Most people have stories about favorite gifts they received at Christmas.

They run the gamut from inexpensive to costly and from big to small. Some come with batteries, some do not.

This Christmas season, the Butler Eagle asked five mayors what their favorite gifts have been.

Here is what they said.

Mars

A childhood Christmas gift sparked Gregg Hartung’s interest in his hometown of Mars.

“I received a model train set from my parents,” said Hartung, who is the Mars mayor. “They had it set up around the tree.”

Mars had a railroad built through the borough in the 1870s.

Through the early parts of the century, the borough had an electric street car line for commuter travel, freight and farm produce movement to Pittsburgh and Butler.

Hartung said his family replicated the borough with its model track.

“It was something that really made me appreciate how small towns work,” he said. “That’s something that had an impact on me.”

Hartung called Mars a “transportation town” and added he kept the tradition of having a model train display at Christmas for his children.

Evans City

Mayor Dean Zinkhann said he had a couple fashionable presents he remembers receiving in his youth.

“I got a leather jacket back when I was 10,” he said, adding the jacket was in a peak of popularity in the mid-1950s. “I was excited about that.”

He said a few years later he received another memorable coat as a teenager.

“A couple buddies and me all asked for trench coats and top hats,” he said. “It was a nice way to tease the girls in school a little bit. Nobody recognized us.”

Saxonburg

Mayor Pamela Bauman said her favorite Christmas gift was a weeklong cruise her family took in 1995.

“It was wonderful,” she said. “We took the whole family on a Caribbean cruise.”

The trip was with her six children and one grandchild.

“We spent every minute together,” she said. “Everyone still talks about it. It was a fantastic Christmas together.”

Slippery Rock

Mayor Ron Fodor said time with his wife, Suzanne, and two daughters has been his favorite Christmas gifts.

He said they have been easy to buy presents for over the years.

“They’re very agreeable,” he said. “They’ve always appreciated anything I would buy.”

Fodor said he has a new addition to the family to buy presents for this year.

His daughter Julia recently gave birth to his first granddaughter, Stella.

He said the new granddaughter brought back many memories.

“You never realize how important children are until you have a grandchild,” he said. “It re-sparks all the memories you had with your kids. It’s kind of cool.”

Butler

Mayor Tom Donaldson had a similar answer.

“Pictures of the grandkids are what I like best,” he said. “That means more to me than anything else.”

Donaldson said his five children and seven grandchildren all come to visit during the holiday season.

“It’s a good time for us all to get together,” he said, adding two of his children live out of state in Virginia and in North Carolina.

He said the family typically celebrates Christmas Eve together. He said he and his wife spend Christmas Day helping serve meals at a shelter in the city.