Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone.

In years past, I've been an occasional helper in various assistance subs (esp. /r/Food_Pantry), but I've decided to start something new this year in honor of my mother.

My dear mom passed away a few weeks ago. She was a single mom who struggled like hell to make ends meet for her kids. Despite being broker than broke, she always found a way to make Christmas nice. She always had a smile on her face, a laugh to share, even when I knew she was heartbroken that she couldn't put much, if anything, under the tree.

I am who I am because of her years of struggle and sacrifice. I've been very lucky in life and none of it would be possible without her daily fight to clear a path for me. She would never suffer whining or self-pity and—even when she herself could barely see her way to the next day—would nonetheless get up every morning and tell me I could do anything I wanted in life. That would turn out to be surprisingly true, but only because of her.

One of the things she did that made such a difference was encouraging my curiosity. I loved to read, so she found a way to get me an encyclopedia set she couldn't afford. I was curious about electronics, so she found a way to buy me a small electronics kit (one of those 150-in-1 Science Fair things). I was interested in computers, so she bought me a book about computers (buying a computer was definitely not an option!) and encouraged me to take an after-school computer class in grade school. These little things had an enormous, almost existential, impact on my life. Had she not fanned those small flames the best she could, I would not be living the life I live today.

I'd like to pass this along. While I'm lucky to have had many years to return the favor and make her life easier, even that feels woefully inadequate. So I'd like to help a few single moms who see a spark of curiosity in their young ones but need a little help fanning the proverbial flame.

HOW TO ENTER

• Share an item via a wishlist (as the sub rules describe here) that you would like to give to your child that will help feed a curiosity/interest of theirs. No essay needed; this time of year is stressful enough. Just tell me a little bit about why it would matter to your young one.

• If you have already posted a request on this or a similar sub, please include a link to it. This will help me know your story/situation without asking you to tell it again.

RULES

• Single mom (nothing against single dads - you rock too, but I'm doing this for my mom).
• Registered and in compliance with all other rules of this sub.

I don't have a set number of people or price limit, but keep it reasonable and within the usual price bounds of this sub. By doing that, you will help me have more of an impact.

When we get to the closing date (December 12, noon PT), I will pick winner(s) at random based on responses and budget.

EDIT 1: Hi everyone, this is now closed. I'll be back to announce the winner(s) later today (Sunday).

EDIT 2: I fulfilled almost everyone. The only ones I didn't were cases where I couldn't for some reason (e.g. no item/wishlist link) or where the item(s) were already purchased. There were one or two I didn't fulfill because the item did not feel like it met with the spirit of the contest, which I will try to do a better job communicating next time.