Even if you outgrew your belief in Santa years ago, it is hard not to recognize that there is still something magic about Christmastime. We take time off to be with our families, we're more charitable than any other time of the year, and it just feels a little easier to be optimistic about the world when there are twinkling lights on every street and carols on the radio.
For some people though, the Christmas season is a reminder that sometimes miracles, both big and small, do still happen. Here, 12 heartwarming stories (and one that is just LOL) of Christmas miracles that are sure to remind you of the magic of the season.
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Better by Christmas
"My baby was very ill with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and was admitted into the hospital. It was scary and depressing, because we didn't have family in town and didn't have much of a community. We also had other children, so my husband and I took turns keeping vigil in the hospital by ourselves for nine long days.
"But on Christmas Day, my baby's health took a turn for the better, and we ended up being able to leave the hospital just a few days later. Now, he is a happy and healthy 6-year-old who can't wait for Santa to come!" — Therese S.
A Happy Surprise
"On Monday at 7 a.m., my uber-planner dad called to say he and my mom were coming up this weekend (currently en route!) to celebrate Christmas with us since we don't get to travel this season, because I am too far along in my pregnancy.
"That my father decided this, with no pushing from me or my mom, is a miracle. But the bigger miracle is how late he planned it!" — Stephanie V.
Blessed Babies
"Having my 33-week preemies both home by Christmas. Seriously. They were born December 5 and were both home on December 17. That was the BEST Christmas ever. The real miracle began October 1 when I was put on bed rest for preterm labor. I get so emotional thinking about what could have been if without modern medicine and the strength of prayers they hadn't stayed in for the 9 weeks I laid down.
"It is, to me, a miracle that we made it. They were born relatively healthy for their gestation and now, at 5 years old, you would never know the early start they had." — Tracy R.
A Miracle of Quiet
"My mom had these two parakeets that sang and screeched all the time. My husband hate hate hated those birds. One year at Christmas, as we were sitting down to eat at my mom's house, one of the birds fell off his perch, dead as a door-nail. The other shut right up. My husband exclaimed, 'It's a Christmas miracle!'" — Ellie B.
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Prayers Answered
"I applied to a local college and was anxiously awaiting the reply. I drove by campus on Christmas Eve, pulled my car over, and put out to the universe that I really needed to be at that school. I think I was actually praying. I got my acceptance letter the day after Christmas." — Lindsay D.
Hope for a Single Mom
"Six years ago, when I was a young, newly single mom, someone dropped off more presents than I could imagine, including a winter wardrobe and a gift card to the grocery store. I have never in my life been more thankful for my mystery Santa that year." — Anonymous
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A Family for Christmas
"Our friends can't have children, so they adopted a little boy. When he was 3, they started the process to adopt again, but were having trouble with potential adoptions falling through.
"Early Christmas morning, their little boy got into their bed all excited and said that he had a dream about Jesus. He said that Jesus was sending him a little brother for Christmas, and that he was coming home to live with them forever tomorrow, and that his name was Noah. So, they put the kid back in bed, assuming that he was all high on Christmas and had overheard baby talk at some point.
"In the morning, as they are opening gifts, they get a call from their case worker. A mom was at the hospital, ready to go home, and had decided that she couldn't take care of her son, so she was placing him up for adoption. Since they had all the paperwork and stuff worked out, they got to take him home right away. They decided to name him Noah." — Mae E.
Saved by the Plumber
"When my boys were little (1 and 2.5), I was rushing to get a shower in before my in-laws came to visit. I accidentally flushed my grandmother's ring down the toilet. I called a plumbing company, sobbing. They told me not to use a drop of water and that they had a name of a company that had cameras that may be able to help me. I could barely talk because of sobbing so hard.
"The gal at the first company called and scheduled the other company for me. They were at my house within an hour. When the plumber arrived, he saw a sobbing mama and two screaming toddlers. He told me if he could see it with his camera, he would be able to get it back for me. He took my toilet off, opened my sewer trap, and within 30 minutes, found my ring 10 feet out my sewer line near the city sewer. He was able to 'hook it' and fish it back into my house.
"I put that ring back on my finger (toilet soaked and all) and hugged this young plumber until it became uncomfortable. After sealing back the main sewer line, and putting my toilet back on, he told me, 'Merry Christmas — this one is on the house!' He was at my house for two hours and didn't charge me a penny!" — Erin K.
A Christmas Good-bye
"It is going to sound crazy, but I like to think it was a bit of a miracle. Four years ago, my mom passed away on Christmas Eve morning. After getting the call, I headed downstairs to do the usual getting -ready sort of things. When I returned to my bedroom, my giant hot-pink feathered hat (Kentucky Derby–style) that my parents gave me for Christmas several years prior had fallen from a shelf in my closet, out the doorway of the closet, and was lying in the middle of the room.
"My mom was very fun loving and would frequently add a dash of crazy to everyday life; needless to say, she always loved the hat, and I had never had a reason to wear the hat. A few days later, I wore that giant badass hat to her funeral.
"Also, on Christmas morning the same year, my husband, son, and I were eating breakfast around the dining room table when the manger scene music box randomly started playing 'Silent Night.' My husband and I froze. That manger scene was my maternal grandmother's, and my mom had just passed it on to me a year prior. I may have been looking for something but either way, both things were so comforting, they felt like a my mom was trying to say good-bye." — K.C. S.
Blessed Pregnancy
"I've been pregnant seven times (only my husband knows that I've had five miscarriages) since my oldest child was born. The two pregnancies that lasted over 20 weeks and resulted in healthy babies were the years I went to Mexico, while pregnant, to visit my in-laws during Los Posadas [a 9-day celebration that commemorates Joseph and Mary's search for a safe place to deliver the baby Jesus]." — Jenifer T.
Sick on Christmas
"When Otto was 6 months old, we discovered a lump in his abdomen. We spent Christmas Eve in the hospital discovering it was likely a cancerous tumor engulfing one of his kidneys. We spent his first Christmas in that insane mental space. The day after Christmas, he had surgery to remove his kidney and the tumor. Fast forward seven years, he has a clean bill of health. Best Christmas gift ever." — Sarah R.
Help for Christmas
"When I was a kid, we were homeless for a while. My dad finally got a job that December as a maintenance man for an apartment building. It came with a house, but we didn't have anything. Just a couple garbage bags full of clothes. A few weeks later, a delivery truck stopped with beds for all of us, a kitchen table, and a living room set. Then, my dad's boss and his wife came over dressed as Santa and Mrs. Claus with huge bags and boxes full of toys, new clothes, shoes, and enough food for months.
"It was absolutely amazing. That's one of the main reasons I donate to Toys for Tots, the Angel Tree, and as many other organizations as I can. You never know when you're changing someone's life." — Anonymous
Silent Night
"My aunt was a nurse working in a retirement facility. This facility was in an area where many of the older residents had grown up speaking German, not English, at home. There was a lady there who couldn't walk or talk, couldn't respond to even the simplest requests. The staff got her up and dressed and into the day room every day, but she obviously wasn't getting much out of the experience.
"One night shortly before Christmas, my aunt heard a beautiful singing voice coming from the day room. She went to investigate, and to her astonishment this lady was singing 'Stille Nacht' ('Silent Night' in German) with tears streaming down her cheeks. On the TV was a John Denver and the Muppets Christmas special, and he was singing 'Stille Nacht.'
"Somehow, something in that song resonated with that lady and reached the deepest parts of her soul. She died a few weeks later without ever having spoken again." — Janette A.
