"Several years ago, my husband Phil, gave me five reels of microfilm containing the 37 dime novels by women that I wanted to read for my doctoral dissertation. It wasn't the easiest gift to find and it was expensive! The reels were all packed in a slim cardboard box. It was my favorite gift ever; it led to the successful completion of my dissertation and is a gift I'm still using! Not your run-of-the-mill gift, but the most thoughtful and most useful ever!" - Carol Carney

"My favorite gift was when my husband surprised me on Christmas Eve with a St. Bernard puppy. She was sitting in a huge box at the front door, bathed and wearing a big red ribbon with a bell." - Susan Brinkama

"The best Christmas gift I can recall was just after finding that my son Christopher, then 8 years old and sick with swollen lymph glands, had Cat Scratch Fever, not lymphogranuloma, Hodgkins' Disease, or any of the other life-threatening diseases associated with swollen lymph glands. As if by magic, a group of CMC carolers led by Jo Ann Larsen '85, now Jo Ann Groh, came by just in time to celebrate the occasion. Was Bill McGrath in that group? Paulette Kassabian? It was a mellow occasion, exactly what we needed most. Christopher is now an intern in a busy emergency room in Jacksonville, Florida." - Ward Elliott

"Well, both my sons were born in December!" - Nancy Gamer

"It was a Museum of Modern Art reproduction, framed, of Pablo Picasso's The Three Musicians, given to me by my parents—at a time (about 1950) when good art reproductions were very difficult to come by. I treasured it (and still do) especially because it showed me that my nonacademic parents understood and appreciated my then-developing choice of an academic career. Even now (2001) it hangs on the wall just behind my computer in my room at home so that I see it as I struggle with obscure (German Idealist) thought." - Clark Kucheman

"A handcrafted, stained glass Christmas star from my 8-year-old daughter, Brianna. When I unwrapped it I realized why she had wanted $20 'for food' at the Christmas craft fair." - Ron Riggio

"At the time, a metallic red Schwinn bicycle with banana seat. I put more miles on that bike than I put on some cars I've had!" - James R. Edwards Jr.

"My favorite holiday gift ever was a ticket to Romania so I could go visit my old CMC roommate, Michelle Caldera, who was then in the Peace Corps." - Holly McCord

"My favorite gift during the holidays is being able to spend time with my family. The majority of my family lives in Colorado, and being able to spend time with them is what I cherish most. With the birth of my daughter two years ago, this has taken on an even greater significance." - Julia McCallin

"When I was 8, my uncle gave me and my two brothers a dog named Skipper for Christmas. We had recently lost another family dog, and my mom had said we couldn't get another one for a while. My uncle felt badly for us, so he disobeyed my mom and got us Skipper, who we all agree was the best dog in the world." - Jennifer L. Wong '90

"My first bicycle—Christmas, age 6. Yellow paint job, banana seat, chopper handlebars, training wheels. *Very* manly." - Jason Stiffler

"This one is easy. When I was 10, and my brother was 11, we both were thrilled to find a hugely wrapped present under the tree. We figured we'd wait patiently to open it. But upon picking it up, we found that Santa had forgotten to wrap the back! And to our surprise we had been blessed with Castle Greyskull from the epic cartoon series, He-Man: Masters of the Universe." - Matt Callan

"A gift certificate for a one-hour massage! (aaaahhh!)" - Sandra Aguirre

"Having carpeting installed on December 24! Taking down the Christmas tree was not fun, but all of us enjoyed opening our presents on clean, plush carpet!" - Susan Cozzitarto

"My favorite gift was a hot meal and a dry pair of socks! I had only been assigned to my new unit in Germany for about two weeks, when the hostages were taken in 1979. The entire forces in Europe went on alert and we went to our designated emergency site. Our site was on a hilltop overlooking East Germany. We spent four weeks on that mountaintop and only received a hot meal about every other day. On Christmas Eve, the farmer and his wife, whose land we were camped on, brought my unit (all 10 of us) a small tree with candles, hot food and a present. The present was a pair of socks for each of us. (Great thick wool ones and I still have mine!) Celebrating the holiday with someone who cared about us was great, especially since it was my first Christmas away from home. It is the little things in life that matter most." -Cindi Guimond

"Hmmmm, my favorite gift wasn't anything material (the best ones usually aren't.) I had been working out of state, and was facing the possibility of not being able to get back to California to be with my family for the holidays. Something came up, and I was able to be here. That was my best gift ever—so far!" -Michael Urquidez

