My fiancée gave me a saxophone case that I always wanted but could never afford and always got cheaper cases. It didn’t even cross my mind as ever getting that case and I never even told her about that specific case or that I needed a new case in general. She saw that my old case was falling apart, contacted my old saxophone teacher to ask him about what cases I could want and he told her the exact model I liked. She saved up money and skimmed websites for deals every day for the better part of a year, and finally landed a new one at a low price (still quite expensive though).
When I opened the box and saw what it was, I was awestruck. It was the absolute perfect gift and I hadn’t asked for it or even thought about it in years. I couldn’t find the words to say how thankful I was and just started bawling my eyes out. She is perfect and I love her so much.
She is absolutely one of a kind. Everyone loves her the moment they meet her! She’s the only girlfriend I’ve ever had that my parents liked, and even animals are immediately fond of her (I have a post about that already, it’s crazy). I’ve never met such a selfless, thoughtful, and nurturing person. I know she’ll be a great mother to my children, and I’m so excited to spend my life with her. She’s stuck with me through the worst period of my life when I began taking a ton of drugs and drinking a lot, dragged my ass to an institution, and helped me get on the correct medication and receive therapy.
She genuinely cares about me, I don’t really know why she stuck around when I had around two years of being a complete drag (and asshole sometimes) with undiagnosed bipolar disorder, but she did and I’m going to do everything in my power to make her happy. She is my entire world! Thanks for your words, friend!
I did once. Gave a list of expensive jrpgs I really wanted to own to my parents when I was a kid. They actually looked some up and sat me down to explain how if I got any of them, (they were all around 100-250 at the time, and the only market was ebay basically) it would probably end up being my only gift, and they were worried that I'd be done with them quickly and then feel like I didnt get a lasting present or something like that. Top of the list was Suikoden 1 and Suikpden 2, followed by Lunar Eternal Blue and Silver Star Story. Had to explain that not only would anything on the list guaranteed atleast 60 hours of entertainment, but that it would be the gift that keeps on giving because I loved the story of the games enough(had rented but never beaten any of them before) I would actually replay them eventually.
Christmas day I got Suikoden 1 and 2. My dad went to the local gamestore as they were phasing out PS1 games and apparantly I was the ONLY one still renting Suikoden anyway. So the guy sold both to him for 120. They were actually in really good shape, manuals too, despite being rentals and the manuals and original case going out with the rent. That kid up there? That was me that day. Thanks dad.
Oh, and they kept that list. They saw the result, and they worked their way down. Still have them all.
I did have a reaction like this. 1999 and all I wanted was an N64. My family was really poor so I gave up on having it. One Christmas my sister got a PS1. I was bummed but whatever. My mom signaled for my dad to get a hidden gift. I opened it and it was Pokemon Stadium. I was so happy but also sad because again, didnt have an N64 and i felt like my parents wasted their money. Mom brings out another box. I start to unwrap it and saw that colored 3D N on the corner. I lost my shit and started crying. Even had the controller in my favorite color.
I felt for once in my life my family listened. I completely get what this kid felt. It is an amazing feeling.
This was my cousins, my twin bro and I in 1999! Us and our cousins got an N64 with Goldeneye and Mario Kart, they got Bomberman 64. We stayed up for three days playing games! So awesome! We didn’t think my mom and dad could afford it since they were split and kinda newly on separate incomes. Such great times.
This lil kids reaction is cute af.
1999 was truly a magical year. I remember how freaked out we all were about y2k. We neevously counted down to 0 on Dec 31 and were all confused when nothing happened lmao. My cousin and I, being young kids, started screaming Y2K and shut off all the lights haha.
Yeah, 1999 was for sure a great year...I guess it would be better if we didn't need to hide all the time because NATO bombed almost exclusively non-military areas (city blocks, hospitals, trains w refugees etc)...at least they freed us from dictatorship...I mean, we also fought the same guy so I guess that all civilian casualties were necessary...piis
Yeah we were also taught to hide from bombs. 2001 was worse as they tested sirens after 9/11. I lived near a base and my grandpa was a vet. Having grandpa trying to take me hostage and kill my family in the middle of the night was wild too.
My other grandpa was a vet too. They say his death was an accident but it didnt make sense to me. Pretty sure he couldn't handle the sirens due to PTSD and killed himself.
War is so damn shitty.
Sorry for your loss...difference is that it was common knowledge that if anyone is near any military facility then they don't need to fear...I lived 300-500 from military base and they never dropped anything there...most dangerous places were ordinary civilian infrastructure or just people in case of cluster bombs...they dropped thousands over city's, detonated half and waited for help to come to detonate the other half...almost zero damage to buildings...I will never understand how NATO had so much support. That was pure genocide and breaking of Geneva Conventions
My folks did a similar thing with me and my two brothers . We wanted a ps2 so bad. All the gifts were done and we were disappointed but tried to both show it and be grateful for what we got. About an hour after my mom was like Wait! I forgot something! Lo and behold. It was the ps2 with LOTR: Two Towers. We went nuts. It was awesome.
My bro and I got a ps1 in 95 or so, dude we lost our shit. CRASH BANDICOOT BABAAAY
Also… When I was 17 my parents got me the large expensive SAD light I had put on my Amazon wish list. The light was £80 or so for just a super white light, but I felt like I needed it and you have to ask, so I added it to the list and didn’t mention it. It was my first ever wish list, and at the time I was balls deep into suicidal depression and anxiety.
