Our elderly neighbour passed away recently. His daughter popped round a few moments ago clutching a large plastic sack. In the sack were all the Christmas presents he’d bought for *our* daughter for the next thirteen years. 😢 pic.twitter.com/6CjiZ99Cor
— Owen Williams 🏴 (@OwsWills) December 17, 2018
On Monday, Watson’s daughter stopped by the Williams home with a large bag, and Owen thought perhaps she was on the way to take out the trash. It turns out, she was dropping off 14 wrapped Christmas presents her father had bought and wrapped for Cadi.
“I kept reaching into the bag and pulling out more presents,” Williams said. “You could have knocked me over with a feather. It was quite something.”
He posted on Twitter to spread some Christmas spirit. He wrote that he wasn’t sure whether he should open them, check them out and re-wrap them for Cadi – in an effort to give her an age-appropriate one each year – or hold onto them as is and give her one mystery present a year. Twitter responded in a big way, with many saying Watson’s kindness brought them to tears. So many people weighed in about the gifts, in fact, that Williams made a Twitter poll. So far, more than 67,000 people have voted.
My wife and I think it might make a nice Christmas tradition to give our daughter “a present from Ken” for the next 14 years.
— Owen Williams 🏴 (@OwsWills) December 17, 2018
Issue is, we really have to open them now. Nobody wants to give a fifteen-year-old Duplo!
What do you all think?
— Owen Williams 🏴 (@OwsWills) December 17, 2018
Williams, who is a social media consultant, said the majority of people voted for a “lucky dip,” meaning not opening them ahead of time, just giving Cadi one mystery present a year. He said he has no idea what is in the packages, but he’s leaning toward listening to the will of the voters.
You’ll have to open one a year. It’s what he intended, also a lovely way to remember Ken. Open them all now and those moments will be gone, never to be experienced #ImSoftLikeThat let us know what you decide
— weston (@MiriamWeston) December 17, 2018
“I think we’re going to turn it into a Christmas story for our daughter,” he said. “We’ll do one a year for the next 14 years. It feels like the right thing to do now. If she opens a box of Lego when she’s 16 then so be it.”
He said he was struck by how many people have responded by saying their neighbors are virtual strangers to them.
“The thing that stands out to me is how few people know their neighbors,” Williams said. “People are saying, ‘That’s so lovely. I don’t even know my neighbors.’ . . . This Christmas, take your neighbors a bottle of wine or a small gift, a token. Just say, ‘Hi.’ You can open a new world like we did.”
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