This sweepstakes is now closed. Random winner is… 53.
Also known as a “wobbly bike” in my house, a good balance bike teaches balance and bicycle coordination without the hassle of pedals. Skip the training wheels forever. The YBIKE has motorcycle-styling (but in candy colors) and can stand independently lending to the feeling of greater stability.
Ready to move on from the trike? YBIKE makes a great BIG gift for toddlers this holiday season. Recommended for ages 2 to 4. Retail price is approximately $80. Learn more about the cool features and sassy styling on ybikeusa.com.
Win one!
Leave a comment below sharing your best childhood memory of receiving the big box under the tree – or – share the memory of the toy that got away (Did you always want a pony, an Easy Bake Oven or backyard trampoline but your parents were too lame? Tell us everything. We’re here for you). Comment from Dec. 7 to Dec. 15. so we have a shot of being the big box under your little one’s tree. U.S. Residents only.
Related post: the many many bikes before a real bike
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We were invited to receive a wobbly Ybike and give one to our readers this Christmas and we gleefully accepted. Scarlett will be receiving hers under the Christmas tree. Shhh, don’t tell her.
One of my favorite Christmas gift memories is one I don’t remember clearly, but my family loves to share: for my second Christmas I was given a cowgirl doll on a wheeled horse. When I opened the package, I promptly tossed the doll in a corner and spent the rest of the day scooting around on the horse.
My favorite memory was seeing my hot pink Huffy bike under the tree at about age 8. I also always wanted an Easy Bake oven. Thank goodness I have a little girl who I can live through some day on that one
One year when I was 8 or so, the only thing I wanted was a puppy, and I told it to everyone who asked. I wrote notes, I made a list of reasons why I should have a puppy, and I pestered my (single) dad ENDLESSLY. Poor guy.
He was always pretty upfront about it: I wasn’t going to get a puppy because having a puppy wouldn’t work with the present he already had planned for me. And naturally I was miserable about it.
But then, come Christmas, I find under the tree tickets for me, my dad, my grandma and grandpa to go on a 2-week cruise. It was definitely my most memorable Christmas, because I learned that I don’t always know what’s best.
What a great giveaway! Thank you for the opportunity!
I so wanted a magic set and we opened all the gifts and it wasn’t there. I set about playing with my other gifts and it just magically appeared under the used wrapping paper!
Weird but true- my parents generally chose better than I did, probably because the answer to everything was “well, you can buy it with your money or you can ask Santa for it” – and they were good at picking the best items for the tree. But the pony… I did want one of those and my parents never did believe I’d take care of it all by myself…
one year, when i woke up and ran into the living room i saw a huge box from santa for me! i was so excited! i opened it up and found a huge deluxe art set for me! i was so happy! i love to draw and paint and it was the perfect christmas present for me!
every year i would get a new book in the Anne of Green Gables series. it wasn’t a big box but i looked forward to it every year. and i was so sad when i got the last book in the series. in fact i think i’ll go re-read my books again for the hundredth time
My favorite gift ever was in the 80s when Cabbage Patch Kids were the rage. It was the end of the morning, all the gifts were open and I was secretly disappointed that I didn’t get my Cabbage Patch Doll.
Then my mom pretended to see a box behind the tree. Faking surprise she asked me to see what it was. I ripped open the box…Glory! It was my doll. Her name was Athena. I’ll never forget that day. ; )
I remember the first year my family got a computer. It was technically a gift for my dad, but we were all so excited about this. Color screen! Spell check! Multiple games! We still had a little while to wait for the internet, but we were all thrilled.
I never got the miniature kitchen with sink and refrigerator. I used that as an excuse for not being a very good cook for a very long time.
I wanted a bike sooo bad and was greatly disappointed to walk into the living room on Christmas Morning and see that there was not a bike. I went downstairs to get my Christmas Stocking and there was my bike…. set up in front of the fireplace so it looked like it got stuck when Santa was bringing it down the chimney.
I think my favorite “big box” present was the Lite Brite my brother and I got one year. Of course, knowing what my mom and dad went through stepping on those pokey little pegs, I don’t know if I will ever buy one for my son…
My most memorable present was the year I was a little doubtful and asked for an autographed picture of Santa, yes I know that is strange but what can I say, kids are strange. I have to say the big man delivered. I not only wanted a horse but was even shown one that could be mine if it grew up nice. I never heard another word about it, I think my dad was trying to shut me up about the pony for a little while. Oh well.
I was about 7, I think, and totally obsessed with Barbies (I know) and I wanted the Barbie Dream House, all yellow plastic and fake windows. My parents spent all night of Christmas Eve putting it together, including putting all the silly stickers all over everything so it would look real. I never had another dollhouse, but I played with that thing until I was an embarassingly old age.
