*to be constructed out of some pretty unique materials!

I want to begin by recognizing how immensely thoughtful and kickass my Arbitrary Day 2014 Santa was. In my inventory, I mentioned how much I love music as an art, be it performing, listening, or taking in a gig, and how one skill I wished I were better at was building things that were my own. I know that this isn't a whole lot to go on, but I always appreciate creative Santas, and this gift was no joke.

I open a long box and find a carton of cigars and a random piece of wood with some holes in it. Perplexed, I stared at these two items, wondering what in the blue hell I was supposed to be looking at. At first glance, the wood piece looked like a weapon to beat someone up with, and I'm not a smoker, so I was doubly stupefied.

Then I find the letter: "I hope this ignites your passion for music in a whole new way."

I think to myself: "What, do I hit myself while smoking a cigar?" I begin to theorize that the holes exist to maximize impact.

And then we get to the fun stuff. I open up the twine, and I immediately recognize a bunch of guitar parts (tuners, nuts, bridges, string trees, tuners, a bottle neck slide...).

At this point, it hits me: MY ARBITRARY SANTA SENT ME A BUILD-IT-YOURSELF GUITAR!

But not just any guitar, friends, but a Cigar Box Guitar!

The instructions are brilliantly written and in an easy-to-digest, step-by-step way. There was also a little history of the Cigar Box guitar and a little bit about a band called The Budrows, where the guitarist (who builds these DIY Cigar Box kits) plays an electric version of the Cigar Box guitar.

You can check them out here: http://soundboxguitars.com/the-budrows/

I have to purchase a couple materials to help me build this thing, but I can hardly contain my excitement because this allows me to customize my very own guitar. I can paint the neck, adjust the frets, color in my headstock... there are practically an infinite amount of things I can do to make this my very own!

(And if I'm feeling lazy, I can buy some artwork here: http://soundboxguitars.com/artwork/)

All in all, this is an AMAZING, thoughtful, and very heartfelt gift, and made my receiving end of Arbitrary Day a superb success. It will take me some time to build the guitar, but I wanted to publish this now (and update as the guitar gets completed) because I know how it is when giftees take eons to post their presents.

Thank you to Jason at Soundbox Guitars for such a neat idea and my Arbitrary Day 2014 Santa for such a brilliant gift (and doubly thank you if you're the same guy)!

If you're interested, check out the main site at http://www.soundboxguitars.com/ -- perhaps we can set a Guinness Record for having the largest Google Hangout of Cigar Box Guitars!

EDIT: thank you SO MUCH, /u/boopwoop! I was a Nervous Nancy thinking that you were going to be anonymous, so now I can return the thanks soon!