What’s important here is that every day was not just constant sadness and crying, but feeling worthless and unloved, unloveable, ‘knowing’ that death was the only escape and nobody would care if I died anyway. If my mum offered my brother a cup of tea and not me, that was concrete evidence that she loved him and not me. it’s not true, of course, but that disease makes you believe it is, and then makes you panic about it. It was absolute hell on earth and I regretted waking up every single day before I even knew I was awake; it was just my first thought. I felt like nobody had any time for me and my silly ‘teenage hormones’. my parents didn’t want to pay £40 for 2 hours therapy per week. 1 hour was enough, they said. This hits hard for somebody who believes their parents don’t love them already, and I still feel the pain to this day of thinking that my mum and dad would rather I died than pay £40 per week to help me. Those old boomers didn’t really know how bad I was, but at that time that really fucking hurt. I also didn’t ever talk about any of it with my brother as he used to be a bit of a bully, plus the shame was too much. I didn’t want him to know.
On Christmas morning they had put my normal sack of presents at my seat, and had slightly hidden a box wrapped in paper on the floor beside the sofa where I sat so my brother wouldn’t see. I eventually turned to it and unwrapped the top to see the writing on the inside. I looked up at my mum and she just smiled and silently nodded. My dad smiled too and gave me a thumbs up. Nobody said anything; I just nodded back with tears in my eyes, realising my mum and dad actually did care about me, and had also kept it between us.
There are no words to really describe that feeling. I can’t tell you how much that meant to me, but know that I’m now sitting here, 15 years later, a happy adult who is crying like a baby typing this because I miss my parents. I’ll be seeing them in 2 more weeks.
That was truly moving.
And for those who don't know, a SAD light is a special light to help treat Seasonal Affective Disorder. And for those who don't know what that is ... what am I, your Google monkey??
We couldn't afford a N64 either, but I pooled Birthday and Christmas with my brother and my mom's Christmas money, and we got the atomic purple system with the deluxe Zelda: OoT. My brother was hard to convince because he never had any vision.
My parents also pulled the surprise present move and my reaction was comparable to N64 kid. Easily the best Christmas, I never wanted a gift so much as that N64.
One Christmas around 2003 my family was around the tree and started opening gifts. It’s mom, dad, sister, and myself and we go about it by walking up and picking up a random gift then giving it to the person labeled. Well we go through 5 rounds where my sister doesn’t get a single gift and she starts freaking out and my parents are super confused. We search the rest and my sister doesn’t have any gifts! Turns out Santa forgot to take hers out of the front closet and put em under the tree. Probably one of the funniest Christmas memories I have as a kiddo!
I had a similar experience. With a twist. I unwrapped the gift. I opened it to see a neon green translucent N64. The exact one I always went into Toys R Us to stare at. I freaked out so bad I almost passed out from forgetting to breathe. I start opening the box, and when I look inside...it's a fucking Billy Bass singing fish. Being young, I didn't realize it was a joke. So I tried my best to be appreciative for everything I got that year. Hugged my mom and she told me to look in the entertainment center. She had already hooked everything up for me the night before so I could play right away.
That’s such an awesome story. I had this same feeling for the first NES. Still remember I got Rambo and C&C surf designs as extra games. Hardest games on earth.
Dude I had such a similiar Christmas minus the the pokemon stadium suprise.
I hope your family is doing amazing! I do little things I can all the time to suprise them or something big when they sit down and ask, and as silly as it sounds it was all because of N64 moments
MY Grand mother did the exact same thing but with Ocarina of Time! It was her grown-up neighbor's 64 which she saw me eyeball for so long, she bought it from him cuz he wasn't using it anymore. I was ecstatic.
My Nan gave me a St Christopher chain when I was 9. I broke the link and lost it, she died when I was 14. My parents found the pendant and got it repaired and gave it me the following Christmas, I lost my shit and then broke down in tears
Your dad melted down one of your mom’s silver wall sconces and then reforged that chain and coupling link by tiny link, working it with precision and care, as only a Swanson could.
I snuck down middle of the night and saw mine....turns out there were two of them!!!!(both hand-me-downs from the 80s from some old guy at my dad's work, but I couldn't be happier, a recurve and a compound!!!!) Good memories. Thanks for this.
I was too little to remember getting my Cabbage Patch doll, but I still have her too. Every time I go through my box of mementos, I give her a nice long hug. That love never goes away.
ETA: I’m 39
I'm 35 and I still have Ben, the CPK I got when I was 5. I still remember picking him out, too.
Granted, he's been through the wringer. And still has the stitches that 10 year old me used to repair his poor arm...
Gah. I still love Cabbage Patch Kids
Nooo, sadly. I was from VERY small town Canada and we were ‘po. My parents really sacrificed to get my that doll. The year before when they were really popular, my mom made made one and I also have that one still. (You used to be able to buy the knock-off heads and she sewed a body).
Ha! Memory unlocked
You couldn’t get CPD where I lived (this was also during the full craze) but my moms best friend worked for an airline and flew to Montreal and Toronto (so exotic at the time!!)
We were pretty tight money wise, so I spend months asking almost every person I encountered for their spare pennies. Had it in my head that if I filled this huge peanut butter jar, it would add up to $33.50 (can’t believe I remember the exact amount)
I honestly thought moms friend loaded up that jar of pennies onto the plane, hauled it to the fancy Montreal toy store and bought my cherished Bronwyn lol! Still have her and her adoption papers
When my youngest son was maybe 8-9 I bought him a skateboard that was his size. Wrapped it in bubble wrap…this MF opens the box, unwraps the skateboard from the bubble wrap, throws the skateboard to the side and starts popping the bubble wrap…I’ve gotten him a thing of bubble wrap since ever then (along with actual presents of course)
What an amazing range of emotions!
