Reading a few of these posts has got me thinking of the poor person with my name. Social media stalking? Uh, you’re not bad at it.....you’ll just have more luck finding your grail pin for $10. Use Pinside posts? I didn’t delete them all....you just only get about 5 posts over the past few years to work with. Extract something from my message you got through Les? I realize now it may have been a bit weak. So, with all that what do end up with? Well, actually exactly what it may seem. Simple. Enjoy giving. Appreciate all I have. Appreciate kindness. Love being around my family and close friends. So, how do you use that? Know that you can’t really fail. I appreciate everyone here trying to spread some cheer and make our corner of the world a bit better. I look forward to making someone’s Christmas a little more awesome.

All is ordered and now waiting for gifts to arrive, wrap them all, and ship out. My wife was a positive influence and when I showed her what was in my cart to get her opinion she just said “Order it all, what the heck!” So, to my recipient, she says ‘You’re welcome’.

Last gifts ordered a week ago and they haven't even made it halfway here yet....hoping I receive them sometime next week so there's a decent chance it'll be on time. I think it'll be worth it though (for the recipient) as I tried hard with just a teeny bit of info....and took the "what would I like to get" approach.

Ah, the quiet of the morning when this thread isn’t ‘on fire’ and us mere mortals who aren’t Pinside verified can post. My gifts have started the long journey and I have to admit I must not ship things as often as I thought, because those rates are WAY higher than I remember. Not that it would have changed my plans, but it was surprising! A $500 charge to ship a pin cross-country suddenly seemed more reasonable.

Before joining this year I had read through the previous years posts which certainly made this sound fun. But experiencing it real time, reading everyone’s excitement as the gifts arrive, and having the anticipation of when the gifts I sent will be opened makes this even better. I also realize that I was reading the previous years posts without paying attention to the dates things were posted, and now I see that many people will pretend they have will power but know they won’t make it 5 minutes before opening their gift.....guessing I may join that elite club when my time comes.

The Cidercade is a 'must visit' if you're in the Dallas or Austin area (and hopefully soon in Houston). I cautiously visited the Dallas location about 1-2 months ago and enjoyed it as always. I got there when they opened to enjoy as long as possible before it got busy....on a Saturday that was about 3 pm or so, after which I kept having people step up to the pin right next to me...sorry, but too close for comfort. Owner is a super nice guy that's responded to emails himself when I had input.

Secret Santa gift has arrived!!! Photos coming soon....I can’t wait!!!!

Such a nice addition to the gifts under the tree!! I am sure it will be opened this weekend, since we have some holiday activities this weekend. Looking forward to sharing.

8AA83625-061B-47A4-992E-C26F59B8A2C6 (resized).jpeg

With one of our first small holiday get-togethers I took the opportunity to open my Secret Santa gift. It was explaining to everyone what I had received and my granddaughter thought it was 'very sweet' that strangers were sharing gifts because 'that's what Christmas is about". She gets it!!

The gifts were awesome!! First, there were several fun and simple welcoming gifts like some tasty treats; Zots, some gummy worms, and pistachios. I pretty much immediately lost possession of the sweet treats. Next was a bittersweet reminder of what 2020 took from us, with a TPF 2020 postcard....and on the same day I learned that TPF 2021 is cancelled. I like the reminder though, that a time will come when we can all get together again.

The Boxing Bear Brewing sticker was nice, and I enjoy supporting our local breweries and cideries. I'll add Boxing Bear to my list if I make to that area. Note for others, one of the better breweries I've had a chance to visit recently was Colfax Ale Cellar in Raton, NM in the summer of 2019. Maybe a drive from the more central areas of NM, but it was fantastic. The Banks of Orkney (a Scottish Ale) was so good I brought a few bottles back home and aged them a year and they were even better. A must stop if you can.

Back to the gifts!! The Stern keychain, a nice Titan Pinball sticker and the Pinball & Pizza patch will make decoration. I'll have to figure out where that patch comes from!!

Moving along, the Star Wars flyer is a great addition, as I have one for Iron Maiden but not Star Wars. I like having that advertisement stuff for the pins. Then, a nice set of new pinballs, which I am sure I will need soon for Star Wars. You can never go wrong there!!! Plus, for either SW or IMDN, is a set of flipper coil stops. I've got to believe that IMDN will need these sooner than I'd want to admit!!!

Now, one more gift that is no longer in my possession.....in addition to the sweet treats.....is the Porg. My granddaughter thought it was 'adorable' and only wanted to hold it for a minute. Yea, you can guess where that led.

Then, the only gift that was officially wrapped and clearly intended to be the highlight.....which it did not fail at. A very cool McFarlane Toys Alice Cooper action figure. One problem though.....and this is a serious issue.....do I put the unopened box on top of the pin, or open it up, assemble, and make it the corner stone to an awesome homemade topper. I'm definitely one that prefers to use my stuff, so Im leaning towards opening. I imagine someone is cringing at that thought now.

Thank you, Secret Santa. You put a lot of thought into these gifts and you spent time assembling all this just to be sure it matched up so well with my pins. It has been a great first time participating and made a very good ending to a challenging year.

IMG_2053 (resized).jpg