Trying Something New

The Broke and The Bookish Secret Santa

Anyone who knows me knows that Christmas time is my absolute favorite time of year and yes, for me it starts before Thanksgiving. For years I've been watching people doing gift swaps on Twitter, but never really knew when or how to sign up. This year I actually found out and was able to participate in a Secret Santa swap! Thank you Jana for keeping it alive solo this year! I signed up a couple days before the deadline and waited super impatiently for my match.

I can now reveal that I was Amy's Santa and the presents seen above are the ones that I sent to her. I had the best time shopping for my Santee and I cannot wait to do it all over again next year. In the end I think I spent more than I planned and I learned a huge lesson on shipping things. If you have a large box, go to UPS because you will probably end up paying the $80 that I paid at USPS otherwise. I plan to take the advice of fellow Santa's and use Priority shipping and break it up into two boxes if need be. I did not plan for how much I actually spent. Luckily the whole experience was worth it and my Santee loved her gifts! One thing I had the best time doing was answering questions in the TBTBSanta hashtag on twitter. I loved interacting with everyone and getting ideas from other people. 


My Santa seriously nailed my Christmas gifts and I am floored. WOW. All of my new ornaments are now hung on my little tree and the candy is definitely in my belly. I am so incredibly thankful. Leticia managed to track down the exact Christmas sweater that I had posted about! I am in the middle of exchanging sizes, but I absolutely cannot wait to wear it and take an obnoxious amount of pictures. She even gifted Vader a toy! He carries it around everywhere even though he already ripped out all of the stuffing. I'm hoping to read at least one of my new books before the new year. The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand is a definite contender, but we'll see. Secret Santa has given me a new friend and I'm excited to remain in touch.


If you've never heard of The Broke and The Bookish Secret Santa, I hope you will look into it and maybe sign up next year. Who knows, maybe I will be your Santa in the future. It has been an amazing experience and I am so sad that it is over now. One year to go until the fun begins all over again. Have you done an online gift swap before? Happy holidays and happy reading!
Xoxo,
Gabriella

Comments

  1. Erica RobynDecember 27, 2019 at 8:11 AM

    WOW! This rules!! I'm so glad you enjoyed the process! <3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gabriella MoralesDecember 28, 2019 at 10:28 AM

      It was so super fun! I really hope you are able to join in next year!

      Delete
  2. KristinaDecember 31, 2019 at 7:41 PM

    Aww that's so sweet!
    Being in Canada, my fear with doing something like this is that A) the cost of shipping, of course.. and B) our post is kinda junk. not as much in 2019, but 2018 (i believe) they kept going on and off strike.. which is not a handy thing at all.


    Happy to see that you liked the experienced and both of you liked the gifts xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gabriella MoralesJanuary 2, 2020 at 5:48 PM

      I could be wrong, but I think you would still be shipping within Canada unless you state that you are willing to ship internationally. You should most definitely look into it for the next go around. I hope you find the answers that you are looking for and are able to join in on all of the fun! Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you will again. Happy reading my friend!

      Delete

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