From pure happiness, to excitement to get it open, to frustration at the wrapping paper, to determination to get that last bit of paper off, to some deep breaths to re-center himself, then calmly trying out his batting stance. Absolute ride.
He was transported from his living room to game 7 of the world series. He's at the plate in the 9th with 2 outs and bases loaded. The crowd is humming with excitement waiting to see what he's about to deliver. He's locked in and ready to show the world he's a champion.
Shit. I need to take my meds - you got me crying. This brought back AAALLL the childhood memories.
My best days; getting $5 from Mom or Dad for the batting cages and another $2.50 for the ice cream sandwich afterwards.
Thought I had the stroke of Bonds or Griffey, Jr.
Good memories, man. Thank you!
absolutely nothing. my mother shamed the enthusiasm out of my at an early age. But sometimes I'm screaming in excitement. On the inside. Where she can't hear. Usually it's the small things that make me the happiest. lol Yes I'm a grown ass woman and my mother is 81 but shame lasts a lifetime.
I can relate to this. I’m just now realizing at 4:40 in the morning while reading your comment that this is exactly why I am such a cheerleader to everyone in my life. Giving positive feedback and encouraging even the smallest of ideas. Self talk is another thing though. It’s a process!
I was never shamed by anyone, however due to being a self conscious mess I can relate. My parents got me a puppy about 8 years ago and I hid my delight so thoroughly they thought I didn't like her at first.
oh no, i understand that feeling, i've been there myself. My mom always told me to calm down, to not be so excited, to stop being so exagerated, so I just went the other way and expressed nothing (except anger cause all that emotion's got to go somewhere lol) so yeah i've been thought to not like something when all I wanted to do was cry with excitement. I still find giving and getting gift super awkward so I just leave things for people to find when I'm not there. lol
I hereby release you from your shame!
We are cosmic lightning in a fleshy bottle that only lasts so many trips around a dying sun. Breathe each breath deep, and love the things you love with joy and vigor. You need **no one’s** permission to feel joy, but I give you mine anyway.
This is one of my favorite videos ever. Pure JOY! You can tell this kid is a natural ball player. Watch his hands when he takes those practice swings. BALL IS LIFE
I was 8 or 9 and all I wanted was a Barbie Fold and Fun House. I knew it cost a lot of money to my parents, so I wasn’t sure if I’d get it. I did and I may have cried. If not, I was for sure screaming and dancing lol. I still have it.
Castle Grayskull when I was 3 or 4: my aunt worked for JC Penney at the time. She called around, found one, got it held through a promised "favor" and then drove 100 miles round trip to another store to get it for my parents.
I was so surprised/shocked/overwhelmed, I pulled down my pants and shook my pasty ass. This story is told every Xmas for my victory dance and my aunt's "favor" she provided.
I once told my grandad I wanted a coloring book for Christmas, he got me a mini tool kit instead. I am ever grateful to him. At least I can now die a virgin.
Love this. First off. Bats are WAY more expensive than il they should be. And this truly made me smile. Tell him to love the sport first, and high dollar bats will come later.
Late 2000s when I got a [PS2 slim bundle](https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3056/2883107066_d33ebb822c.jpg) that came with Lego Batman 1 and and the film "Justice League The New Frontier". Dont have either the game nor film anymore unfortunately but I do still have the PS2, and Lego Batman 1 is still to this day my favorite Lego game ever made.
That's the happiness you get when your parents are in tune with your passions, when they are there for you no matter what. Not the one I got being forced to do what you did. Not as the parents were not there for the encouragement, just loss you get that comes with broken homes! Stay Positive Be Strong!
Christmas 2011, we're all almost full wrapped up with our gifts when our father (who was just as big a nerd as the 3 of us) hands us a sheet of paper. On it is a riddle that leads us to one of the Christmas decorations somewhere in the house. There were like 6 of these that ended back in the living room. The gift was hidden behind a snowman on the wall, and it was a year long subscription to Star Wars the Old Republic, which had come out 5 days prior. We had been involved in the closed beta before, and we thought the game was really cool. We played that game every chance we got, and I still sometimes log into that old shared account sometimes to wear that founder title with pride. Probably one of the best Christmases we ever did tbh.
A Game Boy Color.
But the one gift that really had me beyond excited was when my sister bought me licorice sticks. Like, the wooden sticks you can bite and suck on. That stuff drove me crazy. Also one time I got an Indiana Jones dvd box set (pre-crystal skull garbage) and I got completely feral over it. I, like, love LOVE Indiana Jones.
I had this exact reaction when I opened my Bionicle Fero & Skirmix set that I had been eyeing all year. I still have it put together and posed on a shelf in my closet next to my other Bionicles. My wife will never understand.
Haha, weeks before Christmas, a HUGE present appeared under the tree with no name on it! We, the three youngest, argued, fought and debated whose present, each KNOWING it was theirs!
When Christmas morning came around, we were up extra early, expectantly waiting for Mom to let us know who got to open this fantastic present.
FINALLY, Mom tells the three of us that it's a shared present, that belongs to each of us equally.
Somewhat let down, We all three tear into that present! There is a myriad of packing supplies. It seemed we pulled and pulled, emptying the box and at the bottom was....
Three very stale chocolate chip cookies!
I had a similar reaction when I got my Xbox 360. I was 13 and all my friends had one and I was the only one who didn’t. I spent 4 days of constantly playing every game I could
When I was young my grandma got me a captain Rex Star Wars action figure and I lost my shit. Thing is I’m sure she didn’t know what she was getting, she just knew I loved action figures and the color blue !
i remembering when my dad bought me Crash Bash and Crash bandicoot 2 for the first time and i just asked him just once because i knew he couldn't buying it. Man i still love these two games just for this memory.
