The Holiday Loot Thread

Aw yiss! Motherfucking slippers! I got Spongebob Squarepants slippers.

Damn, man, you have an awesome set of presents.

Hmm... I'm notoriously hard to buy for, so I ended up mainly getting money from my relations... though I did get a nice bottle of booze form one of my relations... It's Evans Williams Honey Reserve.

It is AMAZING.

I got X-Wing Miniatures Game, a growler, $75 in iTunes gift cards, X-Men First Class, X2, Dark Knight Rises and Hunger Games all on bluray, an iPad with Retina, a thumb drive, six pairs of socks, some card sleeves and the promise of a crokinole board from the Hilinski brothers as soon as their selection isn't just one ugly, overpriced board.

This isn't something I got, but something I sort of gave.

Last Christmas I discovered my youngest cousin is sort of arty. She's kind of hipsterish, but too young and innocent to see it in a trend kind of way. She's just part of a generation that grew up where making silly youtube videos and using instagram was the default setting rather than a nerdy, ironic street cred thing to do. A while back I bought a Holga (a plastic film camera) so me and some friends could spend a day doing photography stuff. This year I passed on the camera to my cousin. I spent a good ten minutes talking to her about cameras and film photography. She likes getting disposable cameras and messing around with friends, before getting them developed, but it's about €10 to get colour film developed here. I told her there's a place in town that'll provide the chemicals and equipment to develop your own black and white film for €3, and you can rent the dark room to print your own stuff. So hopefully I'm going to meet up with her some time in the new year and show her how to do that side of photography. I'd be delighted if I could get someone onto that track of doing things.

Extended family over for dinner, got a record washer from my aunt.


Also just realised I didn't get any socks. :( On the upside, my mom didn't buy me a sweater. Every year without fail she buys me sweaters that are the most hideous thing imaginable. And not even ironically hideous, just ugly. Last year it was an acrylic knit sweater, white with neon green, yellow, and baby-blue stripes. The year before that it was this puke-orange hoodie that was a size medium (I've worn XL/XXL for over 15 years). It got so bad that I stopped even feigning excitement over them. Usually I'll just open it, stick it back in the box and immediately ask my mom for the receipt. I think she finally got the hint.

From Karen I got games (Dark Souls PC), a cool candle, and a nice 10-year tawny port. She knows me well!

I got her a pizza peel (a composite one from Epicurean) and a baking steel from Stoughton Steel--basically like a pizza stone, but made from quarter inch plate steel. According to Modernist Cuisine, it's superior to a stone for making Neapolitan pizza in a home oven. The Stoughton Steel guys did a Kickstarter this year to make a product based on the recommended specifications in the book. We'll see how it works! Karen has been into making pizza lately.

Oh yeah, socks! I got some hiking socks, and also a scale. The scale is one of those fancy Withings scales. It's more of a present for both of us, but I did get to make a joke that normally a girlfriend would be offended at getting a scale. :)

Two sets of Munchkin, Zombies and Fu. Castle Panic. Tsuro. Rivals for Catan. Last Night on Earth. Dead Poets Society on Blu-ray. All from my father, sort of. He passed away suddenly just after Thanksgiving, however one of the last times I saw him, I was getting him to sign checks to give his kids (me, my two brothers, my half-sister and my half-brother) "Christmas money". He gave us money every year for us to buy gifts for our significant others and/or kids and for our families to buy gifts for us since he didn't like shopping. This stuff is what my wife bought with the money from my father. These will be the last Christmas gifts I ever open from my dad.
Gloom expansion Unfortunate Expeditions from my wife.
Stuff of Legend, book 2 and Microphone pop filter from my younger brother and his wife.
$30 Best Buy gift card and a boat load of undeserved passive aggression from my older brother and his wife.

SO MUCH STUFF! I got daleks for my desk, socks, a set of one piece kitty pajamas, some slippers, a blu ray of Pete's Dragon and Evita, a shooting game for the wii (I love shooting games!), some cake decorating tips and bags, a cute little lazy susan for a single cupcake, a cake slicer which is AWESOME and a plate to move the slices so they don't break, a bunch more holders for our wedding china which we certainly needed, a couple more of the Loki comic books I wanted, a Loki bobble head that was only sold at Comic Con which is super awesome, a couple gift cards to Sephora and Victoria's Secret, and while I know I'm forgetting things the most awesomest stuff was replica maps from Raiders of the Lost Ark from the same company that did them for the movie!

TO THE DRUNK THREAD!

My loot post will have to wait for tomorrow, I gotta catch up on my reading before I go creating any new content.

Link to the company? Because I that would totally sort out my next years present for my father. (He holds a whip and wears an Indiana Jones hat whenever he watches the films on TV.)

I too would be interested in this knowledge.

I got a hunting knife, cartridge pouch, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan album that has been OOP forever, book on ordinary differential equations, The Art of Fermentation, that fancy book about the elements, and some giftcards for clothes. Like seriously, I haven't bought new ones in three years.Oh, and Raymond Roussel's Locus Solus. i think I made out pretty well, and eclectically.

I got a new Paperwhite Kindle (LUV. IT.), Van Morrison's new CD, a book about an archaeology dig on the Orkney Isles, Tomb of the Eagles, also, this shiny computer on which I'm typing, was an early gift from my folks.

I gave my six yo niece my Wii and about six games (wii sports, resort, Mario Galaxy, Twilight Princess, Trauma Center, Okami). Her mom bought her Just Dance and I anticipate that she will keep us all highly entertained in the coming year.

My wife got me a Feather Artist Club razor with teak scales. I also got a really nice shaving brush from one of my sisters in law (we do a gift exchange on my wife's side), it's huge but so damn soft, I love it, pretty sure I love it more than the razor (don't tell my wife!). Also scored a drinking horn with a monogrammed belt holster! Time to fill it with beer and hit the drunk thread! If only I weren't fighting a cold.

