A Merry Little Christmas

12 Gifts of Hope.

2009-11-03T10:02:00.000-08:00

Want to bless someone in need this Christmas? Sure you do! We all do, don't we? However, a lot of us are strapped financially. Well, fear not kind-hearted friend! Thanks to the fine folks at Samaritan's Purse and Heifer International, you can give a gift of hope to someone who desperately needs it for $10.00 or less! How cool is that? Extremely cool, THAT'S how cool! Check it out:

Gift #1. A hot meal- $7.00
By giving $7.00 to Samaritan's Purse, you can provide a week's worth of dinners to someone who's hungry.

Gift #2. Milk- $4.00
Sending $4.00 will provide milk for a week to a needy child.

Gift #3. Blanket-$6.00
With your $6.00, Samaritan's Purse can provide a blanket for someone who otherwise would be without one.

Gift #4. Mosquito Net- $10.00
Malaria kills over a million people each year. Your gift of $10.00 can provide someone with a bed net, treated with natural insecticide to kill and keep out mosquitoes.

Gift #5. Feed a Baby for a Week- $9.00
This amount can feed a baby or nursing mother for a week.

Gift #6. Sports Gear- $8.00
If you were hoping to give something more along the lines of fun, here's your chance. $8.00 will provide a child with a soccer ball, an incredible luxury they might not otherwise have.

Gift #7. "Jesus Loves Me" Lambs - $4.00
Want to bless a little one with a toy they can love? $4.00 will give a small child a stuffed musical lamb that plays "Jesus Loves Me."

Gift #8. Gospel Story Books- $6.00
These are picture books that tell the story of Jesus. For $6.00, you can provide books to 20 children.

All of the above mentioned gifts are available through Samaritan's Purse. Check them out online at www.samaritanspurse.org or call them at 1-800-353-5957.

Gift #9. Rabbits- $10.00
Heifer International will use your $10.00 to buy three rabbits for a village or family in need. Rabbits are raised for food and rabbit manure can be used as fertilizer without composting.Because rabbits have so many offspring, your gift is multiplied quickly and used to help more people.

Gift #10. Sheep- $10.00
Heifer International will combine your $10.00 with gifts from others to buy a sheep for a village or family in need. Wool from sheep is used to make clothing or sold for extra income. Offspring can be used for meat or produce more wool. Sheep manure can be turned to fertilizer for the land and improve the soil.

Gift #11. Pig - $10.00
Pigs are used as source of protein, income from the sale of offspring and manure to nourish crops and soil and increase crop yields.

Gift #12. Tree - $10.00

Sounds odd...here's why Heifer International gives trees:
"We believe development must be sustainable — that projects should be long-term investments in the future of people and the planet....On a steep Tanzanian hillside, Heifer International helped a family learn to plant trees and elephant grass to keep the soil in place. Today, they have flourishing rows of leucaena trees and corn.
Through training, families learn how to keep their small plots of land healthy and renew the soil for future generations by planting trees, using natural fertilizer, and limiting grazing." www.heifer.org
Pretty darn rockin', I'd say.

Gifts #s 9-12 are available through Heifer International. Visit them online at www.heifer.org or call them at 800-422-0474.

If you are wanting and able to give a little more, both of these organizations have many more life-saving gifts to offer. You can provide care for an orphan for A MONTH for $35.00, teach a child to read and write for $15.00 or provide food, medicine and other essentials to an AIDS widow or orphan for a month with only $45.00. Supply clean water for a family for $18.00, share the cost of a fishing boat for $30.00, or buy a flock of geese for a village for $20.00. There's so much you can do to help, and so many people who need it.

Christmas Pictures

2008-12-30T14:06:00.000-08:00

I have no photo to go with this story. I think I mailed it to my mom. I do have the negative somewhere, and when I find it I will post it. But until then, here is the story.

One year, about 4 years ago (seems like 10) I decided to take a Christmas pictures of all (3 at the time)the kids on a bench in the backyard. Wyatt was 5, Lizzie was 3 and Ben was about 6 months old. I knew a photo studio would be a nightmare, so I decided to go with the backyard bench and a few Christmassy props.