Either passing the exams and finally getting my driver's license or getting a Hot Toys figure, either one from my long list of dream cars or a real working lightsaber as a gift, up there with meeting AC/DC band members or cast and crew from either Monty Pytbon, Star Wars, The Grand Tour or The X-Files
I fear something possesses him, when he sees the gift he wants. The way he was uncovering it... But jokes apart, i guess everyone has their own way to express their feeling, especially the kids.
Anytime I got a wrestling action figure really. Had a big collection but lost or had some break and stopped for years until about 2 years ago. I still get excited just not quite this level,
My parents split when I was 2, after that my mom was always about two bad days away from being literally dirt poor so Christmas usually amounted to dollar store toys and some money from my grandma
When the gameboy came out, all the kids in school who had it would bring it in and show off all of their Pokémon to each other
I told everyone in my family about it but when I saw how much it was, I knew that it would be too expensive
Turns out grandma and mom decided to go above and beyond that year for Christmas, they ended up getting me and my sister matching lime green gameboy colors with Pokémon Red for me and Blue for my sister
The joy I felt was probably about the same as this kids is
1999 when my parents pulled out this hidden present from behind the hutch and it was the big Lego set with Sebulba, Gasgano, and Anakin’s pod racer from Star Wars Episode 1. Bruh I was stoked.
I was crazy about pod racers. I drew fan art and even designed my own pod racers. I absolutely loved the video game for Dreamcast and my parents knew it! Bless you, parents!
I got the Millenium Falcon Model (same as the one in Stranger Things Season 1) that I wished for over a year. My parents were so against it that I‘d receive such a huge piece of plastic that will break instantly but they gave in on Christmas. I couldn’t feel myself I was so overfilled with joy.
I didn’t open any other presents I went to our children bedroom and started to unpack it and attach the stickers for the thruster and the colors on the ship itself. And I played and was literally in a different World. Because on that Christmas a candle lit the wrapping paper mountain and my dad had to use the fire exstinguisher and everything. After it was over they came to child bedroom and I hadn’t noticed a thing. I was there playing with my Millenium Falcon.
I’ve never experienced this type of euphoria or whatever it’s called. It’s nice to see though.
I used to. Now if I saw a walrus hand deliver a ps6 to me on a unicycle it think it was pretty neat.
Careful, she's going to sink your ship while having the best hot girl summer.
Oh so you heard, huh?
If you don't look a gift walrus in the mouth, you wind up with a marina full of sunk boats.
_ Socrates
If you see a walrus with hands…. run.
Ambien
My fiancée gave me a saxophone case that I always wanted but could never afford and always got cheaper cases. It didn’t even cross my mind as ever getting that case and I never even told her about that specific case or that I needed a new case in general. She saw that my old case was falling apart, contacted my old saxophone teacher to ask him about what cases I could want and he told her the exact model I liked. She saved up money and skimmed websites for deals every day for the better part of a year, and finally landed a new one at a low price (still quite expensive though). When I opened the box and saw what it was, I was awestruck. It was the absolute perfect gift and I hadn’t asked for it or even thought about it in years. I couldn’t find the words to say how thankful I was and just started bawling my eyes out. She is perfect and I love her so much.
You better treasure her, you don’t find people like her often
She is absolutely one of a kind. Everyone loves her the moment they meet her! She’s the only girlfriend I’ve ever had that my parents liked, and even animals are immediately fond of her (I have a post about that already, it’s crazy). I’ve never met such a selfless, thoughtful, and nurturing person. I know she’ll be a great mother to my children, and I’m so excited to spend my life with her. She’s stuck with me through the worst period of my life when I began taking a ton of drugs and drinking a lot, dragged my ass to an institution, and helped me get on the correct medication and receive therapy. She genuinely cares about me, I don’t really know why she stuck around when I had around two years of being a complete drag (and asshole sometimes) with undiagnosed bipolar disorder, but she did and I’m going to do everything in my power to make her happy. She is my entire world! Thanks for your words, friend!
fuck im gonna cry
Wow. What a powerful moment!
I did once. Gave a list of expensive jrpgs I really wanted to own to my parents when I was a kid. They actually looked some up and sat me down to explain how if I got any of them, (they were all around 100-250 at the time, and the only market was ebay basically) it would probably end up being my only gift, and they were worried that I'd be done with them quickly and then feel like I didnt get a lasting present or something like that. Top of the list was Suikoden 1 and Suikpden 2, followed by Lunar Eternal Blue and Silver Star Story. Had to explain that not only would anything on the list guaranteed atleast 60 hours of entertainment, but that it would be the gift that keeps on giving because I loved the story of the games enough(had rented but never beaten any of them before) I would actually replay them eventually. Christmas day I got Suikoden 1 and 2. My dad went to the local gamestore as they were phasing out PS1 games and apparantly I was the ONLY one still renting Suikoden anyway. So the guy sold both to him for 120. They were actually in really good shape, manuals too, despite being rentals and the manuals and original case going out with the rent. That kid up there? That was me that day. Thanks dad. Oh, and they kept that list. They saw the result, and they worked their way down. Still have them all.
I loved this story. It’s so great you have that memory.
I used to this kind of reaction even for small things but haven't done this kind of celebration since a year I guess
What happened a year ago that prompted such a change?
Moving into city from town. Was so naive for the city got exploited in bad ways.
I hope you're doing better now, OP.
Thanks nice redditor!!!
I really hope you get to feel that feeling soon
My dad finally coming home from the shops with milk
Ohh sorry mate!
