Google, FTW.

My friend, Andy, likes to build things. But, Andy does not like to put lots of information on the internet. Can Google rise to the challenge? Yes, yes it can.

Wow! Great job finding my Amazon wish list! This is going to come in real handy when I begin putting in the crown molding in the house, or to fix the kitchen cabinetry once we get a new dishwasher. Thanks Secret Santa!

You're welcome.

She will do SCIENCE to it.

Received by Carrie, one of my scientist friends in North Carolina, The Flavor Bible! Says Carrie: 

My husband thinks he's the real chef in the house. Well, there's a new sheriff in town. The sweet/sour/savory book my secret santa found me is going to change everything. Say you have a craving for duck. Not sure what to cook with it? This book lists all the delicious pairing and even highlights the best pairings! Duck, turnip and wild mushrooms. This book really appeals to the scientist in me. 

BAM! Another TAPGE win.

Kelly's Gift, a Three Act Post

At Kelly's request (I want people to know how awesome these gifts are, so please attach my self summary to the post. This person really pulled off something amazing here.) I present her self description, her gift, and the first communication I received from her confirming receipt of her TAPGE present.

ACT I: Kelly Describes Herself

Me: Graduate school survivor. Recovering Catholic. Unabashed nerd. Nonprofit enthusiast. Lover of bluegrass, craft beer, Doctor Who, reading, Sherlock Holmes, organic vegetables, feminism, This American Life, liberal politics, wordplay, canoes, and nature.

I spent a lot of time thinking about how to make recipes better, fashion,  the TARDIS, how to build an amazing tree fort, the kind of dog I want to adopt, the places I’d like to travel, and the young adult novels I want to write.

In short: Fantasy nerd. Fashionista. Scotch enthusiast. It’s complicated.

ACT II: Kelly Receives a Gift

ACT III: Kelly Reacts

Asked to connect a few dots for the casual observer, Kelly writes: 

Elementary, my dear Watson.

The card is, of course, Ira Glass, the chocolates are from a chocolatier in Brooklyn and are infused with craft beers. The towels are organic cotton, and the book The Beekeeper’s Apprentice is an updated version of Sherlock Holmes starring a feminist in the early 1900s (and one of my unowned favorites.)

Sounds like a hit to me.

"Damn, girl, you ain't playin'!"

Word on the street is, my friend Grace liked her TAPGE present. In her own words:

This year I was able to spend a whole week in Minnesota, which was wonderful even without any snow, and I came home to my package waiting for me. I had to go into work for our Secret Santa exchange, because I didn't want to be the ass that left someone without a present, and found out that the person who had me had been fired on Christmas (fall-on-his-ass-drunk; not good). This fits the theme of my previous SS experiences ("Oh, I forgot your gift, but I'll bring it after the Christmas break." NOT), so I was pretty happy to go home and open a legit TAPGE gift.

My envelope had three items with a card, one carefully wrapped in bubble wrap, some cloth tied with a string, and a wrapped package. I undid the tie on the fabric, but couldn't figure out what the cloth squares were meant to be. Coasters? I am crafty, but I do not sew in any way and so I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do with this (cute) fabric. Then I went for the fragile bit and found a bottle of Johnnie Walker, and I have to admit I cried out, "Damn, girl, you ain't playin'!" The final package was a book on canning, and suddenly I understood the fabric - the squares are for the tops of my canning jars! The book is packed with recipes, and ordered by season, with a chapter for winter, even. I had thought I wouldn't be canning until the spring, but I will be searching for kumquats come the weekend! I took my pictures for you, and settled down to read through the book when I discovered personalized tags in the cover of the book. Now I will officially have the cutest canning jars ever, complete with my name and a darling fabric accent.

I settled down with my "spot of whiskey" and read away the evening (discovering Kerry's note recommending the dilly beans along the way).

Best Secret Santa ever.

'Nuff said.

Relaxation in a Box

Many gifts arrived in a single box today for Misty, from Chicago, Illinois. Immediately upon arrive home, Misty tore into the package.

Inside, she found a number of items, including a fantastic mug - thrown by its giftor, fragrant loose leaf teas, a bath bomb, hot chocolate mix, a choice paperback, and two spice mixes from a Chicago shop (sender gets extra points for sending regional goods).

The first mix is Latino, the second Irish. If there's not a story behind the selection, Misty and I had a good chuckle over them, anyway.

I'ma call it: Another gift impeccably planned, and graciously received!

Coffee Makes His Beard Fall Off

The below gift was received by my friend Chana, the Episcopal seminarian. On Facebook, Chana writes, "Just got my Secret Santa gift in the mail and it's getting lots of attention and laughs! It's just irreverent enough to incite sighs of jealousy from the rest of the seminary crowd."

Add hot coffee...

Seems to me this is a TAPGE slam dunk.

"How's it sit? Pretty cunning, don'tcha think?"

Following an advance letter, the first gift of the exchange landed yesterday in Oklahoma, at the dwelling of my science-fiction-obsessed friend Kerry. Upon first glance, it's just a hat... but, a gal walks down the street in that hat, people know she's not afraid of anything.

Below are the hat, the advance letter (to be opened after Kerry opened her gift), and the sender's card.

If you don't get it (it took me a minute) it's a replica of Jayne's hat, a must have for Firefly diehards. Judging from Kerry's immediate posting to Facebook, and her single line e-mail comment to me, "[M]y gift arrived and it is FANTASTIC!" she got the reference.

I'm so glad this gift was so well received! I hope it's the beginning of a trend. To all participants, if you'd like to share your gift with the internet, feel free to send me pics, videos, and/or prose exultation when you receive your gift exchange present.