What a freak show. I wrote an email to family members immediately following the incident:

They are plotting against me. Even the baby. Oh sure, they act happy and cheerful. They smile beautiful smiles and are very compliant during the "getting ready" process. They clap and jump up and down while I arrange the Poinsettias. They clamber up on to the wooden bench singing "jingle bells". They snuggle up close on the red and black check blanket and are clearly excited about the whole process. I think, "wow this isn't going to be that difficult after all!" And then I say "OK.....Say "Cheese"....and it's a free for all. The baby starts fussing. Wyatt Henry drools and wipes it on his shirt. Elizabeth suddenly can't keep her eyes open. So I say, "whoa..ok..let's try that again. Say..."Merry Christmas!" Wyatt Henry screams it at me like he's the Hulk. Lizzie is now rubbing her eyes. Ben is trying to eat the blanket. I lower the camera and rearrange them and say, "ok you guys. Now, listen...look at Mommy and be still. Just smile when i tell you to smile. OK?" They all smile (big beautiful smiles) and i quickly raise my camera, foolishly thinking they will keep smiling. Just as i press the button, Lizzie climbs off the bench, announcing that she is going to bed because she's tired. (at 10:30 in the morning). I say, " Wait Baby, we're almost done. Just a few more minutes." She gets back up on the bench. I tell them to smile. That must be their code word for "freak out".

Wyatt Henry acts like it hurts him to smile...his eyes are like dime slots, his brow is furrowed. His "smile" is really just a disply of all his teeth. The child clearly thought I instructed him to grimace. Benjamin is now screaming and is as red as his shirt. Elizabeth isn't even pretending to be interested...she's just looking past her brothers, and sighs. Totally frustrated, I say "Wyatt, that is not a smile. What are you doing, son? Elizabeth, can you please at least look at the camera?" She says, "The sun is hurting my eyes." I explain that the sun is behind her, that she is sitting in the shade." She says "oh." and then shrugs and says, "Well, I'm still sick." and closes her eyes and puts her head back. Ben is just freaking out and Wyatt Henry says, "ugh! Ben is heavey!" I consider threatening all of them with spankings if they don't just smile and be still, and then I realize how counter productive that would be, so I just send them all into the house. Lizzie suddenly is awake, Wyatt instantly remembers how to smile. And Ben magically stops screaming and gives me a big drooly smile and giggle. The only one crying is ME!!!!! Ho, Ho Ho!!!!!!! We will regroup and try again later. ;-)

We never regrouped, by the way. Just so you know.

4th Day

2008-12-28T22:07:00.001-08:00

Today is the fourth day of Christmas.

Four calling birds....

Some say the 4 calling birds are symbols of the four gospels writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. I don't know if that is true, but it's a good enough excuse to read them, is it not?

p.s. FYI, I wrote this at 12:10 am MONDAY morning, not Sunday, regardless of what the date stamp reads. I'm just sayin'!

It's not over yet!!!

2008-12-26T07:42:00.000-08:00

If you thought Christmas was over, think again! Today (dec.26) is the first day of Christmas that we sing about in the 12 days of Christmas....we still have 11 more to go!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! This party is just starting, folks!

I'll post more on the meaning of the 12 days later, but if you just can't wait, click here.

12 Mexican Foods Of Christmas

2008-12-17T20:48:00.000-08:00

My very favorite kind of food to eat is Mexican food. I LOOOOOOVVVVEEEE it! I love it so much, that I (with the help of my family) wrote a lovely little song about it, my own happy version of the 12 Days of Christmas. Enjoy!

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:
A bowl of guacamole.

On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:
2 cilantro leaves and
a bowl of guacamole.

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:
3 Nachos
2 cilantro leaves and
a bowl of guacamole.

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:
4 Corona lites
3 Nachos
2 Cilantro leaves and
a bowl of guacamole.

On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:
5 REFRIED BEEEEEEANS!!!!!
4 Corona lites
3 Nachos
2 Cilantro leaves
and a bowl of guacamole

On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:
6 Sopapillas
5 Refried beeeeeans!
4 Corona lites
3 Nachos
2 Cilantro leaves and
a bowl of guacamole.

On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:
7 chips with salsa
6 sopapillas
5 refried beeeeeans!
4 corona lites
3 Nachos
2 cilantro leaves
and a bowl of guacamole.

