I’ve received a lot of great Christmas presents through the years. When I was six I got the Ghostbusters Proton Pack and Ghost Popper. When I was eight I saw Gleaming the Cube and my life was changed. I had to get a skateboard just like Christian Slater. Santa came through with an awesome pro skateboard. Christmas morning I was out riding that thing (well, at least trying to) even though it was 20 degrees outside. When I was ten I received the Christmas present that every boy dreams about: a Red Ryder BB Gun. I shot lots of Crystal Pepsi cans and even went on a few “hunts” out in the fields behind my subdivision. I never bagged anything unless you count the centipede I bifurcated at point blank. At least I didn’t shoot my eye out.
I loved all those presents. But the one Christmas present I remember most fondly was the electric guitar I got in 8th grade. Oh man, was that an awesome present. I guess my lust for an electric guitar began in 6th grade. I discovered music and became a budding audiophile. Favorite bands? The Beatles and Oasis (yeah, Oasis.). In 7th grade my friends and I wanted to start a band. I needed a guitar.
I asked for a guitar that year, but Santa said no. It was devastating and only fed my hunger for one. I remember that for an entire year I would go to the music shop a few times a month to look at guitars. My longing for a guitar was so great that I was excited to get this lame inflatable gag guitar at a carnival because then I could practice fingering guitar chords.
Finally, after a year of waiting, Christmas morning arrived. I walked out to the living room where Santa dropped off our booty. Perched on my “present couch” (each of my siblings had a couch that Santa would drop stuff off on) was a Peavey sunburst guitar with accompanying Peavey amp. It was a glorious sight to behold.
Despite being 6:30 in the morning, I plugged in the guitar, cranked the amp “up to 11″ and strummed a window shattering power chord. I was in teenage boy heaven.
The Saddleaback Leather Company Holiday Giveaway
Saddleback Bags make the ultimate gifts. My whole family pitched in and bought my dad a Saddleback briefcase for Christmas last year, and he thought it was the best present he ever got. These bags can make even the Scroogiest McScrooge giggle like a little boy on Christmas morning. Instead of getting a bunch of useless doodads from your folks and relatives this year, get them to all go in on a bag for you. Or ask for a Saddleback gift certificate to get you at least part of the way there. Hey, borrow against next year’s gifts if needs be!
Or, you can try winning a briefcase in our giveaway.
The Prize
A medium leather briefcase in your choice of color is up for grabs. Thick, full grain boot leather. 100 year warranty. A $519 value. How do you like them fruitcakes?
How to Enter
Simply leave a comment on this post sharing the best present you’ve ever received. Deadline to enter is Wednesday, December 8 at 11PM CST. We will randomly draw one comment to be the winner and the envy of all mandom.
Good luck!
Related Posts
-
Congratulations to Saddleback Leather Company Man Bag Giveaway Winner
-
Saddleback Leather Company Man Bag Giveaway
-
Congratulations to the Winner of the Saddleback Leather Company Briefcase Giveaway
-
Art of Manliness x Huckberry Holiday Gift Shop Giveaway
-
Share:
-
- Tweet
-
Email Story to a Friend
-
-
Print
← Previous Comments
Next Comments →
Best presents: Being a part of an improv troupe-turned-family and watching a student succeed.
I was six. Everyone else had bigwheels. I got the ultimate in 3-wheeled pedal-powered transportation…
Yes, my friends, Santa left me the Green Machine.
Best present ever.
I was sharing Christmas at my mother-in-laws for the first time. She had bought Stolen a German loaf cake that had long been a tradition in my family without telling me. One morning during our visit my wife presented me with a slice of Stolen with my morning coffee. It was a wonderful surprise and really showed how much they both were trying to make sure that I had a taste of my traditional Christmas also. My wife even warmed and buttered the slice. I did not have the heart to let her know that it is served cold with no butter for a few years after. Not all presents are wrapped in a bow, but they do all come with care, forethought and love.
Best gift ever? Definitely being able to go backpacking across Europe with my sister. Memories I will never forget.
A few years ago my brother gave me a great 200 cigar humidor with an old world map motif. My favorite Christmas present ever.
The best present I ever got was a handheld video camera, because it has become very handy during this semester of school.