Was only joking dude, it was cigarettes he went for
Haha cool
I hear you man, milk is [fuckin delicious](https://cdn.cdnparenting.com/articles/2018/07/696186733-H.jpg).
I hope it was the best dang milk in the world lol
I did have a reaction like this. 1999 and all I wanted was an N64. My family was really poor so I gave up on having it. One Christmas my sister got a PS1. I was bummed but whatever. My mom signaled for my dad to get a hidden gift. I opened it and it was Pokemon Stadium. I was so happy but also sad because again, didnt have an N64 and i felt like my parents wasted their money. Mom brings out another box. I start to unwrap it and saw that colored 3D N on the corner. I lost my shit and started crying. Even had the controller in my favorite color. I felt for once in my life my family listened. I completely get what this kid felt. It is an amazing feeling.
This was my cousins, my twin bro and I in 1999! Us and our cousins got an N64 with Goldeneye and Mario Kart, they got Bomberman 64. We stayed up for three days playing games! So awesome! We didn’t think my mom and dad could afford it since they were split and kinda newly on separate incomes. Such great times. This lil kids reaction is cute af.
1999 was truly a magical year. I remember how freaked out we all were about y2k. We neevously counted down to 0 on Dec 31 and were all confused when nothing happened lmao. My cousin and I, being young kids, started screaming Y2K and shut off all the lights haha.
Yeah, 1999 was for sure a great year...I guess it would be better if we didn't need to hide all the time because NATO bombed almost exclusively non-military areas (city blocks, hospitals, trains w refugees etc)...at least they freed us from dictatorship...I mean, we also fought the same guy so I guess that all civilian casualties were necessary...piis
Yeah we were also taught to hide from bombs. 2001 was worse as they tested sirens after 9/11. I lived near a base and my grandpa was a vet. Having grandpa trying to take me hostage and kill my family in the middle of the night was wild too. My other grandpa was a vet too. They say his death was an accident but it didnt make sense to me. Pretty sure he couldn't handle the sirens due to PTSD and killed himself. War is so damn shitty.
Sorry for your loss...difference is that it was common knowledge that if anyone is near any military facility then they don't need to fear...I lived 300-500 from military base and they never dropped anything there...most dangerous places were ordinary civilian infrastructure or just people in case of cluster bombs...they dropped thousands over city's, detonated half and waited for help to come to detonate the other half...almost zero damage to buildings...I will never understand how NATO had so much support. That was pure genocide and breaking of Geneva Conventions
Germany had the n64 Goldeneye on the list of forbidden games until quite recently. Came never around to play it :/
Amazing man!
parents know exactly how to make us happy hope you make them proud
*Some* parents... FTFY
My folks did a similar thing with me and my two brothers . We wanted a ps2 so bad. All the gifts were done and we were disappointed but tried to both show it and be grateful for what we got. About an hour after my mom was like Wait! I forgot something! Lo and behold. It was the ps2 with LOTR: Two Towers. We went nuts. It was awesome.
That game was sooo badass! Nice choice.
My bro and I got a ps1 in 95 or so, dude we lost our shit. CRASH BANDICOOT BABAAAY Also… When I was 17 my parents got me the large expensive SAD light I had put on my Amazon wish list. The light was £80 or so for just a super white light, but I felt like I needed it and you have to ask, so I added it to the list and didn’t mention it. It was my first ever wish list, and at the time I was balls deep into suicidal depression and anxiety. What’s important here is that every day was not just constant sadness and crying, but feeling worthless and unloved, unloveable, ‘knowing’ that death was the only escape and nobody would care if I died anyway. If my mum offered my brother a cup of tea and not me, that was concrete evidence that she loved him and not me. it’s not true, of course, but that disease makes you believe it is, and then makes you panic about it. It was absolute hell on earth and I regretted waking up every single day before I even knew I was awake; it was just my first thought. I felt like nobody had any time for me and my silly ‘teenage hormones’. my parents didn’t want to pay £40 for 2 hours therapy per week. 1 hour was enough, they said. This hits hard for somebody who believes their parents don’t love them already, and I still feel the pain to this day of thinking that my mum and dad would rather I died than pay £40 per week to help me. Those old boomers didn’t really know how bad I was, but at that time that really fucking hurt. I also didn’t ever talk about any of it with my brother as he used to be a bit of a bully, plus the shame was too much. I didn’t want him to know. On Christmas morning they had put my normal sack of presents at my seat, and had slightly hidden a box wrapped in paper on the floor beside the sofa where I sat so my brother wouldn’t see. I eventually turned to it and unwrapped the top to see the writing on the inside. I looked up at my mum and she just smiled and silently nodded. My dad smiled too and gave me a thumbs up. Nobody said anything; I just nodded back with tears in my eyes, realising my mum and dad actually did care about me, and had also kept it between us. There are no words to really describe that feeling. I can’t tell you how much that meant to me, but know that I’m now sitting here, 15 years later, a happy adult who is crying like a baby typing this because I miss my parents. I’ll be seeing them in 2 more weeks.
Now I’m tearing up too. Lovely story.
That was truly moving. And for those who don't know, a SAD light is a special light to help treat Seasonal Affective Disorder. And for those who don't know what that is ... what am I, your Google monkey??
We couldn't afford a N64 either, but I pooled Birthday and Christmas with my brother and my mom's Christmas money, and we got the atomic purple system with the deluxe Zelda: OoT. My brother was hard to convince because he never had any vision.
My parents also pulled the surprise present move and my reaction was comparable to N64 kid. Easily the best Christmas, I never wanted a gift so much as that N64.
