Back when I was around 9 or 10 years old (somewhere around that age), one of my mother's best friends (along with her husband and their three daughters) lived way out in the suburbs, and a few times a year we'd go out there to visit for the whole day since they lived so far out. However one day, mother brought us kids there just to pick up our Christmas presents that my Mother's friend had thoughtfully got for us. I had no idea that we were going to get presents from my Mother's friend untill we got there.
When I heard that they had a present for me, I was so incredibly excited. The fact that these wonderful people that I truly loved had a Christmas present for me thrilled me beyond words. I wondered what they got me. My mind raced with the images of the thousands upon thousands of toys I have seen advertised on television commercials the whole year round, especially this close to Christmas.
Instead, they handed me a package that contained a soap and a sponge. Something that I've NEVER seen advertised on tv. It was probably something they bought of a rack at their local drugstore or something like that (It certainly didnt come from Toys R Us, thats for sure). The soap was shaped like a baseball, with baseball stitching carved onto it, and the sponge was yellow colored, and shaped like a catchers glove. In fact, it you could slip it on your hand just like a glove. I hated sports (then and now), including baseball. I found sports to be quite boring.
No, I dont think they were trying to send me a hint about my personal hygiene, since unlike other kids my own age, I bathed regularly.
BUT, at the time, I really cherished these people who gave me this gift (still do in fact), and as a result, I cherished the gift as well. In fact, I cherished it so much, that I wouldn't get around to using the gift for months. Instead, I would carefully open the hard plastic packaging it was in, just to take it out, and hold my gift, sort of play with it, and then just as carefully put it back inside it's packaging.
I finally did get around to using the gift in the bathtub, but that was only out of necessity. In preparation for taking a bath one day, I found that we had no more soap left over in the apartment, except for my soap and sponge gift. So I had to use that reluctantly. It was a few more baths before the baseball shaped soap finally was used up, and I still used the sponge glove but I wound up wearing that out and it had to be thrown out.
Again, at the time, I REALLY cherished that gift, and I REALLY cherished the people who gave it to me (still do), but today, I look back on it, and I shake my head. Out of all Christmas gifts to give to a kid. A soap and a sponge.