没说完y Holidays! / Finding The Holiday Spirit - Adventure Rider

I am always amazed at the speed with which the holidays arrive. It seemed just a few weeks ago I was still learning to type 2021 instead of 2020. But the truth is that they are fast approaching, and time is rapidly running out to pick out those perfect gifts for those we care about and that care about us.

And while that’s a beautiful tradition and oh so much fun, does buying gifts for the ones you care about really reflect the best of the holiday spirit? When I was a boy, receiving gifts was what excited me the most.

Figuring out the holiday spirit

Sure, I bought presents for my parents and sibling with money saved from allowances and odd jobs. It felt good to have something to give, but it sure didn’t match up to the excitement of getting a couple of new Hot Wheels diecast cars and some extra track.

But as I got older, the excitement of “getting” changed. Married and on our own, I looked forward to getting something extra special for my wife, Kim. Something that she would never buy for herself, but something she nonetheless would really like to have.

I spent a lot of time pondering what that item would be, but I enjoyed every minute of trying to tease it out of her or figuring it out myself. And it was (and still is) fabulous. It’s fun, exciting, and I can’t wait to see her face when she opens that “special” gift.

Someone else’s holiday spirit

And I thought that that experience was the best holiday I could have. But it turns out I was wrong. For me, there was an even better holiday giving experience to be had. And that experience came about as the result of someone else’s holiday spirit.

I found the experience through the generosity of an organization that helps people in need. As the holidays were approaching, they found themselves desperately needing clothing and gifts for families in the soon to be in full swing, cold New England winter. And this is when my new holiday spirit hit me.

I desperately wanted to help out. And suddenly, I knew how I could participate. Remember those Hot Wheels cars I told you about earlier? Well, I had saved them and continued to collect them, and other makes of diecast cars well into my adulthood.

One of the many containers of diecast cars in which I had stored my collection. How many smiles could they make?

Diecast cars and smiling faces

Over about 35 years, I had collected more than 2,000. And as collectors are prone to do, I kept my prizes in their original packaging. Unfortunately, because there were so many, I was forced to store most of them in the garage where they sat for many years, unappreciated other than my appreciation of owning them.

Then, all of a sudden, boom! It all made sense. How many kids would love to get a present of these miniature diecast cars? What if I donated them to the organization? How many kids could I help make happy?

It was a no-brainer. I gathered all the diecasts into plastic bags and proceeded to jam them into the car. Because of their sheer volume, they almost didn’t fit. But as I looked into the car and all the diecasts jammed together in plastic bags, I had a feeling that I can still remember. It was one of the most wonderful feelings I could imagine.

铸模挤进我们的SUV。仍有more to be added.

I knew that I would never see the kids’ faces who received the diecasts. But that made the feeling even better. I could still remember the excitement I had when I first received a diecast, and now I could use my imagination to feel that same excitement multiplied potentially by more than a thousand kids!

How wonderful! And for the first time, I really felt like I had experienced what the holidays are really about—remembering and caring about those around you, whether you know them or not.

And the gifts you give don’t have to have a monetary value. The spirit can be realized by donating some time to someone in need. It can be saying a few nice words to people who could use them. It can be mending broken fences between others or even you and someone you know.