This is one of my favorite Christmas Stories ever and we relive it each and every year.
My two boys have always loved a good prank and Christmas has been no exception. As they were growing up, I always tried to have the same amount of gifts for each of them. I really did not consider the money portions being equal, just the same amount. If one of them had six wrapped gifts, then the other had six, even if I had to wrap two or three together. Many times through the years, I have seen presents with torn paper on the ends by the tape and razor blade cuts to the packages. When I would ask about the blunders, I was assured they knew absolutely nothing about it.
One year my husband surprised me and bought me a fairly large diamond ring. He was so pleased that he had picked it out all by himself; he called the kids in to swear them to secrecy and to show his surprise for their mother. Of course, I was kept completely in the dark about anything even being bought for me.
Well, unknown to my husband, the kids formulated a plan to really surprise me and especially their dad. They took the ring box and removed the real diamond and replaced it with one from a quarter vending machine. Marc told me afterward he spent five dollars trying to get that ring out of the machine. He kept being rewarded with bubble gum or tattoos. They cut the tape on the sides, slid the ribbon off and replaced the large sparkling diamond with the counterfeit one. The ring itself was bright gold-covered plastic.
They carefully hid the real diamond so that I would not come across it in putting their clothes away in their drawers. They hid it in a pair of socks. My husband was so excited that he could hardly wait to let me open the little box. He kept asking if I wanted to open it early, but I wanted to wait until Christmas Eve and open with all of them.
Well, it was finally Christmas Eve and every one of us had opened a gift. Roy handed me the little box. I will admit I did wonder what he had bought. Sometimes he has really surprised me! I tore away the paper and popped open the lid and there it was – the worst and most fake diamond I had ever seen.
I thought, “What in the world has he done? This is ludicrous to fool me this way!” He could tell by my face that I was not happy, so he began to explain, “We can change it if you don’t like it; it’s okay; don’t cry.” I just held the box looking flabbergasted at the cloudy “diamond.” He stepped over to me and the most wretched look filled his eyes. “Oh my Lord, someone has come in here and changed out this ring. Somebody stole the real one. I’m going to call the police right now,” he roared. All this time, we had never even looked at the kids, but they were so upset. Just like us, they were wondering who had done such a thing. As they realized that he really was calling the police, they brought out the real diamond and explained things.
I do not know if he had the idea of killing them or hugging them. He was fairly comical at this point. When he buys me something now, he hides it until it is time for giving. He said he learned his lesson and does not even trust his own sons about this kind of thing. I still have the fake diamond and I wear it sometimes now just to remember that special Christmas.
Weekly Recipe
Baked Onion Rings – ½ cup cornflakes, ½ cup dry breadcrumbs, 1 egg, ½ cup buttermilk, ¼ cup flour, 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, coarse salt and ground pepper, one medium onion cut into rings. Preheat oven to 450*. In food processor, pulse cornflakes and breadcrumbs until fine. In a bowl whisk egg, buttermilk, flour, and cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Dip onion rings into mixture and then into cornflake and breadcrumb mix and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake, turning once for about 16 minutes.
Peggy Sims is a Kosciusko resident. She writes a weekly column for The Star-Herald.