I remember one Christmas my brother and I received a huge LEGO set. We made countless things over the next year (until we lost all the pieces). Makes me want to buy another set. I’m a little smarter now, but no more creative.
Best Christmas present I ever got? A set of Roman armor. Helmet, greaves, lorica segmentata…
What? I like Romans, OK!
Best xmas gift ever was the original Nintendo, back in the day!
My parents took my sister and I on a trip to England- I got to experience a new culture, discover my love for good beer, AND spend time with my family. How awesome is that?
Best Christmas gift ever had to be my first car. Parents gave it to me for xmas after I had gotten my license two months earlier
The best present I ever receive is simply being in good health and being with friends and family every year. It truly is the greatest thing anyone can hope for.
Best Birthday present was a Giant model hybrid racing/off road bicycle my dad bought for me a few years ago. Well, we bought it between us. The decision to get me a bike was the result of many conversations my dad and me had about the environment, oil, energy, and self sufficiency. I really enjoyed having those discussions with him, the bike reminds me of those happy times.
My best present was a play kitchen when I was a kid. I loved that over the play sink was a play window with checked curtains on either side, showing a view of the imaginary yard beyond.
I would have to say the best Christmas present I have recieved is books. My dad gets my sibilings and I books every year. We get lots of other great presents, but the we always end up curling up next to the fire reading books Christmas day.
I would have to say the Saddleback Wallet I got for my anniversary recently was pretty awesome! Everybody who sees it wants one too. I have to fight them off every time I pull it out.
The best gift I’ve ever gotten is my wife. Admittedly she wasn’t a “Christmas” gift, but she is the most precious gift from God that I ever have or ever will get.
Best Gift Ever- Certainly nothing as cool as this briefcase.
Since 1979, my grandmother has given me a Christmas ornament to go on our tree, along with a personalized note. These aren’t cheesy plasticy ornaments, either. They’re antiques from the 1930s, 40s, or 50s. When my brother and sister were born, they got annual ornaments. When I married my wife, she began to get them as well. And now my son receives one each year. My grandmother is 82 years old now and I still have every single one of my 31, my wife’s 7, and my son’s 3 ornaments and notes. And as many as we can fit on the tree go up every year.
Best gift ever : my drums. What started as an adolescent love turned into what I make my living behind today. Love it more than ever.
Best present I can think of was my first baseball glove… cherished it.
I was six when I was given an N64 for my birthday, and for years it was like I was married to the thing. Mario Kart 64 and Killer Instinct Gold were my first games, too. My two older brothers were really good at Killer Instinct, but mind you, I schooled them when it came to Mario Kart back then… I still play from time to time whenever they visit home.
And yeah, I still put the hurtin’ on them both with triple green shells.
The best gift I ever received at Christmas was a small portable pool table when I was around 8 years old. My Grandfather came to visit who I rarely ever saw. I so bonded playing pool with him that Christmas, that I ended up with a special relationship with him for the next 6 years he was alive. It gives both tears of joy and sadness just thinking about that special Christmas that will remain eternal in my heart.
12 gauge.
My girlfriend surprised me with tickets to see my favorite band of all time, Clutch. We went into Boston and got dinner and drinks then watched the boys tear the roof off the House of Blues. Bitchin’.
The best Christmas present I’ve ever received was my grandfather’s Cleveland Brown’s jacket. As a kid I used to wear it around the neighborhood on walks when we would visit our grandparents. 1996, after I graduated from Marie Corps basic training, and a year after he passed away my uncle gave me the jacket. He was my idol and still is my hero. Yes, It’s from the 80′s and yes, I still wear it. I have to be honest…even if I win the Saddleback bag, it will be the second best present I’ve ever received.
It seems to be a common theme in these comments, but my favourite presents were an Aria Pro II electric guitar, a surprisingly loud Crate amp and a Zoom pedal. I had way more music equipment than I could actually handle and spent the rest of the year just trying to master the basic settings on the Zoom!
By far the greatest gift I ever received for Christmas was an Optimus Prime Transformer when I was about 8 years old. Knowing I probably wouldn’t get it due to it’s asking price (near $100.00) in 1985, I just about gave up, only to have my grandparents surprise me with it. Needless to say, it was an amazing shock and awesome surprise.
