What's the nicest Christmas thing someone has done?

[JustLyra]

This time of year is always tough for me because of bad memories of abusive parents.

So, to contrast the miseries of memories and the threads about bad things what's the nicest Christmas thing someone has ever done? Either for you or that you've seen done for someone else.

I have two. When I was 6 my teacher knew that school holidays were a nightmare because of my parents. My siblings regularly used to steal food. We had a school fayre, but I didn't have any money for a raffle ticket. She decided to a have a prize for something in our class. I can't remember what it was and I won a raffle ticket for the stall she was doing.
My raffle ticket won a hamper - it had those little boxes of cereal, some of the little pots of milk from the dinner hall, some of the little cartons of juice and little mini sweet bars. It was the best Christmas present ever. I kept it in my schoolbag and my brother made sure I got to sneak have them every day. I hadn't thought about it for many years, but it came up when I was an adult and I suddenly realised what she'd done.

The other nicest is tied to my childhood. The Christmas after I married my DH my wonderful MIL bought me both a Mr Frosty and the little tiny dairy milk machine that takes 2ps. I had wanted both of them as a kid, but never got them.

Just giving this a bump as it's a lovely idea for a thread!

Oh OP that’s made me cry. Sending hugs to you.

Honestly, one of the nicest was MN secret santa the year I left my ex-husband. It was a rotten Christmas (my family were particularly unsupportive as my parents didn't approve of me leaving him at all, and both of my siblings were frankly rubbish). Whoever sent it had been really thoughtful and it still makes me feel all warm and teary.

What a wonderful teacher.

Op what a lovely idea for a thread. I hope all your Christmas memories going forward are happy.

I think in terms of nicest things people have done, it's just for me the spirit of Christmas in a rural community.

Nobody should or will ever be alone, unless that's what they wish. Both my parents and Dh parents and everyone I know has anyone alone round for dinner.

We had a lovely elderly lady next door growing up and she came every year without fail. When she could no longer manage we all went in and took dinner to her, taking the mess away again after, like a Christmas storm.

What a lovely teacher and what an inspired idea that was to help you!
My best Xmas was when I met OH. He invited me to spend Xmas with his family. My family doesn’t celebrate Xmas so it was absolutely magical for me! I spent every Xmas with them until we got married.

NC for this. When I was 15 I had made a pretty serious suicide attempt - 30+ pills - in the Christmas holidays. My mother wouldn’t speak to me after that and things were pretty horrendous awful with my siblings. I was not anticipating any Christmas gifts etc. My mother’s fiancé at the time, who I adored, went to benefit (the make up place) and bought just about the whole bloody counter for me. It was the way he gave it all to me, I think he gave me a hug and made me feel like I was a good person, and I deserved something nice. It was just so, so kind. They didn’t stay together and I miss him!

OP, I’m so to hear how tough things were for you as a child. Really lovely to hear about your teacher and MIL.

When I was a student one of my closest uni friends was in a big sports shop to buy new trainers. When she tried them on she briefly chatted to a friendly man who was also trying on shoes. The person working in the shop took my friend’s trainers to the till and my friend looked around the shop for some other stuff. When she got to the till to pay, the trainers had been paid for and it said ‘merry Christmas’ on the box. I LOVE this story; 20 years on we still talk about how she met Santa in the shops.

Wow, not to be a Debbie downer on this uplifting thread but I just looked up my old stepfather on fAcebook (we message from time to time) and have seen he recently died. How strange that I would just have been remembering him for his kindness.

Such heart warming, sad yet positive stories! A few years ago I was in a queue at supermarket checkout one Christmas Eve, when the persons card was declined… they started putting things aside and counting out pennies. The woman immediately behind him said ‘I’d like to pay please’ and did. Made me so happy to see such genuine kindness x

Oh many things.

My DH's grandma bought an etch a sketch for me as I wanted one as a child and never had one and last year, DS bought a Care Bear for me for the same reason.

DD (14) always spends her pocket money in December on me, her Dad and her brother and she puts a lot of time, effort and thought into it. She gets £5 a week to spend on her art supplies mostly and shops very creatively, wraps them brilliantly and seems to genuinely enjoy giving them to us.

My brother heard me lamenting the fact that I couldn't get a scarf in a specific shade of green (to match some gloves I'd inherited from my Grandma who died in the November) and he knitted one for me for Christmas. He'd colour matched it to the gloves without me knowing. He's also bought a box of toffifee for me the last couple of years because my Grandma used to buy them for us. Funnily enough, I buy a box for him too!

@ Yesiknowhowpettythisis what a lovely memory, sorry it is bittersweet now.

for everyone who needs them

My friend on learning that I’d never had an advent calendar as a kid, made me a homemade one - filled a box with 25 little numbered presents.

I’ve never forgotten the MNer whose single mum lost everything in a fire - they moved in somewhere new on Christmas Eve with nothing, and the neighbours left them a load of amazing presents. I don’t know if the thread still exists anywhere but I remember them saying ‘things like that don’t happen to millionaires’

My grandma always bought me a calendar for Xmas as I was the only grandchild who moved away from our country. The calendar was always of something from our country (flora/fauna/architecture/churches🤦🏻‍♀️).

