To my lovely Canadian Santa who posted from Australia express post!!!! (I did write here in the group last week that I wouldn't get to the post office till after xmas or New Year). I knew it was there as I'm besties with our post office but have been unable to drive since I've been so sick.

Got there today! Thanks so much for your lovely card wishing me a speedy recovery and the gifts which are just PERFECT.

ANA Amenity Kit which is fab as I'll never fly them
Shu Umera Lipstick (great shade)
3 x Elizabeth Arden Lip Balms
Black mascara (and extra length which is awesome)
Lovely soap

THANK YOU so much! It was so lovely to actually open this up after Christmas in what has been a rough few weeks for me and I am so appreciative of the efforts you went to. Happy New Year!

We actually have some friends in Durham, so we do try to make it down there every couple of years. Have always enjoyed visiting. Please do let me know if you ever find your way to the DC area too and would like to get together and swap stories. Thanks again.

I am SO sorry for my delay in posting, it's been a crazy few weeks. BUT I did receive a FANTASTIC assortment of gifts (calendar, socks, gift card, headphones, TWO cards) from Catman! He truly went above and beyond, putting thought into the gifts and even making the process of opening them up an experience in and of itself! Thank you so much Catman!

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Now that I have the house back to myself....
 

Whew!! It has been a whirlwind week! How so many of you host family for extended periods during the holidays I'll never know. LOL. I love them, miss them already, but thank the heavens they're gone and I can go back to my typical routines.

First, I want to thank all my Santas. At least two of you I will hopefully be requesting next year because I need to repay the favor and thoughtfulness. This year was hard for me, I lost my mother (about 8 days from now it'll be a year), we had turnover at work, home issues, etc. I typically join in on this because I don't usually get to be with my family for the holidays- this year was the first in nearly 8 years- and the sending of joy helps a little. So thank you to all of you who were my Santas. Even though I'm late- know that you put a smile on a very stressed out face on Christmas afternoon. To my Santees, I hope you all enjoyed what you received. Some of you were a bit more challenging to shop for than others because I had to educate myself about your interests first, but I truly hope everyone enjoyed what they got. I tried hard to send things I thought would be useful and that you'd enjoy.

Now, without further ado, the presents I received.

I received two Amazon Fire TV's and was humbled to open them. I put them on my list as a whim, not thinking anyone would get me one- and lo and behold I got two. I'm only showing one below b/c well, what's the point of reposting the same picture? :D :D :D
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Next, I received a lovely box from a Santa who must've guessed based on the things on my gift list (new cycling/spin shoes, cycling gloves, a Schoshe HR monitor, etc) that I was someone who likes to break a sweat now and again. This was very perceptive. I didn't do the list that way on purpose, those were things I truly needed or wanted. I tried to make the list easy and affordable for those who were buying for me because the holidays are stressful for everyone. I don't ever want to be a burden for someone doing something nice for me. So imagine my surprise when I look inside to find a nice ornament, FR chocolates, a Ghirardelli bar (love this flavor- good job Santa), a makeup blender (I don't wear it, wonder what else I can use it for?), a wet bag for the gym (will come in handy when I travel- that last morning with wet bathing suits was always a challenge :D), and microfiber sweat towels. I was in awe. I actually used one of the towels this morning on my Peloton (that was my gift to myself this year- hence the aforementioned requests on my wish list) and it was SO SOFT. I use them on my car, but have never had one for me. Oh! I nearly forgot! This box had a lovely Hallmark card inside!!
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Next, I got two boxes from someone who revealed themselves in the card they sent but I'll keep them anonymous. Thank you so much for the gifts Santa! One box was a cold brew coffee pitcher (I think from my wish list?) that arrived first. I think the next day I got the coffee beans. I believe these were the first gifts to arrive. I was again humbled because I'm guessing that my Santa actually looked to see what was local-ish to me as far as coffee roasters. There are some closer, but I'm glad they didn't do those because I've had them. This was a treat because the company (Beanstock) was unknown to me. I even went back to the website several times before Christmas trying to guess what beans my Santa might've sent. I can't wait to get brewing. I have an open bag I'm working through and as soon as I'm done these are going into rotation. Santa, you picked my coffee tastes perfectly! Thank you! (FT cut the top of the pic off- the top two are Black fish creek a robust blend on the left and a bold blend called Cape Beach Blend on the right)

