G&T Secret Santa 2011 - Get with the gifting!

AaronKI

Hm. Considering it's almost January and my Santa still hasn't revealed their identity, it's looking like he/she has decided to stay anonymous. I'd still like to know who to direct my thanks to if you change your mind. :P

Dawasaurus

I still haven't heard anything from my Santa, either. No idea what that jolly rascal is planning.

UEAKCrash

Woohoo! Santa just proxied me a tracking number! So pumped!

Custom Special

I almost forgot to thank @initiatefailure again for Ghost Trick. I got some good time on my lunch break and I'm really digging it so far. Great animations and graphic style as well as really imaginative gameplay.

Bursar

Instead of editing in pictures to a post three days old, I'll just make a new one here.

Our journey begins with a mysterious, rumpled bag shoved in my mail bin. Wherever this thing's come from, it's had a hard life. It may be good to be the king, but the Royal Mail doesn't have it so easy.

The customs form appeared to itemize what was inside, so I let my eye skip past it and commence with ze opening!
First of all, we have a card, with my handle written so finely that Gutenberg would look upon his Bible and weep in shame.

The picture doesn't really work, but it's one of those cards that you tilt back and forth to create an illusion of movement. Oddly enough, this one is vertical. Waving it about causes the polar bear to run about merrily.

On to the meat of the card:

Dear Bursar
Sorry to be lame and get you something from your wish list but it at least guarantees you getting something you want. I also got you a book by one of my favourite (yet totally obscure) authors. I haven't read it yet so let me know if it is any good.
If it makes it through customs, there should be some sugary snacks to go with this. You may wonder why I sent a can of coke, but, having spent a few days drinking your HFCS cole this year, I thought you might like to know what REAL coke tastes like!
Hope you have a great holiday and a fantastic 2012!
Love Rook!

I'll be honest with you: if you did one of those "handwriting-to-font" services, I would be willing to front some of the cost just to get to use this lettering on my computer.
I agree with you about the cola, but luckily in California it isn't hard to get a handle on Mexican Coke (that also uses real sugar) when the urge arises. But they don't come in souvenir-sized cans! :P

CANDY CANDY CANDY

The label says "Jelly Beans," though I could have sworn they were "Jellybabies"! Hmm... Some investigation is in order.


Perversely, I sometimes look forward to getting a slight cold just because some flavors of cough drops taste so good. But now I don't have to put up with all the mucus! Thanks!


The aforementioned Coke. I think I was flexing mightily to make my hand look as swole as possible in comparison. ...Never mind.


Perhaps, now that the dollar is falling, Rook is trying to help me by sending some of Glen Beck's favorite element (rampant insanity isn't an element; I've checked).
Wait, this is chocolate! Haha, it was a clever ruse to get this candy past customs by camouflaging it as precious metal. I'm on to you!


Not one, but two gigantic candy bars.

As if this gift isn't kind enough... It's kinder.

Completely unexpected, and very thoughtful. Thanks, Rook!

Icemopper

Dat handwriting!

And not a gift get from my Santa, but dev|eric stopped by on his road trip around the east and hung out with me for a bit! It was awesome, and he did indeed gift me some local beers! They were ice cold, meaning he somehow kept them ice cold for the many days he's been on the road. Thanks dev|eric!

the_stamy

I got back from staying with my Mom for Christmas, and there was a package waiting for me!

Nine numbered presents were inside:

Earl Grey Tea

TARDIS mug

Godiva Chocolate Bars

Single-Origin Chocolate from Ecuador

Rocky Road Bar

Prinny for PSP

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Settlers of Catan Card Game

AND a hand-made painting of the five Magic: The Gathering Symbols!!!!

I still have no idea who you are, Secret Santa, but you ROCK!!!!! Thank you!

urahonky

Nice haul!

mere_immortal

Man that's an awesome bunch of stuff!

AaronKI

Awesome haul indeed. Can you post a bigger picture of the Magic painting?

Double bergamot? If anyone ever gave that to me, it would probably be as a spite gift.

