NFL stars reveal their favourite Christmas gifts as children

The holiday season often brings memories and meaningful traditions for fans across the country. For many players in the National Football League, Christmas has always a chance to make the season brighter for others.

As the league moves into the final weeks of the 2025 season, a number of high-profile players paused from their schedules to look back on the joy of Christmas past and to contribute to community efforts.

A spotlight event this December was the sixth annual holiday bike giveaway organised by Raising Cane’s. Across the United States, NFL players joined efforts to distribute thousands of bicycles and helmets to youth organisations, including local Boys & Girls Clubs.

The initiative aims to underline the importance of hope and encouragement for children during the festive period. Players from different franchises turned up to lend a hand, meeting families and sharing in the excitement as recipients received their new bikes.

“My favourite gift was my first dirt bike... I rode it for like 10 days straight”

For Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, the occasion had personal signifcance. He grew up attending the Boys & Girls Club and said experiences from his own childhood make giving back at events like this especially meaningful. “My favourite gift was my first dirt bike that my dad had got me. I rode that dirt bike for like 10 days straight,” Higgins told Fox News Digital.

“When I was their age, I remember my first bike at the Boys and Girls Club. That made me smile, so it made me the happiest boy alive,” he added.

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown organised Christmas shopping experiences for local youths, allowing them to pick out meaningful gifts and build their own happy holiday memories. On his favourite gift, he said. "thinking back, getting my PlayStation 2 from my parents was everything for me at the time. I got NCAA, one of those games with the Texas Longhorns on the cover. It was very impactful to me, and it stuck to me. It was one of those peak moments as a kid that stuck out to me.”

Meanwhile younger stars also shared reflections on what Christmas meant to them growing up. Minnesota Vikings linebacker Josh Metellus talked about how even something as humble as a new basketball stick in his hands left a strong impression in his youth.

“It’s funny, I found a picture of it not too long ago because Netflix was asking for it,” Metellus told Fox News Digital. “I got a basketball when I was a little bit older, maybe middle school, right before high school. The fact that my mom was willing — I kept telling her, ‘I want a new basketball.’ For her to go out of her way to use that as my gift, knowing that would make me happy instead of just giving me a toy or something any middle school kid wanted. All I wanted was a basketball so I can play and try to make this middle school basketball team. My mom, like many times, showed me she cared what I thought about and was willing to do whatever to make me happy. That was a really cool moment.

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“I saw the picture with the basketball and I remember how happy I was and how much that stuck with me. I’ve gotten a phone for Christmas one time and that was really cool, but the basketball stuck with me because I was going outside and I got to play immediately.”

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