【推荐1】For many people, Christmas is a time to cozy up inside with yummy treats and pretty decorations while the snow falls outside. However, people living in nursing homes often have few family members to celebrate with.

In 2009, Patricia Gallagher in Philadelphia were aware of this so she decided to bring a Christmas book to different nursing homes and read for people. She said, “I just got this idea in my head to call two nursing homes at random and ask if my mother and I could come and read ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.’” The nursing homes were more than happy to welcome her in and the residents of those homes were equally thrilled. Thus, her holiday tradition started.

To go along with the book reading, Patricia brought some of her kids’ stuffed animals so the senior residents could hold them while she read the story.

But, when it was time to pack up and go to the next nursing home, Patricia found that no one wanted to give the stuffed animals back! She said, “It was just a nursing home with a lot of elderly people sitting in wheelchairs. And all of a sudden, the whole room became alive with jingling bells and they really didn’t want to give them back because they thought we had given them a gift.”

Seeing the joy that a simple present can bring, Patricia had the idea to gather stuffed animals and dolls as a gift for senior citizens living in nursing homes. Then, she put an ad up for gently used stuffed animals on a website. It wasn’t long before the local communities and schools started hosting stuffed animal collections on her behalf. In just two years, she collected more than 11,000 stuffed animals to gift people!

With so many stuffed animals, Patricia started offering gifts to people living in homes for veterans (退伍军人) as well. She said, “These stuffed animals not only bring people joy, but bring back the memories of their childhood and give them some comfort.”

【推荐3】I wish I’d been more confident in my own abilities, especially when I was at school.

I was a shy child and struggled a bit when talking to other people. On the whole, my parents were very supportive, always encouraging me and trying to help me relax in social situations, but I was always terribly self-conscious. I wish I hadn’t been so worried about what everybody thought of me. I know now that if you are extremely shy , then it’s hard work to have a conversation with you. Now I try to think about the other person I’m talking to and put them at ease in my company .However, at school, I found it especially difficult in my peer group. I wasn’t competitive, but I was aware of my appearance and I always compared myself to other people, usually coming to the conclusion that I wasn’t as clever or as popular or as cool as they were. I wanted to be popular. I know now that the kids who are considered the coolest at school aren’t necessarily the most popular or successful when they grow up.

I realize now that everything changes during your teen years — physically, mentally, socially and emotionally — and I just had a harder time than most. I wish I hadn’t let it stop me from doing things, though. I wish I’d taken a gap year or at least traveled more when I left school. But to tell the truth, I didn’t have the courage to go off alone before going to college. I could have gone to Europe and America with a friend as I’d saved up enough money, but in the end I just didn’t want to do it. My parents really wanted me to try a gap year. They said it would be a great experience before college. I think they were right, and now I won’t have another opportunity to do that for a long time.

【推荐2】My aunt Cindy has her own cake shop. She can make nice cakes for special occasions, such as weddings. I spent a week last summer helping her in the shop. Making a nice cake is harder than I thought it would be.        

I practised for hours in Aunt Cindy’s shop. I made little colored dots (圆点) on a piece of wax paper (蜡纸). Unluckily, I could not get the dots to be the same shape or size.        

I decided to take a break from making the dots, so I helped move cakes. However, that was not easy for me, either. I dropped a cake when trying to take it out of the freezer (冰箱) by myself. Luckily one of Aunt Cindy’s assistants was there. He saved the cake from hitting the floor.        

It takes a whole team to make a huge cake. That’s one of the most important things I learned. Each person on the team has to be great at his or her job. Aunt Cindy designs the cakes on paper, Larry does the mixing and baking, and assistants carve and put frosting on the cakes. Aunt Cindy and Larry do most of the decorating while the assistants help make small parts like flowers and figures. Building a big cake is like playing a team sport. If one person doesn’t do his or her job well, the whole team pays for that.          

Even though I was not much help to my aunt, I’m glad I spent the week in Aunt Cindy’s shop. Designing cakes takes more than just baking skills. It takes art and painting skills too. Now when I see a really nice cake, I don’t think of eating it first. Instead, I look at it and wonder how many hours it took to make.

【推荐3】I was in my early 30s, seeking a creative outlet (出口) unrelated to boring housework and raising little kids. At 65, George had recently retired and was seeking a rewarding hobby for his golden years. For both of us, painting was “it” and we met at a local painting class. Thus we began a friendship that was to last for 25 years -until the day he died.

George took to painting with an awe-inspiring level of passion and commitment, even changing the spare bedroom of his home into a studio. How I envied him, as in my own home I had neither the space nor the funds for such a luxury. His painting equipment was comprehensive. George housed many of these items in a tool box-a red metal tool box. For about six years George and I studied together through various units until the completion of the course.

Fast-forward some years and George was about 80 years old. One day, he told me that he was giving up painting and giving away all his “stuff”. “I can’t paint. I don’t know why I ever thought I could,” he declared. He was mistaken about his painting ability because he had turned out some unique and wonderful works. However George had decided he was through with painting, and no amount of talking could persuade him otherwise.

And so that was why George bequeathed all his painting equipment to me. “You have the best talent and are most likely to use it,” he said.

I still use much of his equipment today. As I paint, I often remember George, his big personality, generous spirit and unfailing encouragement. The most treasured item is the red tool box, still in good shape. The original shop sticker is still firmly in place although the price has long since worn off. But that’s all right because to my mind some things, like friendship, are beyond price.