My secret Santa lives in the Netherlands, and she has put together a very nice and thoughtful gift for me. She has obviously done her research, as she sent me ample amounts of two of my favorite things in the world: chocolate and beer.

The beer is local from Zwolle in the Netherlands, where she lives. It's one bottle of dark hefeweizen (a personal favourite) and one bottle of a hopped-up stout (an even bigger favourite). I've never tried either of them, so I really look forward to tasting them when the weekend comes.

The Tony chocolate was also a welcome sight. I lived in the Netherlands 8 years ago as an exchange student (wow, time flies), and I must admit that I've probably had my share of this chocolate already. I look forward to reuniting with my old friend Tony.

To top it all off, my Santa wrote me a personal letter where she told me about the gifts she bought and the reasoning behind picking them. I always ask my Santa to send me something from their own country that represents them, and I really think she managed to add a personal twist by picking a beer with a label that depicts her city.

This gift truly made me very happy. Thank you so much, Sinterklaas!

(PS: My Santa shipped her gift well before the deadline, so I just want to note that it is entirely my fault that this gift has not been posted sooner. I went away for the Christmas holidays on the same day the package arrived at my local post office, where it has been until I picked it up today.)