I remember the year I got my real adult bike under the tree. I’d outgrown (both in height and preference) my trusty and beloved pink princess bike with the banana seat and streamers. Santa wisely upgraded me to a shimmery teal bike that I wouldn’t be ashamed to ride around the neighborhood… nice work, Santa!
My favorite big box gift was the Nintendo when I was 10 or so. It came from Santa, but somehow mom and dad knew exactly how to use it.
I remember laying in bed Christmas morning terrified to get up and see what Santa had (or hadn’t) delivered. I had my hopes set on getting a bike, and I was going to be crushed if there wasn’t one under the tree. Finally I worked up the courage to go into the living room…..and there it was!
When I was 9 I asked for an American Girl doll. Back then there was only Kirsten, Samantha, or Molly. I wanted Molly because she had the most modern clothes. My parents always let me open one gift on Christmas Eve and the others had to wait until Christmas morning. I found a box under the tree that looked like the right shape and opened it! It was Molly! I was so excited – I wanted to play with her hair immediately, but my mom made me wait 45 minutes until I could let it out of its braids. I think she was hoping I would change my mind and just leave it the way it was knowing I would never be able to get the braids back the way they looked.
I desperately wanted one of this Cozy Coupe cars when I was little. I can still remember running downstairs and seeing one under the tree, ready to ride!
When I was seven my Mother was in and out of the hospital most of that year and my Dad had been laid off from work. So Christmas was looking pretty dim. There was a woman that knew a friend of my Mom’s who was looking to give a little girl a Cabbage Patch Kid. It was the year they came out and were going for $100 a piece. So that year I got a Cabbage Patch Kid but my biggest memory of that is my Mom sitting in the rocking chair crying as I opened it. I’m not sure if they were tears of joy or sadness but they will forever be in my memory.
I was dying for a play kitchen as a kid, but alas, it never did arrive. In hindsight I think there just wasn’t any room for one in the house!
I fondly remember asking for a no fear hat (remember that brand) in middle school. I was handed a present wrapped as a hat. I was so excited! I opened it and it was a hat… a Harley Davidson hat. My dad said well you have to have no fear to ride a Harley! I tried not to cry but I was so upset. Later that day I got my last Christmas present. Yup a real no fear hat!
So cool! Have these been out long enough to be found on Craigslist yet? I’m going to have to check that out (if I don’t win).
Thanks, ladies! My great grandpa bought all of his kids, grandkids, AND great grandkids their first bikes. That was the best (and only) “big box” gift I remember getting.
I remember the year we got our sleds. Four sleds added to the pile of presents made the whole room seem as if it were filled with gifts! I’m sure the presents weren’t piled all the way from the tree to the door, but that’s how I remember it. And oh, the excitement of using those sleds for the first time. Thanks Mom and Dad, er, Santa!
I remember getting a 3 story barbie house with a working elevator! I was in heaven! I loved that thing!
Okay, the best gift I received wasn’t for Christmas, it was for my birthday – a Cabbage Patch Doll when I was 5
The most disappointing Christmas gift EVER: ENCYCLOPEDIAS!!!! My sister and I were nerds, but still, who gets encyclopedias for Christmas?!
It wasn’t so much that I got a fantastic gift any year (though we always got gifts and had nice Christmases, and for that I am thankful), but I remember being really embarrassed one year. I was ten, and I had recently had the chicken pox. My cousin (who is 17 years older than I am and a guy) gave me a kids workout set, complete with handweights and a mat. Being a girl and being ten, I was just starting to fall into that whole negative body issue thing and I spent the next several months working out, thinking that I had been given workout stuff because I was getting too fat. In reality, he thought I would need it to get back into shape after a prolonged illness. I still sort of feel badly about that one when I think of the anguish it caused.
My favorite big box gift sat in my parents’ room for weeks before the big day. I had to look at it all the time (though I had no idea what was in it). When I got to open it, it was better than I even imagined-it was packed with all kinds of funky old clothes from a thrift store. I played with those clothes for years, and still remember them as the best gift from my childhood.
I grew up on a farm so the sky was the limit when it came to playing outside the house. We had a few barns which my brother and I loved to explore. One year a few weeks before Christmas, my mother instructed us to stay out of the red barn (the biggest one) until we were told we could play in it again. We immediately knew that a Christmas present was hidden inside. We tried to guess what could possibly be big enough that it had to be hidden out there. We had lots of extravagant ideas. I decided that it must be a horse. The anticipation of this ‘big’ present was almost more than we could take but looking back a lot of the fun too. Christmas morning we found a present that was addressed to the both of us. We opened it to find a notecard telling us to go outside and there we found a new shiny, red go-kart! It was the best present! We had years of fun riding around the farm.
So cute! Too bad I can’t join – not US Resident. Good luck everyone!
