'The best Christmas I ever had.' - celebrities' experiences

Ebony, Dec, 1991

Wide eyes full of wonder and rooms tinged with the aroma of turkey and all of the trimmings are the makings of the best Christmases that many celebrities have ever experienced.

For one young actor, the importance of preserving the element of surprise at Christmas was a lesson more valuable than any present he received during his best Christmas. And one of the world's fastest athletes will forever be gladdened by the memory of giving a long-awaited gift to his father on the Christmas before his death. Yet other well-known personalities say Christmas dawned with magic because of the convergence of friends and family in a setting wonderfully adorned with holiday trimmings.

As a new season of excitement and expectation unfolds, celebrities recall on the following pages the special Christmases that will forever be etched in their hearts.

Oprah Winfrey Talk-show Host

Last Christmas was my most memorable one. Everything seemed to work out right. The farmhouse was finally finished and we decorated it with real evergreen garlands and holly boughs. The staircase was my favorite. it was woven with Christmas greenery from top to bottom. In fact, the whole setting was perfect-a snowy Christmas Eve with my family and many of the people I love most. Even the dogs were decked out in red bows. We opened gifts by the fireside and drank hot cider.

Dr. Louis W. Sullivan U.S. Secretary of Health And Human Services

My most memorable Christmas was in 1988. 1 had M just been nominated for secretary of health and human services and was overjoyed at the prospect of serving the president as a cabinet officer. However, I could not have imagined that what had traditionally been a peaceful and spiritual holiday in our home would become a media circus. I literally went from being a very private person to a public figure in one day. For days, reporters bombarded me by phone, by foot and even, or so it seemed, in my dreams. The concept of privacy had all but vanished from my family's life. Fortunately, family friends sympathized with our plight and offered to let us use their lakeside cabin as a refuge.

My family and I spent that Christmas in the midst of frosted evergreens and blessed solitude. Getting away from the hustle and bustle of media attention was the greatest gift anyone could have given us. But it was most memorable because we sensed that it would be a long time before the family would share such a time of peace and togetherness again.

Jaleel White Urkel on Family Matters must have been 7 years old. There was a box under the tree that had the distinctive shape of a Cabbage Patch Doll. I sneaked to the box and tore hole in the wrapping. Ah, ha! I saw the yellow cover of a Cabbage Patch Doll. I quickly taped the wrapping up and went to bed. Although I gave an Academy Award-winning performance on Christmas Day after opening the box, my parents knew [I had seen my gifts]. Parents know everything.

The next year, as the day grew closer and closer to Christmas, we had a big, beautiful tree but still no gifts. No nothing! Finally, Christmas Eve came. Not a word. Nothing under the tree. "Merry Christmas, Jaleel," my parents said and off to bed we went. I whimpered and cried and boo-hooed myself to sleep. In the wee hours of the morning, my mother awakened me and handed me a wrapped package of tennis balls. That was it? Mommy," I said, "It's Christmas. All you gave me was tennis balls?" Finally, she got me out of bed and led me to the living room. There, under the tree, were more gifts and toys than I could ever have dreamed of. They told me that because of the box I had opened the previous year they wanted Christmas to be a big surprise that year. How? They had stored gifts for the neighbors' kids in our garage and mine in their garage so that if I ever stumbled onto anything I wouldn't know they were mine. To this day, I know the importance of the element of surprise and expectation at Christmas time. For that, I say, "Thanks, mom and dad, for the most special Christmas ever."

CeCe Winans Gospel Singer

he best Christmas I ever had was in 1983, because Ti got engaged right before Christmas. I came home to Detroit (from Charlotte, S.C.) and it was snowing and very cold. When my fiance picked me up at the airport, he gave me the ring in the car. I wasn't shocked because I knew it was coming; I just didn't know when. It was nice that he did it around Christmas. I was more shocked when I fell in love because I wasn't interested in anybody then, and I wasn't thinking about marriage at all. I was pretty much happy with myself, and busy and focused on my career-and Mr. (Albert) Love just changed all of that. He walked into my life and I just knew it was the right thing to do. Not only did the engagement make the Christmas special, but it has made every Christmas since then special.

Claudia Butts Associate Director for Public Liaison, White House

By most memorable Christmas was in 1985, the year I totally committed my life to Christ. It was the first time that I really understood the true meaning of Christmas-the gift of love, hope and faith. It was the first time, at the age of 25, that I had ever remembered verbally telling my parents and brothers and sisters that I love them. This year will also be an unforgettable Christmas. it's the first year I have a husband with whom to share it.