On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:
8 chicken tacos
7 chips with salsa
6 sopapillas
5 refried beeeeeans!
4 corona lites
3 Nachos
2 cilantro leaves
and a bowl of guacamole.

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:
9 jalapenos
8 chicken tacos
7 chips with salsa
6 sopapillas
5 refried beeeeeans!
4 corona lites
3 Nachos
2 cilantro leaves
and a bowl of guacamole.

On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:
10 beef fajitas
9 jalapenos
8 chicken tacos
7 chips with salsa
6 sopapillas
5 refried beeeeeans!
4 corona lites
3 Nachos
2 cilantro leaves
and a bowl of guacamole.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:
11 enchiladas
10 beef fajitas
9 jalapenos
8 chicken tacos
7 chips with salsa
6 sopapillas
5 refried beeeeeans!
4 corona lites
3 Nachos
2 cilantro leaves
and a bowl of guacamole.

On the twelth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me....

12 Margaritas (hiccup!)
11 enchiladas
10 beef fajitas
9 jalapenos
8 chicken tacos
7 chips with salsa
6 sopapillas
5 refried beeeeeans!
4 corona lites
3 Nachos
2 cilantro leaves
and a bowl of guacamole.

FOUND!!!!

2008-12-14T17:50:00.000-08:00

MIA

2008-12-12T18:50:00.000-08:00

Missing: My list of The 12 Mexican Foods of Christmas.

Last Seen: Around my desk about a week ago

Approx. age: 1 month

Distinguishing features: FIVE refried beans!!!!

When I find my list, you'll be the first to know.

Crafty Carnage

2008-12-04T15:52:00.000-08:00

Today, we got crafty!

Here are the kids' ornaments.

Sammy Claus

2008-12-03T12:50:00.000-08:00

Christmas on Plum Creek

2008-12-03T12:11:00.000-08:00

"There had never been such a Christmas as this. It was such a large, rich Christmas, the whole church full of Christmas. There were so many lamps, so many people, so much noise and laughter, and so many happinesses in it. Laura felt full and bursting, as if the whole big rich Christmas was inside her, and her mittens and her beautiful jewelbox with the wee gold cup-and-saucer and teapot, and her candy and her popcorn ball.
And suddenly someone said, 'These are for you, Laura.'

Mrs. Towers Stood smiling, holding out the little fur cape and muff.

'For me?' Laura said, 'For me?' Then everything else vanished while with both arms she hugged the soft furs to her...

'What do you say, Laura?' Ma asked, but Reverend Alden said, 'There is no need. The way her eyes are shining is enough.' "

~Laura Ingalls Wilder, On The Banks of Plum Creek

Christmas Activities

2008-11-29T18:55:00.000-08:00

Ok, so we've yet to make one star, BUT we did put up several decorations, and today we got some Christmas shopping done. So, tomorrow....stars! And hang the advent calendar, which i was supposed to do today.

Christmas Stars

2008-11-28T10:09:00.000-08:00

My girlfriend Drew Llyn posted a video of how to make this neat origame stars.

Cool, right? Drew Llyn suggested I post the video here at A Merry Little Christmas incase anyone wanted to make some homemade decorations for their tree. So, here's the video. We will be making these later today. With paper cut to the size of a dollar bill, mind you. Decorating the tree with cash seems creepy. And let's be honest, who's got the spare cash anyway?

5 Dollar Origami Star - video powered by Metacafe

Today's activity was...

2008-11-27T20:38:00.000-08:00

Starting a nativity puzzle...

and listening to Christmas music.

Tomorrow, the tree goes up!

Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus

2008-11-25T16:56:00.000-08:00

***from The New York Sun, September 21, 1897***

We take pleasure in answering at once and thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that it's faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

Dear Editor:
I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says "if you see it in The Sun, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?

Virginia O'Hanlon, 115 West 95th Street

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virgina, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist; and you know that they abound and give to your life it's highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus? You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys in Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those things that neither children and men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's not proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders that are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside; but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man nor even the unites strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance can push aside that curtain and view and picture that supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virgina, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus? Thank God he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, nay, ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

~ Francis P. Church

Old-School Christmas Music

2008-11-21T21:11:00.000-08:00

..."with a voice as big as the sea..." I love that part!

Lame video, great song.

ohhhhh!! I love this one.

Gotta love Brenda Lee.