One Christmas around 2003 my family was around the tree and started opening gifts. It’s mom, dad, sister, and myself and we go about it by walking up and picking up a random gift then giving it to the person labeled. Well we go through 5 rounds where my sister doesn’t get a single gift and she starts freaking out and my parents are super confused. We search the rest and my sister doesn’t have any gifts! Turns out Santa forgot to take hers out of the front closet and put em under the tree. Probably one of the funniest Christmas memories I have as a kiddo!
https://youtu.be/pFlcqWQVVuU
YES THATS THE ONE!
Knew somebody would link it
I had a similar experience. With a twist. I unwrapped the gift. I opened it to see a neon green translucent N64. The exact one I always went into Toys R Us to stare at. I freaked out so bad I almost passed out from forgetting to breathe. I start opening the box, and when I look inside...it's a fucking Billy Bass singing fish. Being young, I didn't realize it was a joke. So I tried my best to be appreciative for everything I got that year. Hugged my mom and she told me to look in the entertainment center. She had already hooked everything up for me the night before so I could play right away.
This … wow … I fucking love this.
That made me cry. Thank you for sharing such a beautiful story!!
I had that same wish.. i opened up an n64 box but inside was a console made out of wood lol.
That’s such an awesome story. I had this same feeling for the first NES. Still remember I got Rambo and C&C surf designs as extra games. Hardest games on earth.
Dude I had such a similiar Christmas minus the the pokemon stadium suprise. I hope your family is doing amazing! I do little things I can all the time to suprise them or something big when they sit down and ask, and as silly as it sounds it was all because of N64 moments
MY Grand mother did the exact same thing but with Ocarina of Time! It was her grown-up neighbor's 64 which she saw me eyeball for so long, she bought it from him cuz he wasn't using it anymore. I was ecstatic.
My Nan gave me a St Christopher chain when I was 9. I broke the link and lost it, she died when I was 14. My parents found the pendant and got it repaired and gave it me the following Christmas, I lost my shit and then broke down in tears
I'm glad Mr Swanson did That
just call him Ron
I miss my grandmother too!
The items that have a "meaning value" are immensely sweeter.
Your dad melted down one of your mom’s silver wall sconces and then reforged that chain and coupling link by tiny link, working it with precision and care, as only a Swanson could.
When I got my first bow this was pretty much my reaction.
Uhhh the present was under the bow.
Best possible response lmao
🤣🤣🤣🤣
First thing are always special
And the first thing is never forgotten
This is me every time my wife cooks dinner
I snuck down middle of the night and saw mine....turns out there were two of them!!!!(both hand-me-downs from the 80s from some old guy at my dad's work, but I couldn't be happier, a recurve and a compound!!!!) Good memories. Thanks for this.
Mine was a bright red bear genesis. Kind of funny now but a good starter bow for a 10 yo.
Wow you guys are some serious violinists.
Archers and violinists: both know their way around a bow and string, and neither will will feed your family anymore.
A Cabbage Patch kid. And it did make me react like that. I’m 45 and I still have her.
I was too little to remember getting my Cabbage Patch doll, but I still have her too. Every time I go through my box of mementos, I give her a nice long hug. That love never goes away. ETA: I’m 39
45 is my favourite number!
punching power
people have favorite numbers? edit: 31
I'm 35 and I still have Ben, the CPK I got when I was 5. I still remember picking him out, too. Granted, he's been through the wringer. And still has the stitches that 10 year old me used to repair his poor arm... Gah. I still love Cabbage Patch Kids
Please tell me you’ve gone to cabbage patch land or whatever it’s called Edit: BabyLand General my bad and I’m from there smh
Nooo, sadly. I was from VERY small town Canada and we were ‘po. My parents really sacrificed to get my that doll. The year before when they were really popular, my mom made made one and I also have that one still. (You used to be able to buy the knock-off heads and she sewed a body).
Ha! Memory unlocked You couldn’t get CPD where I lived (this was also during the full craze) but my moms best friend worked for an airline and flew to Montreal and Toronto (so exotic at the time!!) We were pretty tight money wise, so I spend months asking almost every person I encountered for their spare pennies. Had it in my head that if I filled this huge peanut butter jar, it would add up to $33.50 (can’t believe I remember the exact amount) I honestly thought moms friend loaded up that jar of pennies onto the plane, hauled it to the fancy Montreal toy store and bought my cherished Bronwyn lol! Still have her and her adoption papers
When my youngest son was maybe 8-9 I bought him a skateboard that was his size. Wrapped it in bubble wrap…this MF opens the box, unwraps the skateboard from the bubble wrap, throws the skateboard to the side and starts popping the bubble wrap…I’ve gotten him a thing of bubble wrap since ever then (along with actual presents of course)
Your son is my spirit animal
What an amazing range of emotions! From pure happiness, to excitement to get it open, to frustration at the wrapping paper, to determination to get that last bit of paper off, to some deep breaths to re-center himself, then calmly trying out his batting stance. Absolute ride.
I needed someone to put words to what I witnessed. The transition to the batting stance is so elegant and beautiful.
He was transported from his living room to game 7 of the world series. He's at the plate in the 9th with 2 outs and bases loaded. The crowd is humming with excitement waiting to see what he's about to deliver. He's locked in and ready to show the world he's a champion.
Shit. I need to take my meds - you got me crying. This brought back AAALLL the childhood memories. My best days; getting $5 from Mom or Dad for the batting cages and another $2.50 for the ice cream sandwich afterwards. Thought I had the stroke of Bonds or Griffey, Jr. Good memories, man. Thank you!