My best Christmas was when I was 16 and got a dog. My mom had already named him after her uncle and therefore wouldn’t respond to anything other than Lumpy.
Two years ago a couple at my church gave me a Cort SJ-10 acoustic guitar. By far the best gift I have ever received and it sounds amazing!
The most memorable? I’m not too sure. But the best was actually part of a stereo system I received back in high school. Now it turned out it wasn’t the stereo itself (which went the way of all electronics) that would turn out to be the true hit. The faux component system came with a stand that had a place for records (yeah, that old), the system box, and one extra self for one of them new fangled CD players.
I’ve tried to get rid of that stand literarily DOZENS of times through the many “incarnations” of my life from high school to college to single life to committed relationship, to single life again (lather, rinse, repeat), to marriage. Each time I took it apart and relegated it to the donate/trash pile, something would need to have a pedestal, holder, stand, organizer, et al… And back together it went to perform yet another task. My wife finally declared, “We are never to get rid of this. It’s just too darn useful.”
So pay attention to the minutia in Christmas. Those things may end up being the world beaters.
When I was about 5, I wanted a “three wheeler” so bad I could taste it. I did not think that ol’ Saint Nick could bring me one. So early Christmas morning, I got up to find, at my surprise, a huge (to me) awesome plactic tricycle, Rambo edition. It had a gun turret sticking straight out of the front, and simulated machine gun sounds when you peddled. It was the coolest thing I had laid eyes on (pretty much still applies), and I will never forget how tough, manly, and awesome of a present it was. I just wish I still had it for my 4 year old son! Thanks.
The most excellent Christmas present would be getting this saddleback leather bag.
The best present i’ve ever gotten was a leather bound first edition set of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
I remember getting the gift you were longing for, for year’s and kept being told no. I never did get the guitar but I did get the tools not cheap junk tools but good craftsmen and mack tools.
The best present I ever received was an Epiphone Emperor Joe Pass guitar that my wife gave me for our twelfth anniversary, with pearl inlays.
The best gift I ever recieved was either my Nintendo Entertainment system, my Boy Scout knife, or my father-in-law’s old carrhart jacket.
No- it was when my Dad gave me his trumpet. It’s a Bach Mercedes, he played it when he was in the Army Band stationed in Korea right after the war.
My great grandfather’s wedding ring. I never met the man, but I was named after him. Wearing this ring from 1906 reminds me daily of where I came from.
My favorite gift was a green bmx bike. My parents pretended to get upset at us and told us to clean the basement. As we went downstairs we cursed them for ruining our Christmas, only to find our bikes in the corner. I rode that bike till the wheels fell off. But that is another story.
Best gift was a car for the year I turned 16.
Best gift I ever received was my first BB gun, complete with scope!
When I was 16 my Dad bought me an inexpensive 12 gauge shotgun. Mossberg 500, from the pawn shop. I still have it and use it often. I grew to be rather obsessed with all forms of shooting and it will never leave my collection. I have broken so many orange clays with that thing (but not nearly as many as I would like to claim).
Okay, by 16, I was already pretty obsessed with guns and shooting.
My first bike! Rode that thing to death… It’s still sitting in my Grandparent’s barn. :D
A R/C airplane
A second generation iPod. Didn’t even ask for it and never would’ve expected it. Pure awesome.
My Lionel trains! Super-o gauge!
The best gift I ever received was actually two gifts: Linkin’ Logs and a Hamster. I trapped him inside Linkin’ Log mazes almost every night until he finally escaped not only my maze but the house. Who leaves the screen door open!? I mean, come on, boy playing with hamster here!
The best gift I ever received was the Christmas I was introduced to hunting. My wife got me a great pair of binoculars. My wife’s folks got me a pair of Redwing boots. My brother-in-law got me a great Browning cold-weather hunting jacket, and set me up on a deer hunt with him. It was a great Christmas!
The year was 1985, the gift was a red shwine Scrambler peddle bike. I remember running through the house yelling “he remember, he remembered”. When i got closer to the bike I was disappointed because there were no training wheels. My dad told me that it would take longer to lear how to ride if i had training wheels. I did not want to believe him at the time. it turns out that one of m fondest memories with that bike was the day my dad taught me how to ride. I recall my dad holding the bike steady as he taught me how to get balanced and peddle all at the same time, and how just when I was getting the hang of it, he let go of the bike without me realizing it. I looked back and he was at the top of the street. I got nervous and crashed! He was right, I pick it up quick with a little help, and have him to thank for it.