Blue, blue, blue Christmas in black leather. Who else could get away with that?

Yes, that's Jonny Mathis. I love him and I'm dang proud of it.
Here's another.

That was for my roommate Karen Farenheit.

Oh GOSH, I'm soooo LOVING THIS!!!!

Bing.

And let's end this properly, shall we?

Nat King "many-have-tried-but-I-still-own-this-song" Cole.

Christmas Memories

2008-11-20T20:08:00.001-08:00

1.)The talking Christmas Tree at Woolworths.(right, Woolworths?)
2.)Hanging stockings on the cardboard fireplace. ( I LOVED that thing.)
3.)Beach Boys, Dean Martin, The Supremes, Brenda Lee, Andy Williams (i think) Robert Goulet, Elvis...all on black,shiny vinyl...those are still my favs.
4.)Silver and gold garland.
5.)Spray snow on the windows.
6.)Not being able to sleep Christmas Eve and can I just say I'm still the same way!!!
7.) Sears' Wishbook...I still have the teddy bear I picked out one year. His yellow ribbon has been replaced with a red bandana and is named Bruce.
8.)Opening a Disney Fairy Tales book. My sister claims this is a false memory because the book is and has always been hers. Mom backs her up. I know they're sooo tricking me.
9.)Welfare sending Santa to our house. He was black, we are not. I was the only child who sat on his lap, thank you very much. I believe we got Toss Across that year. I loved that game.
10.)Listening to "Do you Hear what I Hear" and wondering why they brought silver and gold to and "a child, a child, shivers in the cold"...why not a blanket?
11.) Christmas Night at my grandmother's. Big plastic candles (with "Noel" written on them) that stood on either side of the front door. Lots of cousins, my grandfather's LOUD laugh, french meat pie, a big wooden bowl of mixed nuts still in their shells. My grandmother always spent the entire night in the kitchen.
12.) Mincemeat pie...yum.
13.) Seeing those cookie crumbs on the plate on Christmas morning...oh yes! Santa had been here!
14.)The funky white chain garland with little red velvet sleighs and reindeer and sprigs of plastic mistletoe.
15.)Driving around town looking at Christmas lights.
16.) Christmas caroling. Yes, we really went once or twice. I remember the little book.
17.)Silver Christmas trees...No, we never had one and can you believe these things are back????
18.) Cardboard advent calendars with little Santas Clause shaped chocolates in them.
19.) Frosty, Rudoplh, the Grinch, and of course, Charlie Brown Christmas specials. The thrill I felt if I stumbled across one while changing the channels, and the sinking feeling I had when I went to school and found out I had missed one!
20.) Christmas at grade school...making paper chains and decorating the classroom. Christmas plays. Christmas Choruses where we sang Silent Night and nobody sued the school. Walking down the halls and seeing the words "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Channakuh" on the wall in construction paper letters. Playing dreidel and singing, "Dreidel, dreidel dreidel...I made it out of clay. And when it's dry and ready, than dreidel I shall play."...even though I'm not jewish.
21.) Painting ceramic Christmas ornaments. Mom's ceramic Christmas tree. Mom's ceramic nativity with only 2 wise men. I guess the 3rd went back to get a blanket.
22.) Little Christmas...which I believe is traditionally called Epiphany. But in New England in the 70s and 80s, it was called Little Christmas.

Christmas with the Kranks

2008-11-16T18:35:00.000-08:00

Ok, y'all, if you haven't seen this movie, you need to check it out! We watched it last night and it was FUN-NY! Laugh out loud funny in a few places. First off, you just gotta love Jamie Lee Curtis. Any woman in Hollywood with a real body and isn't anorexic gets my vote. Plus she's really funny and has that GREAT horror movie scream. Tim Allen...botox scene. 'Nuff said. If you don't know what I'm talking about, watch the movie! Enjoy!

Christmas with a capital "C"

2008-11-14T18:57:00.000-08:00

If you tell my husband, "Happy Holidays!" you're likely to hear him say, "What holiday? 4th of July? Labor Day?"

It's Christmas! Say it! You know you want to!

Anyway, my girlfriend Shannon sent to this to me so I could share it here on my CHRISTMAS blog. It get's the point across, and I think the comedian is pretty funny!

.

