Personalised Charirty Christmas Cards

Would You Believe These Chrismas Stories

UNUSUAL GIFTS

SOME PEOPLE ALWAYS try hard to give out of the ordinary gifts at Christmas. Robert Louis Stevenson, the writer, gave a child his birthday to keep for the rest of her life. Little Annie Hide, daughter of the American land commissioner in Samoa, was born on Christmas Day, and always felt cheated because she only had one opportunity to celebrate the two occasions. When Stevenson heard about her problem, he had legal documents drawn up to officially give her his own birthday, November 13th, for life. John Donne, the 17th century English poet, decided to buy himself a strange present. He arranged to have it gift wrapped, but his family, who all gathered round for the occasion, were shocked to find it was a coffin. "This is a gift to myself" he announced to his astonished wife. "And I mean to sleep in it for the rest of my life". He did too. The catalogue of odd items people inflict on each other at Christmas is endless. A well wisher once sent the Isle of Man Highway Authority a steamroller, because of the poor state of the roads. At the turn of the century, an eminent English surgeon once received from a grateful patient a razor strop made from human skin. And an American millionaire even went to the extreme of purchasing a newspaper - so that he could send a special Christmas morning edition to his friends.