I got a Kindle Paperwhite and a 3DS XL both, which was awesome. Also some hot sauce, some gift cards, and an electric humidation device to keep my stogies properly stored.

My brother got this, which cracked us both up for hours.

My sister got the best gift in the family, I think. My dad handmade her a Festivus pole.

I haven't been following the weight loss thread so maybe I'm behind the curve but I don't give any fucks. You look fan-fucking-tastic!

(back on topic: my loot consisted of candy, booze, and cooking implements.)

I got a wet shaving kit, three xbox games (Darksiders 2, Dishonoured, Ass Creed 3) some clothes and books, and some nice outdoor lights for the walk up to my house. My wife got me a ten pound toblerone bar as a joke (seriously, I think if I ate the whole thing I would die or develop type 2 diabetes or something).

My kids got the highlight of the day from my brother in law:



DRIVEABLE MINI COOPERS!

I don't keep in touch with most of my family and the couple I do see only give gifts to my son, but I did get a couple of bottles of booze and a gift voucher for the hardware store from friends. My wife made out like a bandit from her mother and sister as she does every year. The mother-in-law gave me some chocolates and sweets. The perfect gift for a type-1 diabetic. I made gift boxes for everyone who stayed - you can see those in the "I Like to Make Things" thread.

As we do each year, we spoiled our son. It's what makes Christmas worth it for me. This year he got a bunch of cash, gift vouchers, art supplies and some other things I've forgotten from friends and family. We got him a PSP with a bunch of games, some XBox games, a RC Helicopter, a camping lantern (he wanted one), money to spend on Steam and as his big surprise gift, a 42" FullHD, 3D LED telly. His favourite present? The lantern. You have to love Autism.

OUR ROTORS WILL BLOCK OUT THE SUN.

Then we shall knock shit over and bump into stuff IN THE SHADE.

I've always one of those RC Helicopters, but just can't bring myself to purchase one from the cart at the mall.

I got only one game (AC3) but quite a few DVDs - first seasons of Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones (both shows that I've heard lots about but never watched) and the sixth season of Doctor Who among a couple others. I also got a cool Fossil watch, a Bonobo CD, a TARDIS cookie jar that makes the TARDIS noise when you boop the light on top, and a cigar lighter and cutter set. A couple other things that I don't remember off-hand. No clothing, oddly enough. And no RC helicopters this year but I already have one from a previous Secret Santa thing so I've got that going for me.

And finally, from the Bowyers, I got the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, extended edition, on Blu-Ray. Yeah, I may need to take another week off...

I got a Sodastream, a Batman slanket (it's a blanket...with sleeves!), a bottle of Piraat ale, a sampler bottle of English Leather Black cologne (token awful gift for Dads), and some socks (other token awful gift for Dads).

My son, on the other hand, made out like a friggin' bandit. Here's a shot of some of his gifts:


His haul includes: that awesome Radio Flyer wagon with fold-up seats, a LeapPad 2 with rechargeable battery pack, house and car charger, carrying case, and $20 download card, a Leapfrog Storybook thingy, a Vtech alphabet laptop thingy, a Disney talking storybook, a Toy Story toddler futon, a giant bag of toddler MegaBloks, a giant bag of regular toy cars, a giant bag of motorized toy cars, a whole mess of clothes, shoes, and jammies, and a rocking horse that makes horsey sounds.

I think the rocking horse is his favorite Christmas gift, which makes me happy since my wife and I got him that one:


When my dad pointed out that he was like a cowboy, my son responded with, "cowboy...HAT!" because, you know, you can't be a cowboy without a hat. As I don't own a Stetson, he had to settle for using my Bowler:

YOU'D BETTER GET THAT CHILD A FUCKING STETSON!

I got a bottle of arberlour from Dad to accompany the Lagavulin, a pot from my sister and from the mrs:


Untitled by tehNellie_, on Flickr

Microscopes! I've added the USB eye piece Camera to my wish list so ill be able to bore everyone with photos of bits of bees too.

A bowler is a perfectly valid hat for a Western adventurer.

My brother got me a 50.00 gift certificate to Best Buy. I'm ...at a loss for what to get from Best Buy. I don't think I've ever been in this situation.

Spend it on two $25 gift certificates to Amazon.

Last time I checked, they didn't have $25 ones, but they did have $50 Kindle cards, and while labeled for the Kindle they can actually be used for anything at Amazon.

My brother got my wife and I each $30 Best Buy gift cards. We are in that same boat, but the $30 is just odd. It won't translate easily into other cards.

You could always trade it for one of these



and have five bucks left over!

I think mine is broken already. :-(

And since the bloom is off the RC HELICOPTER I may as well talk about the rest of my loot:

• three months of a beer-of-the-month club, which I didn't know was even legal in Massachusetts, from my Mom
• Assassin's Creed 3 from my Broken Forum Secret Santa
• Three big-ass wargames from my BoardGameGeek Secret Santa
• Clerks and Clerks 2 on BluRay from the in-laws
• X-COM from Dufresne
• A bunch of running gear (jackets, gloves, hats, etc.) from my wife
• a new gaming mouse from my sister
• a Crate-and-Barrel gift card from my Dad. Technically for both me and my wife.

Pretty good haul, really!

Uh...


(RC HELICOPTER!)

Domo-kun wears a bow tie now. Bow ties are cool.

Also, who doesn't love randomly getting a stuffed version of their spirit animal?

(LootCrate is awesome.)

I'm glad they have $25 cards... but what am I going to buy for $5 at Best Buy? I think they sell packs of gum for $5.