Win a Christmas Package worth €280 with ESB Electric Ireland

The best present I ever got was one that was not meant for me in the first place but meant the most both back then and now.

I was the only girl growing up with a gang of lads so I wasn’t the most pinky pinky ribbonned princess that my Mother dreamed of, rather more a dungaree and baineen wearing muck clad terrorist banshee whose many attempts to cut her hair thinking her Mother wouldn’t notice a few inches of the blanket were probably the only thing that set her apart as a girl.

Christmas came around once again and I had asked Santa for a small dolly that I was going to call Antoinette. The year before he had brought me a doll as big as me and I never took to her because she was so tall she scared the bejesus out of me. I still suspect she scared the boys too because she was probably the only one of my dolls not to be kidnapped and held for a substantial (but fairly reasonable all things considered) ransom -usually half a Mars Bar and had to be goalkeeper for 3 matches.


Christmas morning came and we all raced in hysterics to the front porch – a little tired from trying to kidnap Santa the night before – that’s the type of family we were – we didn’t leave cookies and love out for him, nope- we wanted to kidnap him, get all the toys and hide the sledge in the stables until the heat died down.

Anyway, all into the porch and in the mad scrum of tearing, ripping, squealing and hysterical delight and in the chaos, I open my brothers present by mistake – reading skills not yet quite there – and lo and behold was an Action Man!! I could not believe my eyes!!! BRILLIANT!!!!!! I never thought in a millionbillionsquillion years that my Mum would agree to get me what she called a Boys toy!! I raced around waving him in triumph, introduce him briefly to some blonde doll named Barbie that I got, threw her aside and spent the best Christmas day ever in full scale warfare with my very own new soldier! I gave my brother an extra special hug because he had joined in my petition for an Action Man when we were writing our letter to Santa by trying to persuade Mum that it would be good for me to have a man soldier as my dolls weren’t very good at war and that’s why I kept losing.



What I didn’t know was that my brother, absolute legend that he is,saw his present snaffled away before his eyes and he let me keep it because he saw how thrilled I was to get it. He didn’t even mention it until years later when I was sick, he brought into the hospital, the same Action Man that I had so treasured and to cheer me up, asked if he could finally have it


My brilliant brother had sworn my folks to secrecy and he let me ride out that wave of equality on my own terms. I declared war on everything that moved with that Action Man. The poor cat got a particularly hard time as he was just the right size for epic battles and was also a perfect mount size. It was the best Christmas day I ever had and it was thanks to a 7 year old who loved his 5 year old sister so much, he let her keep his Christmas present from Santa.

If I win this competition, hes going to find a big pile of pressies from me this year. And if I manage to kidnap Santa, Ill rummage through for an Action Man to add to the pile :pac:


Love you bro. xxx