Paul deserves the credit for finding this fun Christmas story:

Never believe a story that begins: “Let me tell you something which really, truly, happened to a friend of a friend.” It will almost certainly be an urban myth. And yet there is something irresistible about such stories, because there is always just that faint possibility that they might contain a seedling of truth.

Now, let me tell you something which really, truly happened to a friend of a friend, last Christmas. Her friend is a busy advertising executive and ran out of time to buy presents for family and close friends. So instead she decided to enclose some rather generous cheques with her Christmas cards, scribbling the message: “Have a lovely Christmas but, if you don’t mind, buy your own present this year!”

A little impersonal, but actually fairly practical, she thought. Except that a week or so into January, having not received the customary thank-yous from her relatives and friends, she found all the cheques in a drawer. In the rush, she had neglected to enclose them.

More details can be found on Snopes.