Ask the Readers By Carla Slavey
What was your favorite Christmas present?
Is it better to give than to receive? Or, is it better to receive when you get a gift that you end up cherishing for the rest of your life, either by physically keeping it or simply by holding it in your memory?
I suppose the most memorable gift I ever received was one that many kids these days might not understand why it was such a big deal: a television set.
You see, it was my very own television set, not one I had to share with my parents. This was back when TVs were huge, and clunky, and absolutely not flat. They were usually made of wood and reflective glass.
They could double as a shelf to display figurines or knickknacks. It probably wouldn’ t come with a remote. Home computers did not exist, and playing video games meant having a Nintendo – an original Nintendo, with cartridges you sometimes had to blow on to get them to work( note: that didn’ t actually help, but we thought it did), that you could hook up to said television and play from two feet away – because the screen was not large enough for you to see that much detail from across the room.
I was probably in the range of 10 or 11 years old, and we had one television in the living room. But sometimes Mom and Dad wanted to watch something that I didn’ t. Or, more correctly, I wanted to be able to watch television past my bed time, which … I probably shouldn’ t admit that I did. But I did. So I hinted that I wanted a TV. Hinted strongly. And yet, I wasn’ t sure I would actually get one, because I was well aware they were not cheap. I wouldn’ t have been disappointed if it didn’ t show up. But it did. And I abused the privilege by turning it on with the volume down after I was supposed to be asleep. Sorry, Mom and Dad. But thank you, because I also recognized that being allowed to have a distraction like that in my room when I should be doing homework was possible because you trusted that I was responsible enough to keep up with my homework even with that distraction within reach.
And I always got my homework done. Even if I( also) had the TV on with the volume down.
We at SEKYL wanted to know what some of our readers would say was the best Christmas gift they ever received or gave. It should come as no surprise that the majority of the people who responded talked about the ones they received. It might be better to give, but sometimes we don’ t truly understand the impact that gift has. We do know, however, what a gift given to us with love means.
( As always, responses may have been edited to correct spelling or grammar, or to remove emojis, which may not print correctly.)
28 • SEKY- Southeast Kentucky Life December 2025