I wanted a bike so bad, and I was almost sure I was going to find one under the tree. There were lots of other toys, but no bike. Then my dad went out to grab a trash bag to put all the wrapping paper in…and came back wheeling in a purple bike!! I was so excited!
One year i really wanted a barbie dreamhouse. Typically our family didn’t get the really big gifts, my parents did not have a ton of money. But Christmas morning beside the tree was a huge box for my sister and i. We tore through the wrapping faster than a tornado! Inside was the Barbie dreamhouse. That was the best Christmas ever!
My favorite Christmas was the year that I thought my folks had forgotten to get me ANYTHING for Christmas. I watched somewhat patiently as my brother and sister got (and opened) all their gifts and I tried hard not to cry about it… Then my parents told me that Santa must have forgotten to bring my present inside and that I needed to check in the garage. Out in the garage was this amazing doll house that my dad had spent weeks building just for me! I’ll never forget that.
I got my first bike when I was 6 years old. I woke up Christmas morning, and there it was – a beautiful royal blue bike with streamers on the handle bars. Everything else in the room paled in comparison, and the joy on my face was clearly evident. I’m sure I had been begging my parents for months and that gift absolutely made my Christmas! It’s memories like that one that I hope I can create for my kids. Happy Holidays!
I remember getting a pink Huffy with streamers on the handles and a horn. I would not get off that thing!
One of my vivid early memories was learning how to ride a bike with no trainer wheels. My father taught me and my brothers in our back yard. We had a slight hill to give us a little momentum but a soft landing in the grass. I was so proud of myself!
My favorite Christmas memory was the year my parents got my brother and I pet hamsters with all of the bells and whistles. We were so excited!
I remember wanting a Cabbage Patch Kid when I was 8 and my mom stood in line and did the big pushing match thing and got it for me! I wanted a blonde little girl and I got a black preemie but I was as happy as a clam!
I was a child of the 80′s so I have to say, Cabbage Patch Kid! We did not have much money growing up so I know now, that buying 3 dolls for the 3 kids was a stretch. Oh, I loved that yarn hair and baby smell!
By Far the best gift ever was the Cabbage Patch Doll…I still remember her name “Justina”! I still have her packed away with her sisters…Maybe someday I will have a girl and can share them with her
The best Christmas gift I can remember when I was little was a life sized (larger than me) doll that came with a little crib (which she couldn’t quite fit in). My brothers loved climbing into that crib and eventually they broke it, but she was an awesome doll!
I got a Get in Shape, Girl workout set for Christmas one year. I’ll never forget that ribbon on a stick, the 0 pound weights, the sweatbands, and the tape that went along with it! I loved feeling like an olympian, training for gymnastics and skipping all around the house in my leotard.
I wanted a tea set for years, but was too embarrassed to ask my (feministe) mom for one. When I mentioned it years later, she said, “Why would you think that??”
My son, who is 3 months old, already has one (Winnie the Pooh). I think Mom would approve.
One of my favorite gifts was the year I got the maxi Doll(It is like a barbie but bigger)I wanted it so bad and was so happy when it was under the tree for me. I so hope we win the bike my little girl would love it! I love your blog bytheway.
The gift that got away was the Star Wars At-At, my mom thought it was made of cheap plastic and wouldn’t get it. I hope we win this bike for my son, he would love to cruise around on it.
One that almost got away… I had just turned 6 when I received my own record player for xmas. To my dismay, it’s case looked like blue jeans and -worse- it did not have a microphone! I balked at it and pouted and it quickly became apparent to my parents that this was not what I had in mind. A quick trip to Sears followed and a more girly one -with- a microphone was secured. I can still remember how badly I behaved about my disappointment.
I wish I still had my first trike. Good grief, I received it in, oh, in 1957 and remember it like it was yesterday. It was red and just my size. Sturdy and shiney, I rode it like a bat out of hell all over the place in my small Kansas town tree-lined street. My mom and dad were so excited for me to see it on Christmas. I love them for that memory!
I will always remember my Big Wheel! I loved that thing & would go so fast. Of course I never listened to my mom when she told me to wear shoes and always ended up with a stubbed toe! But I still loved to ride it!
My favorite Christmas memory was Christmas Eve every year. My bedroom was right next to the living room (where Santa put the presents) so I had to sleep upstairs with my little sister. We would stay up really late giggling and listening for Santa’s sleigh. That memory is better than any gift I ever received!
One of my best Christmas memories was…my first bike! My parents handed me a red ribbon that I followed to my bike! Woo hoo! It was yellow & green. The banana seat had green peas and it had Sweet Pea written in swirly script. I loved my bike! I didn’t know how dorky it was until two mean boys chanted “sweeeet pea, sweeeet pea” whenever I was out riding. Now that I think about it, maybe they were chanting “sweet PEE”. Ugh!