"My favorite holiday gift, although I'm somewhat fuzzy on the details, was when I was about 6 years old. My dad had built the most spectacular doll house and, on Christmas Day, it had a big red bow on it! I enjoy using the doll house, even today, as it's decorated with Christmas lights." -Sara Ely-Garske

"One Christmas my husband bought me a star. Yes, a real live star!! You receive a certificate (which you can frame) and a map with the exact location of your star in the galaxy. The star is entered in a Star Registry. My star, naturally, is called "Caith's Star". Some might think this is goofy and possibly a con, but it touched my heart to think that out in the heavens is possibly a star with my name on it. It's the thought that counts!" -Kate Fairley

"My favorite holiday gift ever was the birth of my son, Richie, who I brought home on Christmas Eve 1993." -Karen Angemi

"I couldn't wait to open my special gift from Santa ... I wanted a pair of ice skates with smooth white leather boots and shiny silver blades ... Delivery was a little delayed, but when they came I was thrilled. Even found out how to skate backwards on the frozen pond in Crandall Park (Ohio)." - Maggie Plunkett

"My favorite holiday gift is time with family: watching the fire in our fireplace, or taking in a favorite movie on TV or in the theater; seeing my daughter dance in The Nutcracker; hearing my son play viola at a recital for the Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestra concert; or attending the family Christmas Eve service at All Saints Pasadena." -Stephen Cheney-Rice

"....the usual joy of being together with family. It is sincere, but I am sure I am not the only one who may have said that!" -Diane Halpern

"Thirteen years ago, we admitted our 5-month-old daughter into the hospital for double pneumonia. She was very ill & almost didn't survive. She was there for 10 days. It was such a relief when the doctor released her the day before Christmas Eve. The best present was having her at home to enjoy the holidays in the arms of her family—and of course seeing her now, as a normal, healthy teenager! The material gifts are wonderful, but family is the best present!" -Barbara Nanning

"My favorite Christmas gift when I was a little boy was a bicycle. It was my first new bike, and it had big tires (white walls) and was painted red and white. It didn't have any gears (this was long before road bikes had left France; mountain bikes hadn't even been thought of!). There was chrome everywhere, and it was a total surprise!"-Ed Haley

"My favorite Christmas gift was actually one my brother received! I can't remember how old I was, but my brother got a record player and a 45 record of Elvis Presley singing Suspicious Minds. Somehow his 45 mysteriously vanished and I ended up with it and would only play it in my room when no one else was around! He was never the wiser, and I still haven't told him about it!" - Becky Harrison

"Our son Glenn, born December 29,1968." - Mike McCormack

"My favorite holiday gift ever, was when my family moved into our first home on December 17. How many people can say that they put their Christmas tree INSIDE their Christmas gift? It was a busy year, but it truly was a memorable one!" - Vicki Bevard

"On December 14th, 1998, Santa dropped off my first-born: Santiago Lane David. To celebrate, both sides of the family came to the cabin in Colorado, where we were living, for Christmas. It may be the only time ever that we got them all together for the holidays, as my family lives all over the western U.S., and my wife's family is from Mexico. Happy Holidays!" - Lane David

"My favorite Christmas gift was an Anne of Green Gables journal that my mother gave me to use on my semester abroad, because it meant that I was going to England!" - Melissa Crowley '02

"'Rosemary,' absolutely the best Jack Russell Terrier to have ever 'gone to ground.'"- Bradley Bodager

"My favorite Christmas gift of all time was my Swiftwind, She-ra's trustworthy steed, toy." -TeChieh Chen '03

"My favorite holiday gift ever was… One Christmas, at our huge, extended-family gathering, I was the one that had the biggest present under the tree. It doesn't even matter what was in it. As a kid, that is the kind of thing that you will remember for years." -Eva Hurtado

"Last Christmas, my mom woke me up and instead of diving straight into the presents we went on a long trail run together. It was so nice to be able to spend some time with her away from all of the holiday chaos! I enjoyed that run more than anything I unwrapped from under the tree." -Shelby Johnson '02

"I got my favorite-ever Christmas gift when we first moved when I was little. My brother and I didn't know anyone in the neighborhood and we were lonely. My parents gave us (and said it was from Santa) a ping-pong table to play on, and invite other kids over. I think that table is where I spent the most time with my brother, so it was a pretty cool gift." -Owen Berger '03

"My favorite Christmas gift ever was given to me last year by my boyfriend, it was a hope chest. He told me that this was a traditional gift to give in his family (kind of like a promise ring), and that I could fill it up with memories of our relationship. We got engaged just a few weeks ago, and plan to get married this next July."-Julie Poremba