and sticks. Mimi got tired of it of her coming on her property and do whatever she wanted so Pop and Mimi started cleaning up the woods. Bobby, Chase and I knew we should do something for them because they did so many things for us our whole lives.
    When we got started it was so boring but Chase and I made it into a game. We where putting acorns into buckets. Chase told me to get a stick and we were going to play acorn baseball by trying to get them into the bucket. It was hilarious!
After ending our game of baseball we picked up logs, racked leaves, and put rocks back where they should have been. Bobby, Chase and I jumped on the trailer and smashed the leaves down. When we where done Mimi and Pop where so proud of us.
    —Paige Rishel
A Gift to Aunt Tracey
    The best present I have ever given is babysitting. It may not seem like much, but I could tell that my mom was grateful that I was there to help with the baby.
    On December 28, 2009 I gave the most important present.  My great-uncle, John, had just passed away and we were attending his funeral in Sunbury. I felt bad for his wife, Aunt Tracey, and was trying to help her. My cousin, Lola, is really young and I was worried that she would disrupt the service. I didn’t want her to start crying, so I played with her in one of the back rooms. By the time the services started I had Lola asleep and went back to my seat with my mom.
    To other people babysitting may seem like a dull gift, but I was very proud of myself that day. My gift was simple, but important. Sometimes, big things come in small packages!
    —Michaela Mathis

The Greatest Gift Ever
    My grandfather means the world to me. He was in the navy, and when I was a little boy he would always play the harmonica for us after supper. While he was tucking us in, he would read a story out of the bible; he would either do that or tell us stories about the Navy and what his job was.
    So one day I was in sixth grade we watched a movie on Pearl Harbor, this got me thinking about my Grandpa. His birthday was coming up and I wasn’t sure on what to get him, so I thought about all the things I knew he liked. Then after a while of thinking I had my answer. He was in the navy and likes big ships on open water so I was going to draw a picture of the Titanic. I knew that the Titanic was the world’s biggest ship during her time. Right away I got up, grabbed a ruler, and started to sketch the simple parts. When I was done with my sketch I was proud of myself. I looked at it one more time and I said to myself there’s something missing. That night I went home and searched for picture’s of the Titanic. As soon as the page loaded I knew right away what I was missing, life boats!
  The next day in homeroom I got started on the lifeboats carefully drawing on the covers with a very sharp pencil. My friend saw the picture and he asked me if I was going to color it. I forgot all about the color! I got the colored pencils and started to color the smoke stacks; finishing where Titanic’s name on the hull.
When I sent the letter to my grandfather, I felt like all that hard work had paid off. A couple days later the house phone rang, I answered it and heard the voice of my grandpa saying to me “Thanks for your picture of the Titanic.” That made me feel so special inside.
    —Sean Sellers

Jonathon’s Gift
    10, 20, 30 dollars goes into the money basket every Sunday morning, then days later it is given to seven year old Jonathon. This past year my youth group started sponsoring Jonathon from Ecuador. He is a boy who is fighting starvation and has a dream of going to school. My youth group leader was looking for a way to serve other people. Then one Sunday he told us we would be sponsoring a child from Honduras. I felt so good knowing that we would be helping a little boy who desperately needed our help.
    Jonathon receives $30, at the least, every month to get food and an education. Jonathon does anything he can just to go to school and has a desire for learning, unlike many who take advantage of it. He also starves for food everyday, and the money that we give keeps him farther away from starvation. It feels so good to be sponsoring Jonathon. I wish I could see the big smile on his face that appears while he’s walking to school, or the look of relief when finally eating after weeks. I really hope Jonathon enjoys the gift of money we give him and that he knows how much we care even if we are miles apart.
    —Sadie Beiler

The most giving gift
    The most loving gift I have ever given some one was a homemade get well card. I made this card out of neon orange paper and silk. Inside this card was a picture of me, my brother, and my gram teaching us how to play Chinese checkers? There was also a poem that I wrote saying how much I love her and how much I need her in my life.
    I gave my gram this card when she was in the hospital fro leukemia. She was diagnosed with cancer about six years ago. When I went to see my gram in the hospital I could barley hold back my tears? When I gave my gram the card she automatically started to cry. After she saw the picture and read the poem, she gave me a hug that lasted for five minutes.
    My gram has been in remission for about four years now. To this day, she has my poem and picture hanging on her bedroom. So every time she sees it she thinks of me. every time she thinks about me writing the poem and making the card she starts to cry.
    —Travis Miller

 The Best Present Ever
    It was an eerie morning. The birds were awake singing their fantastic tunes. Today was the day I made my mom the best present ever. It wasn’t going to be bought; instead I was going to make her something and save money all at the same time!
    The occasion was Mother’s Day. As a twelve year old I had no money so I had no other choice then get creative and make a gift. I gripped two pieces of paper and some scissors. I cut the two pieces of paper into eight rectangular strips. I got a pencil and started to think of chores around the house. It took me awhile to think of all the chores my mom does and write them down. Some of the chores I wrote down were: free car wash, free vacuum session, and even free breakfast in bed. When I was done I headed up stairs to where my mother was still in bed.
    “Mom,” I whispered. Her head slowly moved towards me as she sat up in bed.
    “Here,” I said, handing her the home made present that I had just made.
    “I know you have been working hard cleaning the dishes. Feeding our pets, and a lot more, but I just wanted to give you this to say im sorry I haven’t helped as much as I could have.” When I finished she had tears in her eyes and gave me a huge hug taking the gift in one hand.
    “Thank you so much this is the best present I have ever received,” She said. The rest of the day was peaceful and relaxing, but I didn’t really enjoy the part were she made me give her breakfast in bed.
    —Anthoney Brooks

The Best Gift Ever
    One day when I was eleven I made some pillows for Christmas. I give two to my Mimi and pappy Rishel and two to my Grammy and pappy Radel. Then I give one to my Great Grandma Kraterz. That on that I gave to her was blue and pink which were my favorite colors.
     About a month before Christmas I was freaking out because I didn’t know what I was going to get my family for Christmas. So my mom says, “Why don’t you make some pillows?” so I decided to make the pillows. It took me about four to five days to make five pillows. I practically made them myself. After the fifth day of making the pillow they were all done.
    Then we went over to my Grammy’s house on Christmas and I handed out my pillows. I gave the most beautiful pillow to my Great Grandma Kraterz. You could see the tears welling up inside of her eyes and she gave me a big hug. She said, “Thank you!” then in January 31, 2008 she died. That was the best gift I have ever given to some one.
    —Brooke Radel

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