Last week I read an article on the Health & Beauty page of the Valley News titled "Helping children learn the value of holiday gifts."

I was very inspired by the wise advice and could relate as a parent to the values of budgeting and teaching the spirit of our family holiday – Christmas.

As most family plans begin to take shape over the Thanksgiving feast on who wants what and how much is the budget for each child for the holiday, I was asked by each family member, "Seriously, what do we get your son for Christmas? I know he loves motocross. What does he need?"

"Oh, that’s easy," I said. "More family participation and support. Be part of our motocross team. You can do this even from a distance."

That look of "How?" glazed many of my family members’ faces, followed by the shrieks of "New race wheels cost how much? Holy cow!"

"You see," I commented, "motocross is basically no different than football, baseball or soccer leagues. It’s a family club event where all participants are members where sponsorships are involved.

"So, support our team sponsors by calling them for gift certificates or store credits. We always need small parts and clothing. Plus, with the discounts we get the $20 gift budget per child can gain in dollar value."

Blink, blink went their eyes and a genesis of a smile began to appear as the role of playing St. Nick is drawing closer.

So, as a very curious competitor I wanted to double-check the practicality of our family plan with some of the other race parents from pit to pit. They had similar family plans.

I asked 12 kids at last Sunday’s motocross race two questions:

A) You have two, three or four $20 gift certificates to your favorite dealership to support you in this sport or any sport. What do you want from that shop?

B) What do you wish for? This could mean what would make everybody happy, could help a schoolmate, neighbor or charity. It’s not about you so much as it is the world around you.

Richie Gonzalez, 13

Oceanside

Richie rides his #111 Honda 150R for North County House of Motorcycles on their 15-percent-off Support Program.

On his "want list" are goggles, tires, grips and sparkplugs.

His wish was "that every kid could have a [motorcycle] that they can ride and it works good."

MX dad Rich Sr. said, "I had a wish come true just recently. I lost all my keys out on the track at practice yesterday. I thought they were gone forever after they disc-ed the track. Somebody found them and returned them to me this morning. That was a miracle."

Skylar Smith, 7

Huntington Beach

Skylar pilots his #521 50cc Cobra for Gold Coast Cobra in Placentia.

He made his "want" really clear in front of his pit supporter, Mike Marion, the parts manager of Gold Coast Cobra.

"I want a new engine [rebuilt] and new tires," said Skylar.

Marion winked and nodded his head. "Yes, uh huh, I know."

"And I wish everybody can have God in their hearts," Skylar smiled.

Jake Wondolowski, 7

Placentia

In the same Cobra pit was Jake with his #251 machine. "I want a new number plate, larger Pro Taper bars and new grips," he said.

"I wish I could spend more time with my dad," Jake then muttered. "My dad has been traveling a lot and is in Michigan for business."

Chloe Lopez, 7

Lake Elsinore

Chloe runs the same number as her age on her Honda CRF 50. She requested "anything pink from Temecula Motorsports and a necklace."

When Chloe was asked the second question about wishes she got really shy and ducked into her mother’s arms.

I could hear Mom say, "Remember we talked about this last night when we were putting you to bed? We talk about this all the time – you know you can tell C.J."

Chloe whispered very quietly to me four times ’til I got her whole quote: "I wish that everybody should have food to eat."

(Note to Chloe: whispering at an MX park is just silly, girly.)

Max Lynch, 6

Tustin

Max races a KTM 50 and his favorite place to shop with his dad, Jose, is Z Racing in Orange.

"I want new gloves, a helmet and goggles," said Max.

"My wish is… umm… for everybody to be thankful," he added, "and for more people to adopt families in need of food."

Andrew Hertzler, 5

Corona

Andrew races his Honda CRF 50 and his birth date (month and day) reflects a Advertisement

Barrier Reef Pools #424.

"I’d like new Fox gear and some motocross [themed] towels for my bathroom," he said. "My wish is having Christmas with friends and family. That’s all."

Chad Mahony, 7

Yorba Linda

Chad sports a #22 on his CRF 50 and likes to shop with his mom and dad, Mike and Trisha, at Cycle Gear in Corona.

"I would like the [toy] Monster semi-truck and a Fox hat," he said.

On his wish: "I pray three times a day for everyone to stay strong and healthy. I’m sad that our neighbors lost their homes [in the recent fires]. I want my neighbors back so us kids can all play together again."

Trisha looked at me and said, "Chad still sees his friends but only at school. It was unbelievable how many homes were lost. We literally had zero seconds to evacuate.

"It was absolutely horrifying how fast that fire came to our neighborhood. We’re thankful and blessed to still have our home."

The two parents looked proudly at their son and began an encouraging conversation with him.

"We’re very proud of you for mentioning our neighbors in your interview," Mike said.

"Yes, we just talked about that the other day," added Trisha. "Good job, son."

Quinton Bell, 12

Long Beach

Quinton likes to shop at both Langston Racing and Long Beach Motorsports for parts and accessories for his Kawasaki KX 85. His want: "I’d like a new helmet and gear."

Then, "I wish the whole family to be together for Christmas, be healthy and have fun," he said.

Mikey Sandoval, 8 ½

Fallbrook

Mikey races a KTM 65 as #555 and frequents Walt’s Motorsports in Lake Havasu City. "I’d like a toy, or two of them," he exploded with excitement.

"I wish for everybody to go faster and all of my friends to be safe," he said. "And, I wish the KTM Kids Supercross challenge was still around so I could try out for the team."

Dad Mike Sr. said, "That sucked that they canceled that program. That was the best part about going to Supercross: seeing all those kids ride the pro course on those little KTMs. That was a sad decision."

Hunter Weiss, 12

San Diego

and

Logan Palmer, 12

Camarillo

Both boys race Yamaha YZ 85s and always pit together.

Hunter, #100, shops at Fun Bike Center in San Diego; Palmer, #117, sports race team graphics for Thousand Oaks Racing.

Hunter was very specific on one item he wanted for Christmas: "Red hats."

His wish was even more specific: "I want Robert Mugabe, the dictator of Zimbabwe, taken out of dictatorship."

Logan said, "I want two new tires for my 1975 Honda Mini Trail, and I wish for two things: one, for my plugs not to foul in my YZ 85 – that probably won’t happen – and two, for someone to come up with a reasonable solution to solve the national debt."

Graham, Hunter’s dad, threw in his two cents: "I have two theories to fix this country. In order solve the Social Security problem, take all of the senators off of their congressional pension that they are earning and put them on Social Security. Next, keep religion private. But that doesn’t fill donation plates."

Colton Fant, 15

Phelan

Colton was racing on a borrowed YZ 250 since his bike is in the shop for repairs. He usually runs #552 for Mountain Motorsports in Ontario.

"I’m on the support program with a 25-percent discount," he said, "so this will work out good for us ’cause I’d like new plastic [body panels], red Excel rims and all new gear."

As for his wish: "I wish that my parents had more time to themselves instead of investing so much time on my riding. But I’m learning from the best how to be a good parent for when I have kids of my own."

Quality family time spent with your kids on the values of true virtue, solid morals, open communication and good character produces quality kids.

No matter what sport you’re in, if there is a strong sense of community for the whole and the future, with absolute trust from all of the participants, then you’re in a good family program.

Support those who support your family sport or any other family-oriented activity with goodwill, whether it’s dance, fishing, hiking or golf.

All sports have local specialist suppliers that can be very helpful with your concerned relative’s holiday wants and wishes.

Happy holidays.

Marshall Stewart, 11, #140, helped contribute to this story.

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