All I want for Christmas is for my family to be healthy and happy - That's the best gift I can ask for. Material things come and go.

When i was a kid, getting an Atari for christmas would of been pretty cool. I never got or had an Atari. My mother was a working single parent of 5 other kids after my father died in 1976, so i did not get any expensive gifts. I had to buy all those expensive things myself with my own money. Looking back, i was glad i was raised that way. It makes me appreciate things more. For Example: My first car i bought for $1,100 dollars. I treated it like a brand new car.

There are people out there with no roof over their heads, no heating, no Christmas tree, nobody to share Christmas with and will most probably spend their Christmas in a shelter or even worse a home. I think that not getting the toy or present you were hoping for, but being in a warm secure home with people who love and care for you and sharing that special time with them is more than getting what you want for Christmas.

When I was about 7 or 8, I wanted what was called "Flower Makin' Basket," a toy where you made a bouquet of flowers with playdoh stuff. It was something I always wanted but my parents never got it for me because it was too expensive. I also wanted a Teddy Ruxpin, too but got a talking Mickey Mouse instead (I didn't really care, as long as the darn thing talked). I also wanted one of those power wheels cars, too. My cousin (who had a history of breaking every toy he got) got a power wheels pick up truck and I was just freakin' jealous. My parents never got me any of those toys because, again, they were too expensive. I also wanted those Fisher-Price "life size" kitchen appliances but those were too pricey as well (my dad being a roofer who's good with his hands, built me a toy oven/stove and sink out of wood...fortunately for him, I was satisfied). However, I got three bikes over the course of my childhood; the latest one is taking up space in our storage closet. I now use the stationary bike at the gym ;) My parents felt freakin' bad that they couldn't get what I really wanted and I assume that goes for any parent who wants to get their kid the most expensive toy ever and can't afford it.