Custom Special

'Tis I! I'm happy you like it all!
I wondered if you were away for the holidays...I'm glad it all arrived in one piece (especially the mug!).
Did you find the letter inside? Should have been in an envelope labeled Allons-y (because Tennant rules)?

LewieP's Mummy

Oh wow, a TARDIS mug! I was given a Dalek mug for Christmas by a friend, but a TARDIS one!

AaronKI

The Doctor Who mugs look awesome, but they also look really easy to spill tea all over yourself with. :P If I didn't already own far too many mugs, I'd be incredibly tempted to buy one.

Rook

Bursar wrote:

Instead of editing in pictures to a post three days old, I'll just make a new one here.

Our journey begins with a mysterious, rumpled bag shoved in my mail bin. Wherever this thing's come from, it's had a hard life. It may be good to be the king, but the Royal Mail doesn't have it so easy.

Completely unexpected, and very thoughtful. Thanks, Rook!

Hey! Great to see everything arrived ok (even if it all looks a bit strange when you see it in pictures... did I really send a can of coke and some chewing gum to the USA?).

the_stamy

Awesome haul indeed. Can you post a bigger picture of the Magic painting?

Here's a closeup:

Did you find the letter inside? Should have been in an envelope labeled Allons-y (because Tennant rules)?

Nope, missed it. Searches through box... Aha! Here we go:

In answer to each item:

Signed PA Poster (see previous post here):
Poor, sick Gabe. Happy Christmasss to you, too!

1. Never had this one before, but Earl Grey ("hot.") is one of my favorites.
2. LOVE the mug. It's bigger on the inside.
3. GODIVA !!!!!!1!!!!!1
4. This lasted approximately 2 minutes after I opened the box, so yes, I liked it.
5. The marshmallow in this is amazing, thanks for introducing me to it.
6. Because exploding penguins are made of win.
7. I KNOW, RIGHT? Didn't have it on DVD yet, so thank you.
8. Yay! Can't wait to play this at the next game night.
9. I squeed when I saw this, seriously. It's going to hang in my office as soon as I get off my butt and find something to hang it with.

Thank you again Custom Special!

Hillean

Hope something's outside my door tomorrow

The_Spaniard

Bursar wrote:

Instead of editing in pictures to a post three days old, I'll just make a new one here.

Our journey begins with a mysterious, rumpled bag shoved in my mail bin. Wherever this thing's come from, it's had a hard life. It may be good to be the king, but the Royal Mail doesn't have it so easy.

The customs form appeared to itemize what was inside, so I let my eye skip past it and commence with ze opening!
First of all, we have a card, with my handle written so finely that Gutenberg would look upon his Bible and weep in shame.

The picture doesn't really work, but it's one of those cards that you tilt back and forth to create an illusion of movement. Oddly enough, this one is vertical. Waving it about causes the polar bear to run about merrily.

On to the meat of the card:

Dear Bursar
Sorry to be lame and get you something from your wish list but it at least guarantees you getting something you want. I also got you a book by one of my favourite (yet totally obscure) authors. I haven't read it yet so let me know if it is any good.
If it makes it through customs, there should be some sugary snacks to go with this. You may wonder why I sent a can of coke, but, having spent a few days drinking your HFCS cole this year, I thought you might like to know what REAL coke tastes like!
Hope you have a great holiday and a fantastic 2012!
Love Rook!

I'll be honest with you: if you did one of those "handwriting-to-font" services, I would be willing to front some of the cost just to get to use this lettering on my computer.
I agree with you about the cola, but luckily in California it isn't hard to get a handle on Mexican Coke (that also uses real sugar) when the urge arises. But they don't come in souvenir-sized cans! :P

CANDY CANDY CANDY

The label says "Jelly Beans," though I could have sworn they were "Jellybabies"! Hmm... Some investigation is in order.


Perversely, I sometimes look forward to getting a slight cold just because some flavors of cough drops taste so good. But now I don't have to put up with all the mucus! Thanks!


The aforementioned Coke. I think I was flexing mightily to make my hand look as swole as possible in comparison. ...Never mind.


