A little while ago, I sold all of my Disney DVDs.
Around 40 films.
The grand total?
£5.
And do you know what? I didn’t feel a thing. No sadness. No regret. No little emotional wobble as I watched them leave. I can watch then on Disney + - I hold no emotional attachment.
But my Disney VHS tapes?
Absolutely not.
Those are staying with me forever.
Because my VHS tapes aren’t just films.
They are Saturday mornings.
They are sick days where my Mamma wrapped me up warm and cosy on the sofa
They are childhood.
And there is one tape in particular that means more to me than any other.
My Beauty and the Beast VHS.
Because this one didn’t come from a shop.
It came from Father Christmas. 🎅✨
It arrived in the post when I was little, complete with a handwritten letter.
And to little me? That was it. Proof. Actual proof. Father Christmas knew me, knew I loved Disney, and had taken the time to send something just for me.
The letter read:
Dear Abigail,
I’ve heard that you have been a very good girl this year, you joined the rainbows and now you're in the Brownies. Now, all the children who have been good have had their names put in the draw, and you have won a video. You were very lucky because you were the only one in Somerset to win. Thank you for putting your name on your bedroom door last year. Don't forget to forget to go to sleep early on Christmas Eve.
Goodbye for now Abigail
Love Father Christmas
xxxxxxx [note 7 x's - as an adult - I count everything in sevens - coincidence- maybe - maybe not]
Years later, I realised something.
That handwriting…
It wasn’t Father Christmas.
It was my Grandad ❤️
And somehow, that makes it even more magical.
Because now when I hold that piece of paper, I don’t just see a surprise.
I see my Grandad sitting down and carefully writing every word. I see him taking the time to create a little bit of magic for a little girl who believed completely.
He probably had no idea that decades later, I would still have it. I wih I could tell him how much it means to me.
That I would still unfold that paper at the ripe age of 40 - twenty years since I said goodbye to my dear Grandfather. The paper that he carefully scripted.
That his handwriting would mean more to me than the gift itself.
And that’s why I love collecting.
Because sometimes people look at things and just see “stuff”.
A VHS tape.
A figurine.
A decoration.
But sometimes these things are tiny time machines. They take us straight back to a person, a place, a moment.
My Beauty and the Beast VHS probably isn’t worth much money.
But to me?
It’s priceless.
And it always will be. 💛