When you were a kid, what was the best Christmas present you received?

This was the question my dad posed to us on Christmas day. I couldn't recall a best, per se. Every year it seemed that Christmas was just right. The clothes were balanced out by neat things like Crazy Carpet sleds and Lego and roller skates. Then there was the year I was absolutely convinced that I was getting a cat. Instead of saying no, mom and dad said something like 'We'll see' or 'Ask Santa'. That year Santa left me a book on cats. Mom and Dad dodged the disappointed child bullet by letting the blame fall squarely on St Nick. They probably told me that he couldn't bring pets on the sleigh.

My dad said his favorite was a toss up between a table hockey game and the year he got the entire Boston Bruins uniform - jersey, socks, pants and gloves. I wonder how all the kids playing shinny on the frozen sloughs kept track - how many Eddie Shores and how many Rocket Richards were on each team?

My Auntie Ann said a child's size china tea set was her memorable gift. Her sister, my Auntie Eleanor said it was a doll with brown hair and eyes that opened and closed. They came from a big farm family, and I'm sure that the kids didn't get many special presents - these must have been precious toys. They both remember their mother baking the Christmas cake on Christmas Eve - if it was baked any earlier in the month the boys would eat it all!

My mom said her favorite gift was the year she got skis - they all loved to ski, although the thought of my grandfather on skis makes me giggle. He did a lot of things in his younger days that I have a hard time imagining. I asked my grandma once, how did they meet? She told me that he was her rollerskating teacher, of all things. When they were married, grandma said that one of the other things they loved to do was go square dancing. Do si do grandpa, do si so.

My brother said the neatest toy he received was an electric car set that had a track that went up the wall. He also mentioned that he loved his table hockey set. I think every Canadian household has had one of these at one time or another. My Bryan said it was his most memorable gift as a kid - the teams were usually Toronto and Montreal, the classic NHL match up.

This year I received an interesting present. It didn't come wrapped. It isn't fancy or shiny or even new. It is dull and heavy and has more than a few nicks out of it. It has flecks of paint and dirt embedded in it. A humble tool that has made many things, from bookshelves to tree houses. My grandfather's hammer. Thank you Dad, for passing on this simple gift. I'm still a kid, so I will say that this is the gift that stands out for me, as the best one.