Perhaps, now that the dollar is falling, Rook is trying to help me by sending some of Glen Beck's favorite element (rampant insanity isn't an element; I've checked).
Wait, this is chocolate! Haha, it was a clever ruse to get this candy past customs by camouflaging it as precious metal. I'm on to you!


Not one, but two gigantic candy bars.

As if this gift isn't kind enough... It's kinder.

Completely unexpected, and very thoughtful. Thanks, Rook!

Do you work for FOX?

cooljammer00

Whoa, he has a beer kit too.

Are you asking because of the FOX water bottle?

Pemulis

Finally home, I was excited to find the final part of my gift waiting for me on the porch (thankfully protected from the rain!).

Package (and pet) photos:

Wow, three Amazon gifts and a parcel from the U.K.!

Amazon gifts first.

Gift 1:

Hellboy Seed of Destruction! Very cool, I really enjoyed Watchmen from a couple of SS ago, and I have heard great things about Hellboy. Thanks Santa!

Gift 2:

Lego Harry Potter! This is a perfect way to get my wife to game with me. She loves the HP books and liked the Lego Star Wars game that we borrowed from a friend.

Gift 3:

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective. I've never heard of this, but I am always looking for good DS games to play when I am travelling. I'm excited to try it out!

So much great stuff and we're not even close to being finished!

Inside of the parcel is a wrapped gift.

Inside is a box, "Everyone needs a cat hat"

Wow, it's stuffed full of stuff!

Right on top is a super cute knit toadstool hat! This will be great for keeping our upcoming baby boy's head warm and stylish.

LEGO!

Awesome European candy and snacks. I have a sweet tooth so this is great. Cadbury and Kinder chocolate is really good, and don't worry Santa, I won't eat the toy! I'd never had the Thai Chili Crackers before, but they are really good. Nom nom.

The whole haul!

But wait, what's this card? (Nice card btw)

There was a url on the back which pointed me to this message:

Dear Santee Pemulis,

Merry Christmas! Hope you enjoy your bundle of stuff. Some brief notes on my choices:

- Lego Harry Potter: You mentioned you enjoyed co-op gaming with your wife and this perfectly crafted game is fully husband/wife co-op tested and approved by myself and Mrs Santa.

- Ghost Trick: You said you had a DS and this game is fantastic. Truly a gem that once I had played I felt the need to press upon everyone I could.

- Hellboy: The first book of my favourite comic series. Hopefully you’ll enjoy Big Red and his world of eldritch horrors as much as I do!

- Lego bits: Because, come on, Lego. Everyone loves Lego! Here’s hoping the random figure is either a Royal Guard or Sherlock Holmes for Britishness, or maybe Lizardman to go with the alien set. I can only apologise if it turns out to be the clown.

- Knitted Toad Hat (not crafted by me but by some nice lady on Etsy): You said you were expecting a little one. Congratulations! From my experience babies tend to wear odd knitted head gear for significant portion of the early months, if only to hide the hideous flaky scalp known as cradle crap cap. With this nicely subtle geeky hat you can know your child is dressed as a resident of the mushroom kingdom whilst innocent passers by can just see a cute spotty hat.

- British Chocolates: Because I’ve eaten American chocolate, and I’m very sorry for you all. Note: Assuming THE MAN doesn’t get to it at customs then this includes a Kinder Egg, hopefully with something to build inside and not a rubbish single piece figure or jigsaw puzzle. Just don’t swallow it whole in an orgy of consumption like your government fears you will and choke on the plastic within!

Much love and hugs and all the best for the future (everything changes now!),
Your PA Secret Santa.

Jam Warrior, is that you? You did an amazing job, thank you! I am very impressed and happy with all of the personalized gifts. I'm blown away by your generosity and general Holiday Spirit!

From me, my wife, and future baby, thanks!

(And of course it was the clown. :P)

AaronKI

At this point, it might be appropriate to make a "Ghost Trick Get" animation.

Jam Warrior

Huzzah! It was indeed me. Stupid slow international post was getting me worried for a while there. I got my 1yr old daughter Molly to model the hat before we packed it up seeing as yours is still too busy gestating for photo shoots.



Glad you enjoyed it all! Happy New Year and best of luck for the future.

