Amid the piles of wrapping paper, bows, bags and boxes on Christmas morning lie the gifts that have been opened. Sometimes it can be hard to remember each gift when the season's frenzy is over, but usually there is one that stands out among the rest. Sometimes it's the thought behind it; other times it's the sacrifice made to obtain it. The one thing that ties all presents together is the love for the recipient that each gift represents. Several Shoals Women have agreed to share their stories of the most memorable gift they have received at Christmas:

Pat Sanders, of Florence
My favorite gift was the leather jacket that my dad and mother bought me when I was 11 or 12 years old. I'm almost 50 years old, and I still have that jacket. I still wear it. It is a burgundy and brown mix that was popular during that time. The reason it's so special is that leather is really expensive. My parents had four children, and we were by no means wealthy. That year, my parents got the money together to buy each of us a leather jacket. We were so surprised when we opened our gifts. That jacket just means a lot to me. Every time I smell it or hear that leather sound, it takes me back to that time, and makes me so appreciative of my parents. I can't part with it. It makes me think back to how hard my parents worked. They always made sure we had what we needed, but they really saved to make sure we had those leather coats. I've had nice gifts since then, but this is still my favorite gift.

Mary Nicely, of Florence
Growing up, I got the greatest gift every single Christmas because my family was always together on Christmas morning. As I look back and am older now, I know the greatest gift I received each year was being blessed with wonderful and loving parents. But my best Christmas present ever was a two-story metal doll house. It had beautiful detailing inside and out, and I loved it. I think about my parents staying up all night on Christmas Eve frantically reading the assembly instructions and inserting and crimping all the metal tabs that held the doll house together.

Carolyn Chandler, of Florence

When I was growing up, we thought we were poor, but my daddy had a good job. At that time, you always took care of your relatives. There were five kids, and there were always aunts and uncles living with us. Not a lot of luxuries of life. My mother made most of our Christmas presents. She was a seamstress. She made beautiful clothes and toys. One year, when I was about 10, my parents gave me a watch for Christmas. I know my daddy had to put a special effort into the purchase of it.

Sue Jeffreys, of Tuscumbia
I had always wanted a sleigh bed. I thought they were beautiful, but we had two kids and there's always something else you need more. My husband and I found a bed I liked, but we had lots of other things we needed. I didn't think anything about it. He purchased the bed and chest a month before Christmas, rented a storage unit and stored it for a month. He wrote me a poem and intended to have it set up in the garage. But I had something to do on Christmas Eve that took me away from home. While I was gone, my husband and son set it all up, and when I read the poem, I went to the garage where I found another poem. That poem sent me to the bedroom, there was this sleigh bed, set up upstairs without me even knowing it was there. It was quite a surprise.

Elizabeth Ann Harris, of Town Creek
The best Christmas gift I have ever received is the gift of love. For me, Christmas is not about receiving the tangible gifts (unless you count eating great food), but about spending the holidays with my family and friends and enjoying the warmth and love that surrounds us. This precious gift is something I look forward to receiving each year, and I am so grateful to God to be blessed with such wonderful family and friends.

Donna Akins, of Tuscumbia
My sister, Sonya Guillory, who is 18 months older than me, and I hated each other with a passion when we were growing up. We fought all the time. In 1973, when I was 13 years old, my mother gave us $20 each to buy Christmas gifts for family and friends. I bought a few gifts for friends, and I bought my sister a Janis Joplin album. When Christmas day arrived, I opened my gift from Sonya, and it was a Timex watch with a leather band. It was just a very nice watch. She knew I had been wanting one. For whatever reason, she spent all of her money on me. I remember thinking, “Wow, she must not hate me as much as I thought she did.” That was the first glimmer I had that we would have an anywhere decent relationship. We're very close now. I still have that watch. It's a windup watch, and I wore it until the band broke.

Nita Davis, of Muscle Shoals
The best gift I received was a one-carat diamond ring from my husband. We had been married nine years. He had just come back from Afghanistan on two-week break.

Debbie Mays, of Florence

I have two different presents that are my favorite things. The first one my mother gave to me. It was about 10 years ago. It's a slide bracelet that she had made. The clasp was an earring that belonged to an aunt. The slides were different pieces of jewelry; my baby ring, the first ring Daddy gave to Mother, a princess ring my mother wore when I was a child, a necklace that belonged to one of my grandmothers, a ring from another grandmother, my baby necklace, one with a topaz and amyehyst gem for UNA, and birthstones from each member of the family. She had every bit of this made and had all the gold taken out of her mouth and melted down and made into the bracelet. All the pieces of jewelry were really pretty, but not something you'd really wear, but together it is beautiful. Every time I wear it, somebody notices it. It will be passed down to my granddaughter and will stay in the family. She almost didn't give it to me because she found out my husband Phillip was going to give me a tennis bracelet that year. I said, “I have two arms, I can wear two bracelets.”

My husband gave me the other special gift several years ago. I'm a purse nut. I like to carry things that aren't really purses, but are baskets. He went to a flea market and found a canister set that was wooden and he found some old doorknobs. He hinged the lids and put the doorknobs on it and made me a purse. He's not a gift giver, but he thought about what I would really like and went to the effort to make it. It's the best thing that he ever gave me. He made two of them. One says flour, one is smaller and says coffee. He even put felt on inside and put a mirror in it so I can put my lipstick on.