Dreaming of Groovy Christmas

2008-11-11T19:20:00.000-08:00

Baby Clothes

2008-11-10T18:35:00.000-08:00

Today's christmas activity was shopping online for Baby Alive clothes and accessories. I received a Baby Alive doll in a big bag of hand-me-downs for Lizzie. I was pretty pumped because Baby Alive cost about $30.OO and this one was big fat FREE! And in Like New condition. And naked. So, today we purchased some must haves for dear little BA, and Abby's Christmas shopping is done! NEXT!

All I Really Want for Christmas...

2008-11-07T19:06:00.000-08:00

"In the U.S. alone, 127,000 kids go to sleep at night dreaming of the day when they might be adopted....although that is a big number, it's important to note that more than 300,000 churches grace this country. Think about it---that's less than one child for every two churches."

From, Why I'm For Orphans By Jim Daly, President, Focus on The Family.
For more info., check out www.icareaboutorphans.org

And....

2008-11-07T06:16:00.000-08:00

Friday's Christmassy activity is serving my kids hot apple cider in Christmas tea cups. Kids who don't want hot apple cider, so I will just have to drink it myself!

Today's Christmassy activity was...

2008-11-06T16:47:00.001-08:00

...buying a little baby christmas pj set!

O Holy Night

2008-11-05T14:37:00.000-08:00

"O Holy Night" is by far my very most favorite Christmas song ever. I grew up hearing it by Johnny Mathis and I loved it. There are new versions of it every year, and I like to listen to them all and critique them, as if I could do any better. Today, I listened to a variety of O Holy Night performances and came up with my newest favorite. But before I share it, let me list a few of the artists I listened to.

John Berry....Celine Dion....Avril Lavigne...Aretha Franklin and Billy Preston...Carrie Underwood....Pavarotti....Aled Jones....CiCi Wynans...Mariah Carey...Kelly Clarkson....Whitney Houston....Josh Groban....Nsync...Sarah Brightman...The Corrs...Martin McBride...and(God forgive me)Jessica Simpson.

I liked the Corrs, but felt like the lead singer was trying to be sexy. Yes, while singing O Holy Night. I liked John Berry and Johs Groban because they sang more than the first verse. I liked and Nsync. As for Jessica Simpson, I just need to ask: "Really? Really Jessica? Cleavage and seduction while singing about 'Our dear Saviour's birth' ?" uh-uh uh.

Anyway, my favs were Martina McBride and Kelly Clarkson. I couldn't embed Martina's performance, however. You'll need to check it out on You Tube. But here is Kelly Clarkson...Enjoy!

P.S. Ok I just heard the live Kelly Clarkson version and Martina wins hands down.

The Big 50!!!

2008-11-04T06:56:00.001-08:00

Only FIFTY days until Christmas. Today, I will begin my quest to do something Christmassy every day until THE DAY! Today's Christmas activity was having peppermint mocha creamer in my coffee. And to listen to "Let it Snow."

Christmas Lists

2008-11-03T19:19:00.000-08:00

Everyday I am overwhelmed with lists of "I want..." and "Oh, Mommy, could I have..." or "I wish I had...". It doesn't stop. Until someone asks "What would you like for Christmas?" Or better yet, they ask me, "What should I get the kids for Christmas?" My mind, of course, goes blank. For this reason, I have posted Christmas lists for each of the kids in my sidebar. I will also be posting a "Please DO NOT buy" list for things to which we are opposed. Stuff like, "Million Marble Playset", anything related to bathroom humor, books on how to cast spells, and stuff like that. (No, we have never received anything like that in the past. I'm exaggerating.)
Anyway, I hope this helps.

Baby Steps

2008-11-03T13:35:00.000-08:00

Today was my first small step towards Christmas shopping! Well, technically I took my first steps about a week and a half ago. I ordered some stuff from Vision Forum's Clearance catalog. Today, the stuff arrived! Heeheehee!!!! Now all I have to do is NOT give the stuf to my children early. Sounds much easier than it is. 51 DAYS TO GO!!!!

The Gift of the Magi by O.Henry

2008-10-29T19:57:00.000-07:00

Here is my favorite Christmas Story....Enjoy!

One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one's cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty- seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas.

There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl. So Della did it. Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.

