I can hardly wait for my two married sons, their wives, and our grandchildren to arrive at the house to join the three of us for Christmas. My third son, Joseph, is almost as anxious as my husband and I. After all, he helped my husband get the tree down from the attic, carried boxes of outside lights to the yard, and aided me with the thousand other details and errands his exuberant holiday decorating mother needed help with.

Everything is ready ... the stockings which I once laid across the back of the couch now stretch across the living room chairs as well. Our bounty of grandchildren has expanded from three to five in just a year and a half. Last Christmas, seven month old Corby shared his first Christmas at Grannah and Paw-Paw’s. This year, three month old Gavin will have his first one with us.

That also means we will have three older elves to pass out gifts. Garrett will definitely still be the lead elf at age twelve, although his six year old cousin Joshua might have a word or two about that. Well, on second thought, four year old Trinity Grace may ramrod the whole thing! I chuckle out loud at the thought of that scene yet to be played out.

I sneak another look out the front window in anticipation of the hugs and kisses soon to be exchanged as the family begins to arrive. There are cars to unload, baby bags and luggage to cart upstairs and packages to be deposited under the tree. Then, of course, we must pause to look at each grandchild’s special ornament bought especially for their first Christmas. The older grandchildren will search to find his and hers and then turn attention to locate the newest belonging to baby Gavin.

I I will grin and stand near where it is on the tree. I can’t help it ... surprises have a short shelf-life with me. I love to give hints—a left-over from my teaching days and the infamous pop-quizzes I was noted for. One thing my students counted on were the added hints given to help jog their memories.

Speaking of surprises, I have a special one to announce tomorrow morning after we gather in our selected places in the living room, hot chocolate in hand, to read the Christmas story from Luke 2. It is always the first gift we share at our home. Once again, reviewing the centuries’ old story together, we un-wrap God’s greatest gift—His Son, Jesus!

Suddenly, I hear car doors open and familiar voices at the door. “Honey”, I yell, “hurry, the family is here!” Our wonderful Christmas excitement begins. I can’t wait for tomorrow’s special surprise. I giggle knowing I must not give too many hints.

Reading the last sentence in the Christmas story, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace and goodwill to man” I seize the moment to deliver my saved secret. “Before you elves pass out the gifts ... hold on just a minute, Garrett! I want you all to know that there will be one last gift that is not under the tree. It is the most precious gift this year. It is very costly, and will last a lifetime. It is one gift, but you can each have it if you find it. When you find it, you must share it with everyone else. Now, that is all the hints I will give. Go ahead, elves, pass out the gifts.”

I announce breakfast as the children sit enthralled in their gifts—some of which Paw-Paw and our sons are putting together, without reading the instructions. As we sit at the table, Trinity is the first to remind everyone of “the last gift” hunt. “Grannah, where do I begin to look?” The others chimed in, “Yeah, give us another hint!”

“Okay,” I give in, “one more clue! You begin inside.” “Inside the house?” Joshua asks. “No, it is a smaller place than that,” I tell them. Suddenly, Garrett’s face lights up. “I know where we need to look! In our hearts, right, Grannah?”

Now, everyone is getting it. (Too many clues after all!) But then, I want everyone to find it. “It’s love, isn’t it Grannah? It lasts a lifetime; we can each have it; and you want us to share it with everyone here."

“You are all geniuses”, I shout. “Shall we begin sharing this last gift by passing it around and remembering it all year long?” I am so glad we shared the “last gift” last!

Copyright © by Sharon L. Patterson Share