Once another cousin moved away from our country and she also received a calendar (until she moved back home). Grandma always said she wanted to make sure we didn't forget our home. 🥰

Grandma died last year so I told my mum she was in charge of calendar buying. Let's hope she's remembered this year! 🤞🏻 (especially as I've got a "calendar spot" on the wall in the kitchen.)

Friend who looked after me first Christmas after my husband died. Although it was 3 months after his death ( car crash so totally unexpected) I was still in shock and could barely function.

The local pub to wear I worked (a church) cooked and delivered Christmas lunches a pints of beer to several of our elderly for no cost - they weren't actually open, she just cooked extra, kept her own food warm whilst she and her family took a couple of houses each to deliver to, started with one person and in 2019 it was about 16, then last year (covid) with her family not coming she and her daughter (who lived with her) cooked dinner for 300!

A very nice thing - an anonymous couple at the church we attended at the time made up a food hamper and asked the pastor to give it to us because "she has a tough time but doesnt let it get her down"
We didnt really need it but I appreciated the thought and it was a marvellous surprise the week before Christmas.

I have two, both from the same Christmas, I think!

I was flying to the States with my two kids who were about 8 and 6 I think, when there was a horrendous (for the Southeast) snowstorm. The kids and I sat on the plane for ages whilst Heathrow waited for a window to fly out. By the time they cancelled the flight and let us off (we're talking like five hours), the airport was full of people trying to get home, and they'd just stopped the Heathrow express.

I saw a million people at the taxi rank and despaired. In a stroke of genius, I dragged the kids to arrivals, thinking there might be a taxi dropping off who would be willing to take us. There wasn't. But there was a giant coach that had just disgorged a group of Japanese tourists (people were still arriving at the airport at that point). I waved the driver down and that wonderful man took the three of us in his empty (enormous!) coach to a Tube station in central London where we could easily get home. We went through Kensington, I think, and saw the Natural History Museum and all the shops lit upit was magical! I didn't even have any cash to give him. I didn't have the presence of mind to get his name, but he did us such a good turnthere were people stranded at Heathrow for days!
The second half is that we'd offered our house to another family to stay in over the holidays, and because we couldn't get another flight until after Christmas we then had nowhere to go. My very dear friend housed all of us for Christmas with hardly any notice and it was so, so kind. We had a great time, I hope her family did, too!

When I was about 9 or 10 I really wanted a wooden horse box that a toy pony brand made. My parents didn't have much money and I knew they couldn't afford it. Seem to recall it was about £100, nearly 30 years ago that was a fair bit of money on a toy.
Anyway my dad spent weeks in the freezing cold workshop making it for me. It was so wonderful waking up to it on Christmas morning. My DS had it now and it will always be fondly treasured.

What an uplifting thread.
I'm glad a lovely teacher brought joy.
I can't think of one right now, however there are so many people out there doing good deeds helping those in need.
I don't have a lot of money but always donate nice presents to the SVP at Christmas hoping it'll make a child’s day better.
I'm sorry your parents were bad.

I've spent many Christmases working in shelters and it's all about making the residents happy.

One year though one of the residents (a teenage girl) bought me a small gift, a lighter. It wasn't expensive or anything and of course I had to declare it. But it was so lovely. I often wonder what happened to her. She was such a nice kid.

When someone is struggling themselves and makes an effort to think of someone else, well I hope the world has been kinder to her from then on.

December 1st. My little son, who is 6, opened the first day of his advent calendar and without thinking offered me his chocolate button. Chocolate is like gold to this kid and his first instinct was to share.

Bless him ❤️

My young teenager son and I (single mum) moved home a week before Xmas.
New home is half the size of previous abode, so boxes absolutely everywhere!
We got reasonably straight by Xmas Eve, but suddenly realised we had no tree.
We drove out to a house in the next village that had a sign to say Xmas trees for sale.
We knocked on the door, and the chap who answered, said that he’d finished now for that year.
I’m not usually emotional, but I just burst into tears and turned to walk away, when he said “oh come on then, follow me in your car and I’ll load one up for you”…. So very kind of him, thanked him profusely.
Anyways, got it home and managed to get it stabilised in a large bucket.
However time ran out and I said I’m sorry to my son, but it’s late and we need to go to bed.
Woke up Christmas morning to find the tree magically decorated complete with fairy lights…. My young secret Santa had done it all on the quiet 🤫
That was the best Xmas gift ever, his thoughtfulness & love.
Merry Christmas to everyone x

I had an absolute stinker of a year 3 years ago (run of miscarriages followed by very very poorly child in hospital repeatedly). My lovely siblings clubbed together to get me a posh beauty advent calendar with really lovely stuff in it, it was just really thoughtful and made me cry (everything made me cry that year).

The Christmas that came at the end of an extremely difficult year involving multiple hospitalisations...

Opened the door a few days before Christmas to find a delivery of everything I could possibly need for Christmas Day from mince pies and shortbread through to turkey and cranberry jelly, champagne, gifts of clothes and jewellery, even tree decorations. All organised by my lovely sister 💕