While the mistress of the home is gradually subsiding from the first stage to the second, take a look at the home. A furnished flat at $8 per week. It did not exactly beggar description, but it certainly had that word on the lookout for the mendicancy squad.

In the vestibule below was a letter-box into which no letter would go, and an electric button from which no mortal finger could coax a ring. Also appertaining thereunto was a card bearing the name "Mr. James Dillingham Young."

The "Dillingham" had been flung to the breeze during a former period of prosperity when its possessor was being paid $30 per week. Now, when the income was shrunk to $20, though, they were thinking seriously of contracting to a modest and unassuming D. But whenever Mr. James Dillingham Young came home and reached his flat above he was called "Jim" and greatly hugged by Mrs. James Dillingham Young, already introduced to you as Della. Which is all very good.

Della finished her cry and attended to her cheeks with the powder rag. She stood by the window and looked out dully at a gray cat walking a gray fence in a gray backyard. Tomorrow would be Christmas Day, and she had only $1.87 with which to buy Jim a present. She had been saving every penny she could for months, with this result. Twenty dollars a week doesn't go far. Expenses had been greater than she had calculated. They always are. Only $1.87 to buy a present for Jim. Her Jim. Many a happy hour she had spent planning for something nice for him. Something fine and rare and sterling--something just a little bit near to being worthy of the honor of being owned by Jim.

There was a pier-glass between the windows of the room. Perhaps you have seen a pierglass in an $8 flat. A very thin and very agile person may, by observing his reflection in a rapid sequence of longitudinal strips, obtain a fairly accurate conception of his looks. Della, being slender, had mastered the art.

Suddenly she whirled from the window and stood before the glass. her eyes were shining brilliantly, but her face had lost its color within twenty seconds. Rapidly she pulled down her hair and let it fall to its full length.

Now, there were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs in which they both took a mighty pride. One was Jim's gold watch that had been his father's and his grandfather's. The other was Della's hair. Had the queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty's jewels and gifts. Had King Solomon been the janitor, with all his treasures piled up in the basement, Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he passed, just to see him pluck at his beard from envy.

So now Della's beautiful hair fell about her rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters. It reached below her knee and made itself almost a garment for her. And then she did it up again nervously and quickly. Once she faltered for a minute and stood still while a tear or two splashed on the worn red carpet.

On went her old brown jacket; on went her old brown hat. With a whirl of skirts and with the brilliant sparkle still in her eyes, she fluttered out the door and down the stairs to the street.

Where she stopped the sign read: "Mne. Sofronie. Hair Goods of All Kinds." One flight up Della ran, and collected herself, panting. Madame, large, too white, chilly, hardly looked the "Sofronie."

"Will you buy my hair?" asked Della.

"I buy hair," said Madame. "Take yer hat off and let's have a sight at the looks of it."

Down rippled the brown cascade.

"Twenty dollars," said Madame, lifting the mass with a practised hand.

"Give it to me quick," said Della.

Oh, and the next two hours tripped by on rosy wings. Forget the hashed metaphor. She was ransacking the stores for Jim's present.

She found it at last. It surely had been made for Jim and no one else. There was no other like it in any of the stores, and she had turned all of them inside out. It was a platinum fob chain simple and chaste in design, properly proclaiming its value by substance alone and not by meretricious ornamentation--as all good things should do. It was even worthy of The Watch. As soon as she saw it she knew that it must be Jim's. It was like him. Quietness and value--the description applied to both. Twenty-one dollars they took from her for it, and she hurried home with the 87 cents. With that chain on his watch Jim might be properly anxious about the time in any company. Grand as the watch was, he sometimes looked at it on the sly on account of the old leather strap that he used in place of a chain.

When Della reached home her intoxication gave way a little to prudence and reason. She got out her curling irons and lighted the gas and went to work repairing the ravages made by generosity added to love. Which is always a tremendous task, dear friends--a mammoth task.

Within forty minutes her head was covered with tiny, close-lying curls that made her look wonderfully like a truant schoolboy. She looked at her reflection in the mirror long, carefully, and critically.

"If Jim doesn't kill me," she said to herself, "before he takes a second look at me, he'll say I look like a Coney Island chorus girl. But what could I do--oh! what could I do with a dollar and eighty- seven cents?"

At 7 o'clock the coffee was made and the frying-pan was on the back of the stove hot and ready to cook the chops.