AaronKI wrote:

At this point, it might be appropriate to make a "Ghost Trick Get" animation.

Once experienced, its awesomeness must be shared!

AaronKI

Jam Warrior wrote:

AaronKI wrote:

At this point, it might be appropriate to make a "Ghost Trick Get" animation.

Once experienced, its awesomeness must be shared!

I got it for non-Secret Santa Christmas and have been itching to pop it in. Need to finish everything else I'm in the middle of first, though.

LewieP's Mummy

Well, it's NYE, no parcel from anywhere for me - must have been naughtier than I thought! Ah, well.
My USB drum kit from amazon for my friend's little girl still hasn't arrived yet, either although the company I ordered it from say they posted it within the UK on 14th Dec.
Grrr, and now DELL have delayed my new PC for a week with no explanation. The only Internet access I really have is my phone! Grrr!!!
I'm in the middle of making a salted caramel and chocolate cake for the do I'm going to tonight, and watching Harry Potter. I have Lego HP on PS3, it's fun!

Happy New Year everyone!

cooljammer00

Did you buy the drum kit from a place that wwebsite as on the Internet?

Chen

I can't read the card!

And ya, happy new year! Use fireworks responsibly! (man tonight is going to be crazy)

Jam Warrior

Secret Santa points of order:

1) Pemulis has thrown the whole system back on its head by gifting me Blood Bowl via Steam. Massive thanks!

2) @shadowane , Having seen you get Fables for your Santee @SkyTurnsRed , I thought it looked exactly like the kind of thing my wife and I would like and was desperately looking for one more present for her at the time. She's yet to read it but I have and I love it and am confident she will too. Thanks for introducing us to a new series! I can see the full collection trickling into our lives via future gift giving occasions.

3) @ArcSyn , Link has joined the collection.



(Repainting the delightful orange walls left to us by the previous house owners is high on the New Year's resolution list.)

LewieP's Mummy

@cooljammer00 Yes, from when you were a sperm in your daddy's dangly bits!

minor incident

LewieP's Mummy wrote:

@cooljammer00 Yes, from when you were a sperm in your daddy's dangly bits!

@cooljammer00 - damn son you got told

Imperfect

WTF. Who deadbeats ANYONE let alone LewieP's Mummy?

But never fear, there are all kinds of easter bunnies out there, who bring slightly-delayed Christmas cheer.

LewieP's Mummy

@Imperfect

I'm not worried, I'm sure something is on its way! Happy New Year everyone, I'm off partying now xxx

Two Headed Boy

Ghost Trick is this year's PS3.

The_Spaniard

cooljammer00 wrote:

Whoa, he has a beer kit too.

Are you asking because of the FOX water bottle?

Yes.

AaronKI

Imperfect wrote:

WTF. Who deadbeats ANYONE let alone LewieP's Mummy?

But never fear, there are all kinds of easter bunnies out there, who bring slightly-delayed Christmas cheer.

Sharpen your peppermint sticks and get the tinsel noose, boys. We're gonna have us a holly jolly lynch mob.

Edit: Though I know of at least one person who mailed their package weeks ago and it still hasn't showed up. What the heck, mail? But I don't think it's LPM's... unless her Santa wanted to send her some man candy.

Two Headed Boy

And then, on that magical New Year's Eve, the term "holly jolly lynch mob" was said, and it was good.

mntorankusu

I know who LPM's Santa is and I'm pretty sure they are not going to be a deadbeat.

Proxy the Elf

Two Headed Boy wrote:

And then, on that magical New Year's Eve, the term "holly jolly lynch mob" was said, and it was good.

Proxy will lead the songs!

minor incident

mntorankusu wrote:

I know who LPM's Santa is and I'm pretty sure they are not going to be a deadbeat.

But... But... Lynchings! Mobs!

SirUltimos

I still haven't received or heard anything.

Hillean

I got a proxy notice a week or two back, I'm willing to give it a bit more time, soooo... don't go banning just yet

LewieP's Mummy

Oh, I'm laughing so much now! Back from the party and it's off to be for me now, it's been 2012 for an hour and a half now, have fun if you're going to a party!