Like most people, I have been thinking a lot about Christmas these days, Christmases past and present, and that of course leads to thoughts about finding perfect gifts for friends and loved ones.

Of course Neighbourhood Heroes know it's the gifts of "deeds" and "thoughts" that mean the most but all too often, in the last few days...or hours...before Christmas, we end up buying "things".

The Christmas gift-giving story I like best comes from my aunt Hazel, one of my mother's younger sisters.

There were eleven kids in that family living on a farm during the 1920s. Times were tough.

One winter's day, just before Christmas, when she was 7 years-old, Aunt Hazel got to take the five-mile horse and cutter ride into town to do some shopping with her father, just the two of them. They were shopping for those few basic but essential items they couldn't produce on the farm.

When the whole family went to town, the kids weren't allowed in the store for fear they might break something. My grandparent's simply couldn't afford to take that risk. But this time, she was alone with her father and allowed to go in.

Sixty years later when she told me this story, her eyes still glistened as she relived the excitement of walking into that store for this first time and seeing all of the colourful ribbons, barrettes, candy, fancy scarves, blouses, dresses ... and bananas. She'd never seen a banana before.

Then, as they paid their bill and prepared to leave, she couldn't believe what happened -- The storekeeper gave her an orange.

She'd seen oranges before but she'd never actually touched one, none of her siblings had either. The family couldn't afford such luxuries.

When she left the store and climbed back into the cutter, she tucked the buffalo robe under her chin to keep warm and pulled her arms out of the sleeves of her jacket so she could hold the orange next to her body to keep it warm. Then, every few minutes during the trip home, she slid it up under her collar so she could smell its wonderful exotic aroma.

It was the most exciting gift she had ever received and she couldn't wait to get home. Why? She wanted to share it with her ten brothers and sisters!

Now that's a gift.

The best gift I ever gave was a "thing" but it was filled with love.

My Dad always wanted a 22 rifle but never felt he could afford one. In his mind, the family always had greater needs. So he did without. Then, one magic Christmas, my Mother and I chipped in and bought him the best 22 in the store.

When Dad first noticed the parcel under the tree, we told him it was a gift one of my cousins had bought for his parents and wanted to store it with us until Christmas morning.

Although Dad loved squeezing and rattling all our gifts to guess what was inside, he never touched that one.

Then, on Christmas morning, when he thought all the presents had been opened, he leaned back in his chair as he always did and said, "It's been another great year and another great Christmas."

That's when Mom and I broke the news that he had one more present under the tree.

I'll never forget the look on his face, and I'll definitely never forget the way I felt, when he opened that gift. It was all about love, not things.

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