What’s your favorite Christmas gift from when you were a kid? And - do you still have it?

Sitting beside me on the end table is a Swiss Army knife I got when I was about ten or eleven years old. I didn’t actually get it as a present, but rather that year I got a bunch of clothes that didn’t fit and another toy or two from a relative who thought I was much younger (no, it wasn’t a pink bunny suit...).

I talked my folks both into letting me return all that stuff (seemed to be a bigger deal to return presents back then than it does now), AND buy myself the knife.

I remember riding my bike downtown (musta been early January!) to the sporting goods store and picking out the knife.  I was afraid it would be stolen somehow, so then brought it to another store where they engraved my name on the large blade.

It surprised me, when I started thinking about it and doing the math, that at least 27-28 years later I still have the knife and other than the return spring for the small scissors that broke it’s all there and works well.

I’ll use it today to open the bottle of Christmas wine, and for getting those pesky presents out of their boxes. I have a Gerber multi-tool thingie, but somehow it’s not the same as the Swiss Army knife...just doesn’t feel the same in your hand.

My 8 year old boy thinks I should buy a newer and bigger one (I’ll admit to eyeing them online, with all the new gadgets and gizmos they have now) and giving him this one, but I’m not sure I’m ready to do that yet.

Here’s to special gifts, old man’s memories, and the real reason for the season - celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus.

Merry Christmas!