Just kidding - they're minerals!! ;) Even better!! And not just ANY minerals - almost all of these were personally collected by my Santa! How awesome is that?! Geology/mineralogy nerd alert!!! I'm pretty sure that means my Santa is infinitely cooler than everyone else's. Just sayin'.

So in this box of awesomeness were several mineral specimens, hand collected by my Santa from various locations in Arizona. They chose most of these beautiful pieces from their own personal collection! I don't know how you were able to part with these pieces, Santa. They're gorgeous and I love them. They're my new babies. I'm not even sure how many different mineral samples I received. Santa made me a DYO (dig-your-own) mineral experience! They made two clay bowls and enclosed a few minerals for me to dig out. I'm so excited to dig in and find more minerals! This week has been and will continue to be pretty hectic, so I'm excited to have something fun to look forward to in dreary January. (I'll do my best to remember to post an update when I find the rest of my mineral babies.)

Each piece was carefully wrapped in paper and/or bubble wrap to make sure they all arrived safely intact. (They did, Santa, including the bowls. Safe and sound, ready for me to dig in and break them apart, haha.) Also, not only do I get to dig my own minerals, I also get to identify them. I'm still an amateur (but very eager to learn!) so it might take a bit to identify them all, but that's a big part of the fun. I appreciate both the chance to identify them on my own, and Santa's offer to help me if I get stuck. I visited a mineral museum this summer and took a lot of pictures (I mean a LOT - I essentially documented the entire exhibit) so I plan to use those to help me. (Is one of them hematite?? I haven't looked anything up yet but that's the name that comes to mind when I look at the heavy black mineral specimen.)

(I hope none of the photos are blurry. I took them in a bit of a rush, since I had my minerals all spread out on the table to show them off to my family, and we needed to clean up so we could set the table for dinner.)

Thank you so much, Santa! This is an incredibly generous and thoughtful gift. (I'm a teeny bit jealous thinking of how fantastic YOUR mineral collection is, if you were able to give these beauties up.) You just gave a HUGE boost to my mineral collection (way more than doubled it!) and I'm excited to have these in my possession. I plan to make a display of these (as a set, like in a shadow box or something) at some point in the future, when I have them identified and choose the best way to showcase them. The extra effort you put in to make the clay bowls was well worth it! I'm terribly excited to dig in, but I'm saving them for when I have the time to do it properly and without the extra distractions of the holiday season. (And when I won't get in trouble for making a mess on my mom's dining table on Christmas Eve, haha!) Santa, you rock! This is one of my very favorite gifts I've received. It's definitely tailored to my interests, and it's the kind of gift that very few people could give me. Thank you!!!