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My 5th gift was from another very very thoughtful Santa, who literally gave me chills reading the gift notes they sent. Thank you so much Santa. Inside was a book I'd requested from a series someone else told me about. I don't know how Santa knew, but they picked my fave villain of the four (it's a tie with the evil queen but miss Maleficent edges her out a skooch). That alone just touched me. Then, there was a Japanese phrasebook. Japan and Hawaii are my favorite places on earth. And while I haven't been as many places as most of you- I've seen my fare share of places. I would be in Japan right now if I could. But, I don't have any immediate travel planned anywhere for next year. I just mentioned in my 'about me' that I was hoping to get back to Tokyo in 2019. So thanks again Santa- I appreciate it. I also got a box of Godiva (yummy yummy for the tummy!) signature truffles from this Santa. And lastly, a pair of cycling gloves. I think they were on my WL, but I can't remember. What gave me chills is the note on one of the gifts. I'll post a close up below. I have NO idea what's coming, but I'll be sure to post when it arrives.

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Your cat will LOVE those Yeeow brand toys. I did the Santa Paws last year that kipper oversees, and whomever was one of my pets' Santa gave the cat a package of assorted 'fruits'- a banana, a tomato, a lemon, and one other by this brand. The cat loves that darn banana so much and so hard that it looks like it's been through a war. LOL

See's Chocolates. :cool: That's one of the best gifts I've seen posted on the thread. Disclaimer... I always brought back a box of candy for MamaElf when I traveled through SFO and LAX. You touched a sentimental nerve.

The worst thing about moving 3,000 miles from home is that there is no See's stores in Pennsylvania! I've have the finest of Belgian and French chocolate, and would take See's over them any day - it's the taste associated with special occasions, with family memories, and it's just d@mn good chocolate!

The gift was very much appreciated.

So I'm late in posting this and i apologize to my SS, and I apologize even further for not having the name to thank properly since my wife went nuts cleaning yesterday after we got home and tossed the box the shipment came in...

This came the day we left for Christmas with my family so it sat un-opened in my apartment office for a while, which was excruciating since i knew it was from my secret santa.

I enjoy going to the range and shooting steel targets for some truly relaxing time spent outdoors, being able to focus on the target, and the math involved to make consistent hits at 300-500 yards makes you forget about everything else. I got a shooters log for load development and a creedmoor towel which is one of the most popular rounds around right now. The travel stub diary is going to be awesome as my wife and i had always talked about getting a box or something, and never did, and now we've got the perfect thing to keep track of our adventures. the book on 747's will be a great read and a poster of American aviation which isn't here right now (working on getting a basic frame for it to hang in my office at work).

I am truly appreciative of the effort that went into selecting my gifts and cant wait to use them all.

Thank you!!

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Sorry for posting so late. This week was crazy. Thanks Santa Nikki for these great books. I am looking forward to cooking some of the recipes in my new Instapot, and birding with the Maine birding book.

If I had known you had an IP, I would have gotten you a different Indian cookbook. There's a really nice one esp for IP. I've tried the recipes in it and they were delish....
Hopefully the ones in this book are great too. Also, I had NO idea about birding, so I'm hoping the stuff inside is useful!

Enjoy!

Happy new year to all of you!

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Update: All gifts from my Secret Santa! My girl laughed really hard about the iron! There are a lot of awful things I would do instead of ironing! But my secret santa does not know that! So I am very grateful!
There are people in the house hold who will use this!

Thanks again!

DO WE REVEAL US TO OUR GIFTEES? I had one in Finland.. and the other in the US!

No worries. I was on the wait list for the instapot and one happily became available on Thursday! Thanks again!