How Christmas Memories Are Made

We love a great Christmas surprise. But no surprise here: INSP viewers have a lot of heart! From joyful memories to Christmas miracles, thanks for sharing a part of your lives.

Your Christmas Stories…

Thanks for the…Dog Food?

One Christmas Eve…they handed me a gift and I started to unwrap it and everyone was watching me. OK. I unwrapped the gift, and it was a bag of dog food. I wanted to go home right then, and see my puppy. I think that was one of my favorite Christmases ever! – Krista, NC

Where the Heart is…

My best Christmas surprise would be getting into an apartment, after being homeless for 4 months! We got to move in 20 days before Christmas! No tree, no Christmas music, but Joy peace and a place to call HOME! Home, sweet home! – Ramona, KY

Drumroll, Please!

My husband and I love big band music. We also have an in-house speaker system hooked up to our stereo. One December he kept putting on this one particular song but only playing a little bit of it! He would do this over and over all month long. Just play a little snippet of the same song! I just figured he was messing around, and didn’t think anything of it, except it was starting to annoy me just a little. On Christmas Eve he started playing the song again and then handed me my gift. The song was “A String of Pearls,” and guess what my gift was? A beautiful string of pearls!!!! My best gift ever! – Joyce, NE

Finding Jesus…

One Christmas, while putting away our crèche, after opening piles of presents for each other, we could not find the baby Jesus figurine. After a big search we found we had “trashed” him with the wrappings! This was a wakeup call for what Christmas should be about – Him, not us. Since then we have sought to make Jesus the center of His birthday. – Sandra, SC

Cool Set of Wheels!

I was 10 years old and Santa brought me a shiny new bike, with a banana seat, and tassels hanging down from the handle bars. – Terry, MA

Twice the Surprise!

I was 38 years old, newly pregnant for the first time after a long struggle with infertility, and instructed to be very careful, and not do anything chancy. I am from the Midwest, and my California-born husband had, thoughtfully, generously, gifted me with glistening white figure ice skates! He had ordered them before we knew I was finally going to have a baby. We laughed and laughed, and I remember that great, loving surprise every Christmas! – Kristin, CA

Something Did Not Compute, Until…

For quite a while I had wanted my own computer but with fixed incomes, my husband and I couldn’t really afford one. One Christmas we had gathered with our son’s and their families, and I thought we were done with all the presents, but there was this big box sitting there with no one’s name on it. Then my youngest son presented it to his brother as a gift for him. When he opened the box he shook his head, and said, I think this is for you mom.” He slid the box over, and there was a computer and everything needed to hook it up. I was so surprised and happy I cried. Best surprise ever. – Karen, MI

Starting Christmas on a High Note

I was in middle school. Christmas Day I was at church. My aunt came and got me before church was over. I didn’t know why my parents weren’t in church. When I got home I opened the door, and there was a piano! That is what I asked for. It was all wrapped with a great big red bow on it. I still don’t know where they hid it or how it got to the house. My mom told me they couldn’t give away Santa’s secrets. I was too old to believe in Santa. – Frances, AZ

A Daughter’s Beautiful Gift

The Christmas of 1988, I went to my mom and dad’s house, and decorated their tree for them while my mother brought my dad home from the hospital for Christmas. It was his last Christmas. He died the following March 1989 from cancer. My dad loved Christmas and it felt good to do that for him. – Connie, MA

Dinner is Served

My best Christmas surprise was being able to invite 30 workers from my fiancé’s job in my home for Christmas. I loved every minute of them calling their wives “Honey, you should see the spreeeeead.” I loved sponsoring the dinner. – Chefellen, NC