It was the gift that my parents didn’t have for us on Christmas Day that turned out to be one of the most interesting ones of the season that led to a lot of conversation throughout the day.
Instead of unwrapping a present or opening a box, the last gift of the day was inside of a business-size envelope.
For a moment, a few of us in the room thought we were about to open an envelope that had plane tickets to a warm destination or a trip to a national park. I won’t mention any names today.
There were no surprise tickets, however, inside the envelope.
Instead, there was a printout to show that the gift had been ordered but that it wouldn’t arrive until a few days after Christmas. We all received the same paper receipt inside our envelopes — both of my sisters and our spouses, as well as my soon-to-be 16-year-old niece who will be driving sometime this year.
My parents even bought the same gift for themselves so that all nine of us would receive the same item.
My mom and dad seem to always give us a practical gift at least once a year for our birthdays, for Christmas or some other celebration. Occasionally it is something for our house while other times it might be a device or tool that they have heard us mention we need.
I really have come to appreciate those gifts over the years, especially when they are items I would never buy but always end up needing at some point.
This year’s practical present, however, wasn’t one that any of us had mentioned throughout the year. And just to be sure, I asked my sisters if they had suggested the small gift to my parents.
“Nope … this must have been their idea,” they both said.
This year’s pragmatic present was a tool — or perhaps a device — to be kept in our cars’ glove boxes. When I first saw it, all I could decipher was that it plugged into the car’s power socket.
I wasn’t sure how to react upon receiving the REACT 7-in-1 multi-tool until I realized what it was.
They had bought us all a small multi-tool device that serves as a pocket-size charger, a power bank, a flashlight, a red flashing light, a seat belt cutter, an S.O.S audible alarm, and a window glass breaker.
The device is designed to help escape from a car following a crash in addition to its other features.
Apparently they had seen it featured on the news as a must-have gadget for your cars. After a few clicks, Google took me to the October 2022 program on CBS Mornings where they must have seen it on the news.
It took me a few minutes to figure out all of its uses, and now it’s stored away in the glove box.
My mom called a few days after it arrived just to make sure we had opened the box, made sure it worked and stored it in the glove box.
“You never know when you might need that,” she said.
And wouldn’t you know — I have already had to use it once when my Apple AirTag fell out as I was getting in my car one night to leave school. The device’s flashlight helped me find it in a dark parking lot.
After 42 years, it seems my parents still know just the right gadgets to get us that I’d never think to buy myself.
jdpeeper2@hotmail.com
