by Ma. Teresa Baniaga

Created on: January 17, 2009

There was once a time when Christmas as we know it, almost did not arrive. It was the year when the act of a little boy, without his knowledge, had a powerful effect on this great tradition we know as the Season of Giving - Christmas.

Tony is a bright, lovely boy of nine. He is a middle child, with an older sister and a baby brother. Their family is a happy one, with lots of love to go around. Tony loves Christmas and every year, he patiently waits for the time when Santa Claus would come to their house to give presents.

One day in church, Tony heard about Jesus giving them the best gift ever. He also learned that the real meaning of Christmas is not about receiving but rather, giving.

"It is more blessed to give than to receive," intoned the preacher.

Tony thought of Santa Claus, who did nothing but make children around the world happy by giving and giving and giving some more. So, in his young mind, he decided to change that and be the one to give something to Santa Claus this time.

"It's not fair for him to be giving and giving and we kids not giving him anything in return," he thought. He could not wait for Christmas to come. He started making a list of all possible gifts he can give to Santa Claus.

He thought long and hard about what Santa Claus is like, so that he would get him the perfect present. He read books about where Santa lives and how he looks like, what he wears and just about everything about him.

Aside from reading, he also asked his mother and father, his teacher and friends, what they thought was the best present for Santa Claus. Some of his friends thought it unusual to be asking such a question.

"Why Tony, are you planning to reverse Christmas this time?" teased Randy, his playmate.

"I haven't heard of anyone ever giving Santa anything," taunted another playmate.

Tony ignored the comments. Instead, he thought about how to give the present to Santa Claus. Will he just leave it on the mantelpiece, beside the glass of milk and cookies they always left for Santa? Will he write a letter to his old bearded friend as well? How about posting it?

"Oh!, it would be nice to hand the present personally to him," Tony thought.

His next concern was how much to spend and where to buy the present. He tried to save every penny that he had, the coins his parents give him when they go to the candy shop, the money his grandmother gives him once in a while when they go visit. He also planned on asking a few more coins from Mom when it was time to do the Christmas shopping.

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