Bright lights, holly, beautiful trees and excited children - the Christmas season brings happiness and joy.

Last Christmas was especially memorable. One afternoon I was at Mom’s office when we noticed that a co-worker seemed very sad. We tried talking to her, but she didn’t say much. After some cajoling, she finally broke down and began crying. She was not going to be able to buy any Christmas gifts for her five children and was worried they would be disappointed and unable to understand her financial problems.

The season wasn’t as exciting after talking to Ms. Michelle. I felt like there must be something we could do for her family. We talked with the others in the office and everyone agreed to donate money to buy presents for the children. Shopping has never ranked very high for me but I couldn’t wait to see what we could find for the children.

We collected $400, but didn’t have a clue what the children needed or wanted. We did, however, find a list written to Santa by one of the younger kids that asked Santa for a sewing machine for the oldest, bicycles for the two brothers, a playhouse for a sister and a stereo for the list maker.

Mom was worried we wouldn’t have enough money to buy everything, but after a long day of searching for the best deals, we had purchased everything and had enough left over for an outfit for each child.

Ms. Michelle did not have any idea we had bought her children Christmas gifts. We knew that she had planned to take them to a friend’s house on Christmas Eve so they would not wait up for Santa, so while they were out, we went to her house and climbed through a window. Then we placed the gifts under her tree. We couldn’t wait to hear about their reactions but did not want the family to know where the gifts came from.

Later that night we had Dad call where Ms. Michelle and her kids were staying and tell her in a deep, older sounding voice, "Ho, ho, ho. Merry Christmas! I think it is time for you and your kids to return home."

When they came home, they found all the wonderful gifts under their Christmas tree. The family stood in complete surprise; they could not believe what they saw. They had no idea where the gifts came from and had to wonder if that was really Santa who had called.

Giving is much more fun and rewarding than can be described. This was the best Christmas I ever had, knowing we made another family happy. We should all be thankful for our lives and remember God will always take care of us.