An old man was saddened to be spending Christmas alone again after his children ignored his invitation to celebrate the holiday together. To his surprise, his 7-year-old grandson shows up at the door to make up for the absence of the rest of their family.

“Happy 7th birthday, Sean and Gregory,” Stewart greeted his twin sons on their birthday before handing them each a gift bag.

“Is this what I think it is, dad?!” Sean asked, shaking the bag.

“Please let it be the tablet I’ve been wanting!” Gregory echoed.

They opened their gift bags at the same time and were disappointed to find that they were given matching sweaters by their dad instead of the things they wanted.

“I’m sorry, guys. We’re a bit tight on money these days, and I didn’t have much left to spend on your gifts. I promise to work even harder so I can give you what you want next year. Okay?” he apologized, ashamed that he could not give his sons their wishes.

“I’m tired of being poor,” Sean sighed before walking inside his room. “Gregory and I are the only ones in our class without tablets,” he muttered.

It’s been difficult for Stewart to raise his three children alone. Ever since his wife died, he had to carry all the parental responsibilities on his shoulders, and it also meant paying for all expenses alone.

One day, he picked up his daughter Lucy from ballet school. He saw Lucy sitting alone in the corner, crying with her head down.

“Lucy, sweetheart, what’s the matter?” he asked.

“Dad, my classmates are making fun of me because my pointe shoes are ripped. These are from the thrift store! Can we please buy new ones, so they don’t make fun of me anymore? They hurt my feelings!” she cried.

Stewart sighed. He knew he couldn’t afford to buy her a new pair of pointe shoes. “I’m sorry, Lucy. When dad’s salary is increased, the first thing we’ll buy is a pair of new pointe shoes. Okay?” he told her.

“You always say that!” Lucy cried out before walking straight out the door. Stewart followed behind her in defeat.

Christmas came, and Stewart gathered the children at the dinner table. He tried to prepare all of their favorite food because that year, he had no extra money for individual gifts.

“Lucy, I baked your favorite apple pie. Sean, I made sure to get some baked spaghetti from the store. And Gregory, I baked a whole chicken. Your favorites! Merry Christmas, my sweet children,” he greeted them.

Lucy, Sean, and Gregory realized that they weren’t going to be getting any gifts that year. However, they didn’t want to ruin the Christmas spirit, which was their favorite time of the year.

After eating dinner together, the three kids went outside to mold a huge snowman and had a snowball fight with their dad. It was a family tradition that they wanted to keep alive even though their mom was no longer with them.

Suddenly, Stewart heard a short knock on the door. “Who is it?” he called out, somehow hoping that his children decided to show up to spend Christmas with him this year.
Many years passed, and Stewart’s kids all had families of their own. Although they all lived in the same city, they never bothered to visit Stewart at home, and he spent most of the year alone.

Stewart would often sit in a wheelchair and look at old photos of his family. He came across one particular photo where he and his children were making a snowman outside the house. They were happy, and the genuine smiles on his children’s faces were priceless.

He recalled having to work more than one shift a day to buy them a good Christmas dinner and small presents, but they were never enough. He glanced upon a photo of his late wife, making him smile.