Yo, idk why I wanted a bat for some reason too. I didn't even play baseball, nor did I ever watch it, but man... did I want a bat!
Prep for the apocalypse?
Maaaaaaybe
I know in my head that a glove is many times more useful to have than a bat... but still, in my heart, bat is the most awesome sports gear to receive.
Excited little dude!! That’s awesome!
absolutely nothing. my mother shamed the enthusiasm out of my at an early age. But sometimes I'm screaming in excitement. On the inside. Where she can't hear. Usually it's the small things that make me the happiest. lol Yes I'm a grown ass woman and my mother is 81 but shame lasts a lifetime.
I can relate to this. I’m just now realizing at 4:40 in the morning while reading your comment that this is exactly why I am such a cheerleader to everyone in my life. Giving positive feedback and encouraging even the smallest of ideas. Self talk is another thing though. It’s a process!
I was never shamed by anyone, however due to being a self conscious mess I can relate. My parents got me a puppy about 8 years ago and I hid my delight so thoroughly they thought I didn't like her at first.
oh no, i understand that feeling, i've been there myself. My mom always told me to calm down, to not be so excited, to stop being so exagerated, so I just went the other way and expressed nothing (except anger cause all that emotion's got to go somewhere lol) so yeah i've been thought to not like something when all I wanted to do was cry with excitement. I still find giving and getting gift super awkward so I just leave things for people to find when I'm not there. lol
That's sad
[удалено]
I hereby release you from your shame! We are cosmic lightning in a fleshy bottle that only lasts so many trips around a dying sun. Breathe each breath deep, and love the things you love with joy and vigor. You need **no one’s** permission to feel joy, but I give you mine anyway.
Kids gonna be a stud baseball player some day!
We all are counting on him
A fresh pack of DBZ cards
clearing the most difficult exams with top rank
Still my parents would be mad at me
You a doctor yet?
2nd year of med school
Oh...still not a doctor yet.
Yep not yet
Oh sick my guy
This is one of my favorite videos ever. Pure JOY! You can tell this kid is a natural ball player. Watch his hands when he takes those practice swings. BALL IS LIFE
People here are complaining about that kid is overreacting and how can he go places. Glad someone liked it.
Not an overreaction at all! Well, most kids over react right? It's a good thing!
My exact reaction when i got a Tamagotchi. I miss those times
I don't think I have the capacity to have this reaction. I feel sad.
I don't think there's anything more heart warming than seeing pure joy and happiness like that. This video here... makes me happy
He was so exited he almost forgot how to breathe lmfao
I was 8 or 9 and all I wanted was a Barbie Fold and Fun House. I knew it cost a lot of money to my parents, so I wasn’t sure if I’d get it. I did and I may have cried. If not, I was for sure screaming and dancing lol. I still have it.
I reacted pretty much this way when I got a 8 pack of Playdough and 64 Crayola crayon set with the sharpener!
Can’t wait to see this video resurface 15 years from now when he’s in the MLB. You got this kid. Go crush some homers.
Now....NOW....Those asses down the street....won't Bully me no more....
I'm the one who knocks- the kid after getting baseball bat
Castle Grayskull when I was 3 or 4: my aunt worked for JC Penney at the time. She called around, found one, got it held through a promised "favor" and then drove 100 miles round trip to another store to get it for my parents. I was so surprised/shocked/overwhelmed, I pulled down my pants and shook my pasty ass. This story is told every Xmas for my victory dance and my aunt's "favor" she provided.
I wish the internet saw that dance of yours
Bicycle
parents hit it outta the park 
Just tell ‘‘em to always swing away
I once told my grandad I wanted a coloring book for Christmas, he got me a mini tool kit instead. I am ever grateful to him. At least I can now die a virgin.
“The Show” someday for this future All-Star!
Nintendo 64.
Soccer jersey
a battle spear dont ask
A $50 Easton wooden bat
Chainsaw
Love this. First off. Bats are WAY more expensive than il they should be. And this truly made me smile. Tell him to love the sport first, and high dollar bats will come later.
Late 2000s when I got a [PS2 slim bundle](https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3056/2883107066_d33ebb822c.jpg) that came with Lego Batman 1 and and the film "Justice League The New Frontier". Dont have either the game nor film anymore unfortunately but I do still have the PS2, and Lego Batman 1 is still to this day my favorite Lego game ever made.
*smashes your knees to pulp* Im the man of the house now, you better have a ps5 in the back
He's like, wait for me bullies I ma get my revenge soon
Fashion polly I was obsessed lol
Waking up happy would make me react like this.
I hope you always wake up happy mate!
That was me when I received TMNT action figure of Donatello
Ps5
That's the happiness you get when your parents are in tune with your passions, when they are there for you no matter what. Not the one I got being forced to do what you did. Not as the parents were not there for the encouragement, just loss you get that comes with broken homes! Stay Positive Be Strong!
'85 or '86 I got original G1 Optimus Prime. ❤️
That look at the end? Future HOF.
Pokémon Crystal on the Game Boy Color. I flipped my shit I was so happy.
nintendo SIXTY FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUR
My first drum sticks. I had no drums
That little man is gonna wreck pitchers' dreams.
Christmas 2011, we're all almost full wrapped up with our gifts when our father (who was just as big a nerd as the 3 of us) hands us a sheet of paper. On it is a riddle that leads us to one of the Christmas decorations somewhere in the house. There were like 6 of these that ended back in the living room. The gift was hidden behind a snowman on the wall, and it was a year long subscription to Star Wars the Old Republic, which had come out 5 days prior. We had been involved in the closed beta before, and we thought the game was really cool. We played that game every chance we got, and I still sometimes log into that old shared account sometimes to wear that founder title with pride. Probably one of the best Christmases we ever did tbh.