Merry Christmas :-)
When I was younger I was addicted to the Lego pirate sets. All year long I had been asking for the biggest Lego pirate ship at that time, the “Black Seas Barracuda”. Come Christmas morning, there it was, in all of it 865 piece glory! I locked myself in my room determined to build the whole vessel in one day. 10 hours later it was done, as I came out of my room with the ship in hand, I was welcomed with a thunderous applause from my family. Yeah, it was a great day!
Best Christmas present…my two Tonka trucks. Went everywhere with those things.
I hope I’m not too late…
My best Christmas present was a survival tool with a compass, binoculars and a whistle I got from my grandparents.
Best Christmas present was the Millenium Falcon, 1979. Sure, there have been better/nicer gifts since, but nothing beats the excitement I felt when I saw that one under the tree. Giddy.
Best present ever? My wife staying married to me a whole year (and counting)!
An Amazon Kindle and a $100 Amazon gift card.
Best gift I ever got, my parents bought me a grand piano when I was younger, I had been playing piano for about 9 years at that point. We didn’t really have the money to spend on something like that, but they got it for me anyway. I still play it.
As a Kid, it was always Lego, my brother and I had a big box of lego and each year, the collection would grow as more and more kits made their way to the Christmas tree.
As a grown-up, My daughter was born on the 21st and we got to leave the hospital on Christmas Eve. Never a more wondorous gift was ever received than my little princess.
The best present I ever received was a toy train set.
Definitely Thunderhawk from M.A.S.K. I remember ripping the picture of it out of some catalog weeks before Christmas and carrying it with me until Christmas morning.
http://mikedinthehead.wordpress.com/2010/01/15/flashbacks-vol-1-mask-toys-from-my-childhood/
Probably the best gift I’ve been given is my mink bomber jacket.
I suffer from horrible lower back pain which is greatly exacerbated by cold weather. My wife scrimped and saved to get this for me, knowing that there was nothing warmer.
PS: I too got a Red Rider BB gun as an adolescent from my father. A definite runner up gift.
The best present that I’ve received was a Yamaha PW 50 when I was 5 years old. My dad gave it to me and I still have it. I rode it all over the place, it helped me get interested into motors and more importantly cars.
Best present ever! My husband found a Singer Featherweight sewing machine – manufactured the same year as me (so she’s pretty old…). I love it! something my age that STILL WORKS. It’s my main sewing machine now. And every time I stitch it, I think of the wonderful guy who gave it to me…
A sock monkey made from the tiny socks of my six month old boy by my lovely wife :`o)
Best present was when my sister got me a Homebrew starter kit. Those 2 buckets and few tools have spawned into my main hobby. Everytime the family gets together and I open a bottle of wine or tap a keg of beer, my sister proudly proclaims, “I am responsible for this…”
When I was living overseas, I told my girlfriend how much I loved American pumpkin pie. To surprise me, she spent hours tracking down a pumpkin, (which is quite a challenge out of season in Northern Germany) did all the prep-work, and brought it over to my apartment. I’ll never forget how much fun we had baking that pie together, or how much fun we had eating it!
This will definitely make a great present for any man.
The best present I have ever received was my snowboard, since I love snowboarding as much as I can. Been snowboarding since 13. Had the snowboard for 3 years now!
The best present I received was during the Christmas when my fathers business, a body repair shop, was going through an unusual slow period. As happened during the eighties often to small businesses.
He gave me Statue of Liberty commemorative coins. I knew how he had to leave work a second job for the meanest man in the town putting away freight at night so he could give us kids a decent Christmas.
I still have those coins in pristine condition.
This year I received some much needed transportation!
A 2002 Honda Civic Si.
