GIVEAWAY! Christmas contest!

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

Merry Christmas to each and every one of you! What a perfect time to have a contest so step right up! Even if you have won before we would love to have everyone join in during this glorious time of year.

Here is how you enter:

1. Tell us about a gift you either received or gave that was memorable for you. It can be when you were a child or when you were an adult, does not matter.

We will let this run a few days and then random.org will select the THREE WINNERS. Ah, but what do the three winners receive? This is the season for a surprise so The Captain can't say, but every winner will find out first hand!

So let's get started and have at it. Good luck to each one of you and it will be fun to read the entries. This is CONUS only please.

 

[one2mny]

10 years ago this Christmas my wife gifted me my first shave brush and soap (not knowing what she was starting). That started me down this wet shaving journey and I will never forget it.

 

[mikhou]

@Captain Pre-Capsize , I'm not in as I have won a PIF from you this year and also participated in the "shaving cream volunteers" giveaway and review. But, I'll add my story.

One of my most memorable Christmas gifts was from my son who was probably 11 or 12 at the time. During those years, we were Americans living abroad and working in the humanitarian aid field in a 3rd world country. (The point is that we didn't have access to Amazon!) My wife had encouraged our kids to think of each member of our family and to be intentional about how we would love each other through gift-giving at Christmas. One of my favorite past-times is reading, and I've always read aloud to our 3 kids so our kids have always seen me reading. That year, my middle son decided to build a reading stand for me to set my Kindle on. (I preferred reading on Kindle because it was easier to get books where we were.). It was made of cardboard and it wasn't stylish, it WAS functional and it was truly the thought that counted. I'll always remember that because of the thought and hard work that he put into it.

 

[emwolf]

Not in, as I have won your giveaways and have way too much stuff in my den. I think my favorite Christmas present/memory right now is the last Christmas with my mom at her condo. Dad had already passed and mom had downsized from the big house to a condo so there wasn't as much junk to put up for decorations, but all my brothers and their families and my family were there. Mom was pretty much confined to her armchair, but still directed things like she used to. A stay-at-home mom, she raised 4 rambunctious boys and kept meals on the table, the house clean, and everyone out of jail. She was an imposing figure (think a Bea Arthur or Margeret Dumont). In fact her physical presence won her a kiss from Mickey Rooney, who was as tall standing as she was sitting, during a performance of Sugar Babies in Chicago. This last Christmas with her would have been 4 Christmases ago. Here's to you mom, we miss you and think about you all the time.

 

[Ckmaui]

IN

and Merry Christmas and thanks !

to keep it shave related I am 59 so lets go back to when I was 7
for a few years my aunt uncle used to send me and my brother a 3 pack of skin bracer (3 scents)
I can tell you my stuffed animals smelled so nice !!!! as I used to apply it to them since I had no use for it then

memorable for sure and wish I had all those original Xmas special 3 packs now for fun !

 

[c__port]

I'm in mainly because I want to tell the story!

My 2.5 yr old grandson began imitating trains as soon as he could lift his head and form intelligible sounds. Videos of trains brought him great joy while any other kid friendly videos barely hold his interest. Trips to a local train station with real trains, model trains, train toys (and food) are high on his list of favorite things to do. "Nana houf?" (can we go to Grandma's house?) leads to "Nana car?" which only ever means "Can we go to Union station and play with the trains?"

On one of these trips, we found a lionel catalog that was maybe 8 pages total, and since that day it has been his favorite book, so to speak. When asked if we can read a book, it is his first choice. It's also his favorite "toilet reading".

In July, we began to plan the holiday breakout - who would be where for Thanksgiving and Christmas - and the lot fell to us to host Christmas. Normally this is a slumped-shoulder "ok, if I have to, I guess" response from Nana because of a history of bad events as a child circa holiday season.

What a difference a grandchild makes! She presented the idea of a train circling the tree, and became very excited to find that yes, there were specific trains just for that!! We bought this in July and have been like kids on Christmas Eve since that day.

Sunday he came over for the first time since we've put it up. This is literally a "Christmas present" for us. Nana was sooo excited to see his response, and it was everything we hoped for. He literally could not stop hopping around in circles telling us "A train! A train!"

 

[kaufdrop27]

Today is St. Nicolas Day and my 3 year old was so excited about the fact that St. Nick put chapstick, crayons and a bath bomb in her slipper. She keeps going on and on about how nice it was of him but she’s not sure why he used a slipper.

“St. Nick is so nice. He’s now my favorite”

It’s the little things.

 

[mx482]

Thanks for the generous offer. I'm definately in.

My favorite gift that I was able to give was when I was away from home, the apartment complex I lived in had several pecan trees that were "dispensing" the pecans all over the cars and parking lot. I knew my dad loved pecans so I filled grocery bags full of pecans and gave them to him when I went home for Christmas, not really thinking too much about it. Apparently it was one of his favorite gifts and he sat many nights cracking those pecans. It made me feel good that I had given him such happy moments.

 

[trolltaxi]

My favorite gift was given to me by a fellow firefighter. He gave me an “ old razor “ he got from an estate sale box of random items. The “ old razor “ ended up being an OC single ring Gillette. It is one of my favorites in my rotation.

 

[Big_T]

Thanks for the chance and Merry Christmas!

