Poetry found in some of our Gift Baskets

Over the years we have run across several poems by various authors (known and not so known), that have touched us in various ways.  Some of these can be found on various products tucked into a few of our gift baskets.  We will be adding more of our product poems to this page and add holiday specific poetry for all of the major holidays.

General Poetry

A Hundred Years from now 
It will not matter 
what my bank account was, 
the sort of house I lived in, 
the kind of car I drove...
...but the world may be different
because I was important in
the life of a
CHILD

Footprints in the Sand

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed
he was walking along the beach with the LORD.
Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene he noticed two sets of
footprints in the sand: one belonging
to him, and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him,
he looked back at the footprints in the sand.

He noticed that many times along the path of
his life there was only one set of footprints.

He also noticed that it happened at the very
lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he
questioned the LORD about it:

"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow
you, you'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life,
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why when
I needed you most you would leave me."

The LORD replied:

"My son, my precious child,
I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."

written by Mary Stevenson

Christian Poetry

The Fingerprints of God

My God is so good,
I know He cares for me.
With His Strong and mighty hands
He holds me tenderly. 

His hands are there to help me.
They keep me safe and calm,
Because the names of those He loves
Are written in His palm.

He protects and guides me
With His staff and rod,
But with His hands He shapes me;
I bear the fingerprints of God.

Some of the greatest poetry ever written was created during the holiday season and below are a few of our favorites.

The stillness of the night was pierced with the cry of a babe, lying in a manger, unnoticed by the world. His mother gazed at him with a quiet joy at the miracle that is life.

"Jesus", Mary whispered softly, remembering the words of the angel, the child would be called the "Son of the Most High". She lifted His tiny hand and she studied His little fingers. How was she to know a spike would one day pierce this hand for the salvation of the world?

This spike is a reminder of that evening and it is meant to be hung on a sturdy branch near the trunk of your Christmas tree. It will go unnoticed by most, as tinsel and lights dazzle them. For you and those who look deeper, beneath the decor of the holidays, this spike will bear the significance of the One who waits today for you ... with nail-scarred hands that are outstretched in welcome

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tinny reindeer,
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
‘Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, on Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!’
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound,
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
and his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.
His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
and the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
and I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
and filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
and laying his finger aside of his nose,
and giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
and away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
‘Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.

Clement Clarke Moore wrote the Christmas poem twas the night before Christmas for his children in 1822.

GET READY KIDS….
 
 Christmas, Christmas is nearly here,
 All the kids get in gear.
 Santa Claus is getting set,
 To send his presents, so don’t you threat.
 
 As long as you have all been good,
 You’ll get your gifts, as you should.
 And if you have been very bad,
 Then on Christmas day you’ll be feeling sad.
 
 So decorate the Christmas tree,
 And make sure you’re as polite as can be.
 As Santa’s little helpers will tell,
 If you being swearing or starting to yell.
 
 So be nice to mum and be nice to dad.
 And whatever you do don’t get them mad.
 Christmas it’s that far away,
 So be nice and it will pay.
 
 Nichola Firth
 19.11.98

I know I haven't been an easy child,
 But love for you lies underneath my whims;
 There is no way I could be tame or mild:
 I need sometimes to shout and wave my limbs.
 You're the wall I need to test my height,
 The countervailing force to test my strength,
 The chain I hammer at with all my might,
 Even though you have increased its length.
 It's tough, I know, to be both Mom and Dad,
 To raise me all alone, just hit or miss;
 To have to play at once good cop and bad,
 And give me grief before my goodnight kiss.
 But love against the odds is stronger still:
 I need your fierce, proud love, and always will.

MOTHER'S LOVE

Her love is like
an island in life's ocean,
vast and wide

A peaceful, quiet shelter
From the wind, the rain, the tide.
'Tis bound on the north by Hope,
By Patience on the West,
By tender Counsel on the South
And on the East by Rest.

Above it like a beacon light
Shine Faith, and Truth, and Prayer;
And thro' the changing scenes of life
I find a haven there.

~Author Unknown~

M-O-T-H-E-R

"M" is for the million things she gave me,
"O" means only that she's growing old,
"T" is for the tears she shed to save me,
"H" is for her heart of purest gold;
"E" is for her eyes, with love-light shining,
"R" means right, and right she'll always be,

Put them all together, they spell "MOTHER,"

A word that means the world to me.

~By Howard Johnson~

I LOVE YOU MOM!

Mom's smiles can brighten any moment,
Mom's hugs put joy in all our days,
Mom's love will stay with us forever
and touch our lives in precious ways...

The values you've taught,
the care you've given,
and the wonderful love you've shown,
have enriched my life
in more ways than I can count.

I Love you Mom!

~Author Unknown~

Fathers Day poetry

A Father and a Dad Are Not the Same

A father and a dad are not the same:
 One can be a dad and not a father,
 Or one can be a father and not bother
 To earn through love the more endearing name.
 Some find fatherhood a bit too tame,
 Leaving all the details to the mother,
 Or dumping the sweet burden on another
 Man with just a passing twinge of shame.
 You have been our dad so many years
 That you've become the landscape that is home,
 The mountain that we look to from afar.
 No matter where we go we're not alone,
 For you remain within to still our fears
 And be the word that tells us who we are.

A Little Girl Needs Daddy

A little girl needs Daddy
For many, many things:
Like holding her high off the ground
Where the sunlight sings!

Like being the deep music
That tells her all is right
When she awakens frantic with
The terrors of the night.

Like being the great mountain
That rises in her heart
And shows her how she might get home
When all else falls apart.

Like giving her the love
That is her sea and air,
So diving deep or soaring high
She'll always find him there.

The Things You Taught Me I Will Always Know

Grandfathers Are Fathers Who Are Grand