Christmas is the season of exchanging gifts. We all indulge in the spirit of the festival, citing ‘Ti’s the season’ when we get all excited about Secret Santa in office. But not everyone ends up with a gift they would love. Because it takes a lot to be thoughtful, to see a person for who they really are, what they would truly love to receive, and make this wish come true.
But once in a while, someone quite unexpected will play the Santa of your dreams and bring you something that you absolutely deserved! And that can become a gift of a lifetime, just like this Twitter user Hayley Webster experienced!
Hayley, a writer from Norfolk, England, shared a beautiful and heart-touching story of receiving the most thoughtful Christmas gift in a Twitter thread that has now gone viral.
The story begins with a nine-year-old Hayley recounting a Christmas gift she received when she and her younger sister were living with their father, after he was estranged from their mother.
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Hayley’s father had a girlfriend who Hayley liked very much and indulged in fun activities with, such as making Christmas meal menus.
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ICYMI, The Snowman was an animated short film released in 1982, based on a children’s book. Hayley’s school was putting it up as a play!
https://twitter.com/bookshaped/status/937249606550933504
Why is this little tidbit of trivia important, you wonder? Well, you’ll see soon! Meanwhile….
Hayley’s mother was absent from her and her sister’s lives for long periods of time. But their father’s girlfriend took care of them and tried to do sweet little things to cheer them up.
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And the big sister that she was, Hayley tried her best to make Christmas special for her little sister by making little gifts for her and hiding them all over the house!
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She even told her sister bedtime stories!
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Then one night, Hayley’s mother swung by their house…
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… and even though Hayley should not have told this to their dad’s girlfriend, she couldn’t help. The girlfriend had been so nice to Hayley and her sister!
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How nice, you ask? Well she was nice enough to take Hayley aside and appreciate all the efforts Hayley was putting in to maker her little sister’s Christmas magical!
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But you know how they say, actions speak louder than words? Well, Christmas came early for Hayley in the form of an unexpected gift!
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There was the sweetest message on it, but no name of the sender on the envelope!
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And when Hayley opened her gift….
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Do you know what makes this song extra special? The song We’re Walking In The Air is the central music of the movie The Snowman! Yep, the very same one that Hayley’s school was performing!
OMG, so much feels!
Hayley had been trying to learn to play the song for a while and this was just the thing she needed. She was touched!
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Someone had actually noticed her, took care to note who she was and what she needed and gifted her something keeping that in mind. Of course, it had to be the best thing ever!
Hayley goes on to talk about how despite the rest of the Christmas being super bizarre in many ways, the thoughtful gift remained the single most fond memory that she recalled every year!
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And that’s the thing with gifts, isn’t it? We almost always think of them as a burden, a task that we can get over with. But how many of us actually think of it as a chance to show the other person how much we love and care for them?
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Hayley’s parting words, though rightfully pointed out by her as cheesy, have a wonderful bit of advice in the true spirit of Christmas: Show people that they matter.
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Of course, Hayley’s little Christmas story was a real tearjerker and made lots of people emotional in the comments.
But the real treat came from none other than J. K. Rowling herself!
The Queen of all things heart-touching retweeted Hayley’s thread and called her story ‘beautiful’!
This is so beautiful. https://t.co/4Af3rywdQs
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 3, 2017
OMG! Being a crazy HP fan, I can totally imagine what this mere four-word tweet could’ve done to Hayley!
As expected, receiving an endorsement from Rowling herself was the equivalent of being told, “Yer a wizard, Harry”! Hayley gushed about it on Twitter!
https://twitter.com/bookshaped/status/937401583326941184
Hey, Harry Potter fans! Remember the time when in the first book, Harry unexpectedly receives Christmas gifts for the first time ever? An invisibility cloak that he could put to perfect use and a hand-stitched sweater from his best friend’s mother, something that he could never receive from his own mom.
Can you imagine what that would’ve meant to him? Well, Hayley sure does! So folks, he next time you want to show someone you love them, remember, the money doesn’t matter. What matters is the love and thought you put into your gift!