Gold was the element of kings. Frankincense can be a perfume used in Jewish worship while another perfume — Myrrh — can be used for burials.
Similarly to the three wise men, we still give gold and perfume at Christmastime. Although the items still are considered extravagances, those presents may not be the most remembered by individuals.
From treasured trinkets to once-in-a-lifetime experiences, Barrington area residents again shared some of their favorite holiday presents.
Kim Zulpo, a volunteer and mother living in Hawthorn Woods, explained how a Lite Brite toy became one of her favorite gifts at the age of 5.
“It was all I wanted, all I asked for and when I got it, I hoarded the pattern sheets like they were gold,” she said.
A 2008 graduate of Barrington High School, Michael Pfeifer said his favorite gift involved a trip to China through the International Scholar Laureate Program while he was in college.
“On Christmas morning, I was surprised to see a fancy looking Chinese takeout box. … Opening it, I saw a printout of a ticket confirmation from Chicago to Beijing,” he said.
For six months, Pfeifer worked on basic Chinese phrases before embarking on the trip.
“Though I had initially expected the group to be a bunch of studious academics who weren’t all that fun, it took less than a day to realize that the trip would be an absolute blast,” he said. “The relationships I made and have maintained with friends around the world are what have stuck with me.”
A former Chicagoan, singer Teppei Kono, who now lives in Tokyo, Japan, said his favorite gift was one he made by hand at 24 years old.
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“The girlfriend I had at the time and I decided to knit each other a scarf,” he said, explaining how neither one of them had knitting experience at the time.
But his girlfriend at the time did know how to crochet.
“Well, she gave up not even quarter of the way and switched to crocheting. I actually got pretty good at knitting and ended up finishing a pretty decent scarf for her. Although she ‘cheated’ from our original plan, I was still happy to receive her gift,” Kono said. “The punchline to this is that my scarf got such great compliments from our friends, who were surprised that I made it. Hers? Not so much.”
Algonquin resident Valerie Notarnicola is busy studying cosmetology while working at L’Auberge Salon in Barrington.
She said her favorite gift came from her parents just a couple of years ago when she was starting college.
Although she had started playing piano at the age of 7, Notarnicola had never had her own piano. That all changed with the gift of a “very nice” Yamaha weighted keyboard, she said.
The versatile musician now plays seven instruments, including guitar, bass guitar, violin, cello, ukulele, as well as the hand bells during church performances.
With that, I wish you all a most blessed Christmas, Hannukah and New Year!
Kimberly Albrecht is a freelance columnist for Pioneer Press. Reach her at [email protected].