I'll try not to be too long winded, as I tend to do. Santa really took care of me for my first year on /r/secretsanta!! I can tell some real thought went into my gifts!

Santa sent me a custom wood burned Game of Thrones cutting board. It is absolutely gorgeous!! I expressed an interest in game of thrones and also cooking. Genius way to combine the two! Also, he sent me a book that seems to be a satire parody of game of thrones involving food! ITS A RECIPE BOOK! ABSOLUTELY FULL OF FUN STUFF!! OMG!!!!! Can you imagine anything more perfect?!!! I can't wait to dig into it! I also expressed interest in Supernatural. He sent me a set of figurines for Sam and Dean!!! I'm am absolutely giddy over these. So very excited.

But on a more serious note, I need to express my very genuine thanks for Santa.

I'm actually crying with happiness and gratitude writing this. This was a tough month for me so far, and I can't put into words how much this gift meant.

My birthday was on the 8th. My birthdays are a bit of a tender spot for me. Its a busy time of year to have a birthday and most of the time it gets forgotten. I always try to tell myself it doesn't really matter all that much, but every year, my birthday comes and goes and I fail to control myself. It always makes me sad.

This year, however, my birthday was unspeakably terrible. My very sweet grandpa passed away peacefully in his sleep the morning of my birthday. He was recently diagnosed with terminal mesothelioma, and would only be facing years of increasing pain. he was miserable since his wife of 50+ years passed away 2 years ago. So its a relief that he's finally at peace, and my primary emotion is happiness. He's finally with grandma, but I'll miss him so very much. My family is pretty devastated to lose him right before christmas, especially mom. Its been a tough couple weeks.

As if that wasn't enough to ruin my birthday and my christmas, my husband's job chose my birthday as the best day to announce that they'll be closing down this branch in 5 months, possibly sooner.

I really needed a bright spot to lighten my christmas and Santa pulled through. This gift means more to me than I could possibly put into words. Thank you santa, from the bottom of my heart.