The best gift I ever received was given to me by my sister. Growing up we always watched Rocko’s Modern Life and one particular episode has lead to a life long bond between my sister and I. In the episode Rocko had surgery and all of his body parts that had been removed came down from heaven including his tonsils which said in excitement “HEY CHIEF!” My sister and I thought it was so funny that we have called that to each other for over 10 years. One Christmas my sister, knowing my love for pocket watches, gave me a special pocket watch with “HEY CHIEF” engraved into it. It combined to of my favorite things, my collection of pocket watches and the love I have for my sister and family. It was truly the best gift! EVER!!!!!
A skateboard. I dreamt of being a pro skater.
The Best Christmases are always the ones when you were a kid, waking up to a whole slew of presents from Santa. I can’t recapture those old feelings now, so I’d have to say the best Christmas gift I’ve ever received was this giant Lego Castle, and I mean giant. It had flags, horses(!) and knights!
My very own super nintendo!!!
This year I’m hoping to receive my favorite present ever… a Saddleback leather briefcase from Art of Manliness.(wink,wink)
The best Christmas present I have ever received was the Christmas after returning home from Basic training and AIT after enlisting in the Army in ’06. On Christmas Day my father took me aside, presented to me a plain wrapped box and said nothing. I opened it to find all of my Grandfather’s WWII service ribbons, official photo, medals, journal, papers and personal photo album from his service in the Pacific Campaign. He told me thank you and how proud my grandfather (whom had passed before I was old enough to know of him) would be right now. I don’t think I will ever receive a ‘gift’ as memorable as that one.
The best gift I ever got was a handmade quilt from my mother in my favorite colors, a few months before she died. I sleep under it every night and it makes her feel a little closer.
My very first lego set
My favorite gift was a blue ten-speed bike.
My best present was a simple pocket knife. Never go anyplace (except an airport) without a knife.
My wife always gives me amazing gifts, this year it was a bottle opener the size of a credit card that she had engraved with “I found him whom my soul loves” – SOS 3:4
A Gransfors-Bruks wildlife hatchet….hand forged by vikings (Swedes)
A Crossman BB gun when I was 8 years old.
My favorite childhood gift was a six million dollar man action figure. He had some really cool features ,from the back of his head you could look through his magnifying eye and his arm modules were interchangable.
A black-oxide Leatherman.
The best present ever was my son… born on Christmas Day!
I got engaged just before Christmas. The future I recieved then has been a wonderful life.
Swiss Army Tachymeter Watch from my wife. Before that, the original Atari – before they called it the 2600.
Without a doubt, the BEST gift I ever receives was a Kongsbrg 30.06 hunting rifle. EVERYONE in the family pitched in for this thing, and it came as a total surprise when I got it. To date, it is still the best hunting rifle I have ever, or for that matter MAY ever own.
Thanks,
T. K. Mead
A baitcasting fishing reel and, of course, the reason for the season.
When I was young, I ordered a very expensive import model airplane from a hobby store. I had little knowledge of the true value of a dollar and when the plane came in months later, I had no way to pay for it.
I wrestled between fright of getting in trouble for ordering something and not being able to pay for it and disappointment for not getting the plane I had always wanted. That X-mas, I was completely suprised when I opened a present and it was that plane…the best gift I ever got…and the only gift, that X-mas!
The best gift I ever received was a thesaurus, given to me by my grandparents. In the liner, my grandmother wrote “now you’ll be able to think up better insults!” The gift was that inscription; it made my angry teenage self think about how I presented myself to those around me.
A Marlin Glenfield Model 60 .22 rifle at age 12….a lot of blue jays in NW OK paid for their annoying sounds that spring.
When i was 16 my parents got me a guitar amp that i just knew they would never be able to afford. Best gift ever.
On the greatest Christmas ever I received the Ninja Turtle van. It was absolutely amazing.
Best gift I received as a child was a Nintendo Gaming System.
the greatest gift is the gift of DANCE
Best Present Ever? She’s 10 years old, came 7 days after our 10th Wedding Anniversary and her name is Anna. I Love You Sweetheart!!!
A mini logitech keyboard a couple of years ago from my girl. I only looked at it once in a store a couple of months before and had planned on getting it for myself at some point. She had no idea how cool I thought it was and thought to get it for me quite out of the blue. It was also the last gift I have from her which makes it very special too.
best gift ever? My wife’s complete recovery and completion of breast cancer treatment.
← Previous Comments
Next Comments →
Comments on this entry are closed.