Early in our marriage (coming up on 48 years now) I was looking for a stocking stuffer to give my wife and saw a display of nice looking cosmetic trays in the drugstore. There were boxes of them stacked up with one of the trays displayed on top. I grabbed a box, paid for it, and thought I was all set.

When she opened it the box was empty! Was I embarrassed! Imagine giving an empty box for a gift. I had evidently taken the box that was for the one displayed, and since the item was lightweight plastic didn't notice the box was empty. Luckily they believed my story when I returned to the store and gave me another one.

 

[BSawhill]

In for this.
My dad and I are the gearheads in our family so each year we get each other parts for our respective cars. The best part about the parts though is the understanding that when it comes time to put them on and do the work we will do it together. With all of the time that seems to pass so quickly in life it's really nice to know that at least a couple of times a year we get to spend a weekend together in the garage wrenching and chatting together.

 

[Jmp63]

Thank you @Captain Pre-Capsize for your continued generosity!

A cool Christmas memory for me as a kid was receiving a couple of firearms over different years from my parents. The really cool part is that now as an adult we’ve been able to flip the tables on my dad and get him his first carry gun last year!

 

[HazMat Shaver]

One of my favorite gifts the wife got for me was two tubs of MDC soap. In short, I have to keep my soap all put away as SWMBO likes to complain about how much soap I have. So I store it in a few different locations so that it's not all together. 4 or 5 years ago she wanted to know what I wanted for Christmas. I told her not to worry about it as that year we were buying for lots of family members who were more in need than we were. When Christmas day came around she handed me two small boxes and told me she had to have the help of a couple of her friends just to order these as she couldn't figure out how to read French or change the language on the site. To this day I am still using these two soaps. It lasts a long time but I like to change my soaps a lot and have so many. It was a big surprise to me that she was able to pick great soaps for me and not something from Walmart. I'm sure she had more help in choosing but she never told me and I never asked.

Thank you, Capt. For another fine giveaway.

 

[Lightcs1776]

Not in, as I have already been incredibly blessed this year and I would prefer to allow others to have a chance. A favorite gift I received was a tool set my wife purchased for me at a time when funds were incredibly tight. I still use it on a regular basis. Of course, she also got the benefit of getting things fixed around the house.

 

[ewk]

Like @c__port my memory has to do with trains. Not sure what it is about them, but toddler boys love them. My wife and I purchased and stayed up VERY late assembling a wooden train table and wooden train set. It all paid off the next morning when our 3 year old could hardly contain himself as he came down the stairs, singing the virtues of the train set. Never before or since have I seen such a purely joyful reaction to a gift.

 

[Eric_75]

Not in, as I have already been incredibly blessed this year and I would prefer to allow others to have a chance.

Same here and well said. Very kind of you @Captain Pre-Capsize

Good luck to all!

 

[T Bone]

When she opened it the box was empty! Was I embarrassed! Imagine giving an empty box for a gift.

Reminds me of when I bought my wife (girlfriend? I think we were married by then) a watch for Christmas. She unwrapped it, opened the box, and - you guessed it - empty! I guess some poor Amazon warehouse worker thought it would make a good Christmas present too. Happily, I was able to get them to send another one with an actual watch inside.

Respectfully not in, having previously benefitted from Captain's generosity. Good luck and happy holidays to all, I'm enjoying the stories.

 

[Lord NSIC]

The best gift I gave was last Christmas -- early on, I've known my wife had always wanted to visit Paris, France. In the 40 years since we've met, I'd promised her numerous times that we'd get to Paris (not Texas) someday. Our las trip was Christmas in NYC in 2019, and then the COVID lockdowns hit. Not spending money for trips or evenings out, any money left over at the end of the month not needed for living expenses was put on the house loan; enabling us to pay it off ~6 years early in Nov last year. Last Christmas, after zeroing the mortgage, and as COVID restrictions were easing, I gifted her with a digital suitcase scale and a 10-day river cruise to Paris (not Texas) for our anniversary. The upside was promise fulfilled, the downside is how to follow that up this year...

 

[slimshavy]

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Merry Christmas to each and every one of you! What a perfect time to have a contest so step right up! Even if you have won before we would love to have everyone join in during this glorious time of year.

Here is how you enter:

1. Tell us about a gift you either received or gave that was memorable for you. It can be when you were a child or when you were an adult, does not matter.

We will let this run a few days and then random.org will select the THREE WINNERS. Ah, but what do the three winners receive? This is the season for a surprise so The Captain can't say, but every winner will find out first hand!

So let's get started and have at it. Good luck to each one of you and it will be fun to read the entries. This is CONUS only please.

My most memorable gift was a Super Nintendo the year my parents got divorced. I had hoped my dad would surprise me with it when we opened presents at his house, but it was a very modest affair, and no Nintendo. I gave up hope getting one that year, because my mom couldn’t afford it. Well, somehow she came through when we opened presents with her. I’ll never forget it.

 

[flask28]

Thanks for the generous holiday offer! I'm in!

I remember one xmas, I was 8 or so, waking up to a mysterious new golden lab puppy in my room licking my face. My parents had been freaking out hiding it for 48 hours, then let it into my room Christmas morning. I started crying I was so happy.

I hope everyone has a great holiday this year, especially @Captain Pre-Capsize!