I joined the secret santa exchange not for myself, but rather for my 9 year old son who saw the banner ad and wanted to participate. I told him it costs real money to participate, and he volunteered to give up 2 weeks of his allowance in early December so he could join.

While our first secret santa was a bust, the rematch really came through. His interests are Star Wars, Pokémon and Lego, and SS gave several very thoughtful gifts that combined those interests - a PokeBall Death Star shirt and Pokémon building sets (they're like Lego but the bricks are tiny).

Lastly, I mentioned that he likes spicy foods, and SS sent his favorite snack: hot and spicy beef jerky from Texas! (Here in the northeast, good spicy jerky is not easy to find)

All in all, great success! I enjoyed participating and my son really likes his gifts. Thanks SS!