It was @fire’s idea to pull the “your gift is arriving on Dec 27” trick!
You probably translated it on your own, but the inscription reads “Invincible is who wields me for a good cause”.
Excellent, I can get behind the idea of being invincible!
So were you able to pull it out of the haybale? Or is the sword still looking for a worthy… farmer?
Gift opening pics! I got a package from California…
Oh, what’s this? Am I wearing a NASA shirt and got another NASA shirt as a present?!
Bedside reading material!
I also got a sticker and some other swag and a personal invitation to come get a tour of the JPL. So, I only know one person here that works for the JPL . . . is it . . . @fire? Or do we have another JPLer here?
Regardless, thank you! Happy Holidays!
You’ll have to look in my trunk today and see for yourself!
I’m definitely not going to ask you to whip your sword out in public!
Excitement!
Two packages and an envelope…
A Metal Earth F-22, an acceptable alternative to a real fighter plane (I’d have nowhere to keep it). I’ve assembled a few of these models, but not since we moved last year. Time to get the snips and pliers out!
Clank! In Space. A deckbuilding dungeon crawler. This will be a big hit for my son and I, hopefully we can convince the wife to join, too.
A ticket to next month’s Winter Beerfest! An evening of beery delightfulness.
Thank you @Editer! Three things that are just perfect for me.
I miss Uniwar, too :(
Sorry for the delay, I opened my gift to find a new to me game. I have been looking at it, but since I got rid of Arkham Horror a while ago, I just wasn’t sure if I should bite the bullet to get it. Now I don’t have to make the decision and instead get to start playing it after break!
Thanks @Guap
My package from across the pond is still MIA , top people at the US postal service are looking into it since last Friday. My not-so-secret Santa has been in great contact with me, trying to get this remedied.
You got me!! Blue looks good on you. :-)
Wait but there was a card in there too, right?
Bravo to my Secret Santa who did some searching of my posts or they got really lucky in what they chose.
In my wish list I had asked for Locke and My Neighbor Totoro because I haven’t seen either movie. What did I find when I opened the first box?
Now I’ll have something to watch to help ease my unhappiness after seeing The Rise of Skywalker on New Year’s Day (for the second time)
Included in the box was another item on my wish list. I don’t like this guys politics, but I do enjoy the heck out of his comics.
What I next found in the box I wasn’t expecting…
First:
I’m a big fan of Dan Carlin and the Hardcore History podcast (thanks to @Left_Empty for bringing him to my attention). I know I have mentioned Dan Carlin maybe once or twice, but that would have been awhile ago, so good stalking, Santa.
Second:
I’m a big fan of the Eastern Front despite the fact that brutality of it makes me a bit queasy to think about. This will be played. But… it’s a 2 - 4 person game, how can I play it if I’m alone you ask? Excellent question.
I can do so because I got a second package, mailed from Canada, despite the fact that @fire’s stats showed only a single person from Canada being in the Secret Santa, so my Santa was very devious. Inside this box was:
The solo expansion!!! Right on, Santa.
You have helped to brighten a fairly dark Christmas.
Thank you.
@marquac - I’m glad you like the gifts - especially the items off the wishlist! It was tough to get a good sense of what would make a good gift but I found out that you were into Paradox games and WW2 so made some educated guesses on what might be interesting.
I probably should have put something in the packages to out myself but forgot to do more personalized note… anyway, hope you enjoy!
My kid is pretty upset that I didn’t bring Overcooked 2, a co-op game about cooking, to the snow when I came up to join him. It was part of Secret Santa’s package of goodies and we got to play it a bit between hospital visits and when my kid left on vacation.
The first thing he asked me when I arrived was, “Didja bring it?”
“Bring what?”
“The new game! Overcooked 2!”
I had to admit I had not brought it. He was crestfallen.
Something to look forward to when we return this weekend!
With many apologies to @CraigM, who has been an excellent Santa, with superb tracking of my delights and interests, that my life’s been a little upside down with travel and far, far too many commitments to other people and not nearly enough time to myself :)
An awesome set of Star Wars-themed cookery based off the restaurants and bars at the Disney Star Wars land, Galaxy’s Edge (which I was utterly entranced by just two short months ago) plus an awesome, crazy-hard to track down shirt from one of my very favorite artists (who Craig was instrumental in getting me fully into, no less!), Devin Townsend. I have always loved that album design – nice find, man.
A very, very happy Christmas indeed :)
That is very, very happy to read as well. I apologize that my planned digital addition got waylaid by a computer death pre-Christmas. I have scaled back on its ambition in the interest of timeliness, so please do check your PMs when you can :)
Thank you so much to @fire for making this wonderful tradition happen year after year. It’s genuinely one of the brightest parts of my year each and every time. You are all lovely, amazing humans I am incredibly grateful to spend my internet time with <3
Well, first of all, apologies to my Still Secret Santa!
Holidays have been rough over here with a spike of stuff at work, a kid that for the first time understands there’s something cool going off and a family that went through some hardships last year.
But I’m back at home and I can open my present!!!
This is pretty amazing:
First a book that has been on my wishlist for forever. The only reason I haven’t bought it yet is because my current reading project and lack of time make it hard to justify new books. But I’m getting exhausted of ancient history, so I think i will take break with some boardgame history! This was excellent stalking. Good work.
Secondly, we have a book I’m looking forward to reading to my son. With a little luck and effort I can probably make him a nerd yet (the guy seems to like kicking soccer balls, I’m scared!).
Finally the third part of the present is scary. Look, I like amiibos. I like the concept of it and how they look. But I’m also somewhat of a compulsive collector and I had been resisting breaking that dam. Oh, well, thanks to secret Santa that’s done. Better keep your identity secret lest my wife finds out who started it ;P (I joke, I love it!).
And again, thanks so much to @fire for organizing this. You bring happiness.
And I read it. Amazing book. Thanks again secret santa!
I finally decided what boardgames to order from @Vesper’s store, courtesy of a generous Santa gift from @JMR!
Thank you to @Thraeg for alerting me to the Dragon Castle app, which led me to choose that game, and to @JoshL for helping me pick Ecos!
And thanks especially to @JMR for being so generous. I had a blast deciding what to get and I cannot wait till they arrive. Thank you too @Vesper!
And of course a big thank you to @fire!