Jim was never late. Della doubled the fob chain in her hand and sat on the corner of the table near the door that he always entered. Then she heard his step on the stair away down on the first flight, and she turned white for just a moment. She had a habit for saying little silent prayer about the simplest everyday things, and now she whispered: "Please God, make him think I am still pretty."

The door opened and Jim stepped in and closed it. He looked thin and very serious. Poor fellow, he was only twenty-two--and to be burdened with a family! He needed a new overcoat and he was without gloves.

Jim stopped inside the door, as immovable as a setter at the scent of quail. His eyes were fixed upon Della, and there was an expression in them that she could not read, and it terrified her. It was not anger, nor surprise, nor disapproval, nor horror, nor any of the sentiments that she had been prepared for. He simply stared at her fixedly with that peculiar expression on his face.

Della wriggled off the table and went for him.

"Jim, darling," she cried, "don't look at me that way. I had my hair cut off and sold because I couldn't have lived through Christmas without giving you a present. It'll grow out again--you won't mind, will you? I just had to do it. My hair grows awfully fast. Say `Merry Christmas!' Jim, and let's be happy. You don't know what a nice-- what a beautiful, nice gift I've got for you."

"You've cut off your hair?" asked Jim, laboriously, as if he had not arrived at that patent fact yet even after the hardest mental labor.

"Cut it off and sold it," said Della. "Don't you like me just as well, anyhow? I'm me without my hair, ain't I?"

Jim looked about the room curiously.

"You say your hair is gone?" he said, with an air almost of idiocy.

"You needn't look for it," said Della. "It's sold, I tell you--sold and gone, too. It's Christmas Eve, boy. Be good to me, for it went for you. Maybe the hairs of my head were numbered," she went on with sudden serious sweetness, "but nobody could ever count my love for you. Shall I put the chops on, Jim?"

Out of his trance Jim seemed quickly to wake. He enfolded his Della. For ten seconds let us regard with discreet scrutiny some inconsequential object in the other direction. Eight dollars a week or a million a year--what is the difference? A mathematician or a wit would give you the wrong answer. The magi brought valuable gifts, but that was not among them. This dark assertion will be illuminated later on.

Jim drew a package from his overcoat pocket and threw it upon the table.

"Don't make any mistake, Dell," he said, "about me. I don't think there's anything in the way of a haircut or a shave or a shampoo that could make me like my girl any less. But if you'll unwrap that package you may see why you had me going a while at first."

White fingers and nimble tore at the string and paper. And then an ecstatic scream of joy; and then, alas! a quick feminine change to hysterical tears and wails, necessitating the immediate employment of all the comforting powers of the lord of the flat.

For there lay The Combs--the set of combs, side and back, that Della had worshipped long in a Broadway window. Beautiful combs, pure tortoise shell, with jewelled rims--just the shade to wear in the beautiful vanished hair. They were expensive combs, she knew, and her heart had simply craved and yearned over them without the least hope of possession. And now, they were hers, but the tresses that should have adorned the coveted adornments were gone.

But she hugged them to her bosom, and at length she was able to look up with dim eyes and a smile and say: "My hair grows so fast, Jim!"

And them Della leaped up like a little singed cat and cried, "Oh, oh!"

Jim had not yet seen his beautiful present. She held it out to him eagerly upon her open palm. The dull precious metal seemed to flash with a reflection of her bright and ardent spirit.

"Isn't it a dandy, Jim? I hunted all over town to find it. You'll have to look at the time a hundred times a day now. Give me your watch. I want to see how it looks on it."

Instead of obeying, Jim tumbled down on the couch and put his hands under the back of his head and smiled.

"Dell," said he, "let's put our Christmas presents away and keep 'em a while. They're too nice to use just at present. I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs. And now suppose you put the chops on."

The magi, as you know, were wise men--wonderfully wise men--who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.

Literature Network » O Henry » The Gift Of The Magi

Welcome!

2008-10-29T08:21:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my Christmas blog! I hope you like it here~I love it and I just got here. This is a place for me to go on and on and ON about Christmas, my very favorite time of the year. If you're not a Christmas fan, you won't like it here. Sorry...move on. If you think it's too early for Christmas talk, we'll just agree to disagree and you can come back when you're ready. We'll be here, getting Christmasy.