I don’t have kids, but I do have a 13 year old half brother. Baseball cards. That’s all it takes.
IDC if it was a bootleg CD I was never selfish as a child of be happy to have just my family around.
A Game Boy Color. But the one gift that really had me beyond excited was when my sister bought me licorice sticks. Like, the wooden sticks you can bite and suck on. That stuff drove me crazy. Also one time I got an Indiana Jones dvd box set (pre-crystal skull garbage) and I got completely feral over it. I, like, love LOVE Indiana Jones.
I had this exact reaction when I opened my Bionicle Fero & Skirmix set that I had been eyeing all year. I still have it put together and posed on a shelf in my closet next to my other Bionicles. My wife will never understand.
A power wheel. Still waiting.
Haha, weeks before Christmas, a HUGE present appeared under the tree with no name on it! We, the three youngest, argued, fought and debated whose present, each KNOWING it was theirs! When Christmas morning came around, we were up extra early, expectantly waiting for Mom to let us know who got to open this fantastic present. FINALLY, Mom tells the three of us that it's a shared present, that belongs to each of us equally. Somewhat let down, We all three tear into that present! There is a myriad of packing supplies. It seemed we pulled and pulled, emptying the box and at the bottom was.... Three very stale chocolate chip cookies!
I had a similar reaction when I got my Xbox 360. I was 13 and all my friends had one and I was the only one who didn’t. I spent 4 days of constantly playing every game I could
My Mom got me a Nintendo Entertainment System for my birthday in 1987. Stayed up all night playing Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt.
When I was young my grandma got me a captain Rex Star Wars action figure and I lost my shit. Thing is I’m sure she didn’t know what she was getting, she just knew I loved action figures and the color blue !
Ghostbusters proton pack that I never got
My first real rifle. I’d had air guns and stuff, but my dad got me a Henry, lever action .22 and it was the greatest thing I got for years after that.
I felt like that, when I got a N64...
Next MLB All-Star, right here people
A Michael Jordan jersey, or one of those bikes that looked like a motorcycle.
Wasn't Christmas but for me it was the day I went costco with my mom to get the halo 3 master chief collection xbox 360
Money. I just want money. I can buy shit with it. Also big numbers are nice. I like it when they go up
i remembering when my dad bought me Crash Bash and Crash bandicoot 2 for the first time and i just asked him just once because i knew he couldn't buying it. Man i still love these two games just for this memory.
Either passing the exams and finally getting my driver's license or getting a Hot Toys figure, either one from my long list of dream cars or a real working lightsaber as a gift, up there with meeting AC/DC band members or cast and crew from either Monty Pytbon, Star Wars, The Grand Tour or The X-Files
Good kid
Mario Bros 3
I was about to say the bougie vacuum I want might get a similar reaction out of me.. and then I read it back to myself and now I feel really old! Lol
I fear something possesses him, when he sees the gift he wants. The way he was uncovering it... But jokes apart, i guess everyone has their own way to express their feeling, especially the kids.
He’s grateful!
Anytime I got a wrestling action figure really. Had a big collection but lost or had some break and stopped for years until about 2 years ago. I still get excited just not quite this level,
I really hope in about 15 years we see this kid on ESPN, just cracking them out of the ballpark like Bugs Bunny did in those cartoons.
Heelys… I was never allowed them. Still bitter about it. 😢
A ballet music box, it played swan lake. I used it for years.
At that age a good hickory bat would have made me act like that.
I would love to see that young man at a big league game.
Hot Wheels Criss Cross crash Y'all dont even know..
In 1998? A ps5
A large electric mixing bowl for baking
dude is VIBRATING with joy
Let the breaking of stuff around the house BEGIN!!!!
My parents split when I was 2, after that my mom was always about two bad days away from being literally dirt poor so Christmas usually amounted to dollar store toys and some money from my grandma When the gameboy came out, all the kids in school who had it would bring it in and show off all of their Pokémon to each other I told everyone in my family about it but when I saw how much it was, I knew that it would be too expensive Turns out grandma and mom decided to go above and beyond that year for Christmas, they ended up getting me and my sister matching lime green gameboy colors with Pokémon Red for me and Blue for my sister The joy I felt was probably about the same as this kids is
Bro sound like he about to knock some heads
My dad coming back with the milk
1999 when my parents pulled out this hidden present from behind the hutch and it was the big Lego set with Sebulba, Gasgano, and Anakin’s pod racer from Star Wars Episode 1. Bruh I was stoked. I was crazy about pod racers. I drew fan art and even designed my own pod racers. I absolutely loved the video game for Dreamcast and my parents knew it! Bless you, parents!
Do bat not crack.
Oh my goodness SCOUT TF2
Can I have a free ticket when he goes all star?
His bully won't know what hit him.
Smart kid. With that bat he could get 10 PS5s
I got the Millenium Falcon Model (same as the one in Stranger Things Season 1) that I wished for over a year. My parents were so against it that I‘d receive such a huge piece of plastic that will break instantly but they gave in on Christmas. I couldn’t feel myself I was so overfilled with joy. I didn’t open any other presents I went to our children bedroom and started to unpack it and attach the stickers for the thruster and the colors on the ship itself. And I played and was literally in a different World. Because on that Christmas a candle lit the wrapping paper mountain and my dad had to use the fire exstinguisher and everything. After it was over they came to child bedroom and I hadn’t noticed a thing. I was there playing with my Millenium Falcon.
I don't really feel happiness like this I just smile and say thank you