First of all, I asked for a 100 in difficulty on a scale from 1-10.

After the first week I received a message from my Santa saying that it might take longer with the wrapping as she "sliced open her hand and got 3 stitches" while working on my gift. Oh, I was really sorry for her, but also got really excited for the gift!

Then my gift arrived and I already started crying when I saw that my Santa was nobody else than the mod /u/afrael!

As I had to go to work right after the package arrived work was horrible! I couldn't stop thinking about the gift! And yesterday evening I finally got to open it.

And oh boy, I didn't get disappointed with the 100 in difficulty!

First of all, I got this traditional chocolate gift that you get on December 5th in the Netherlands as well as cookies and chocolate for my nerves while solving the first puzzle. It was a little safe with 4 little wheels with different numbers on it. And 4 hints:

1) Number of the fellowship

2) Foreigner years

3) Numbers of exchanges I did

4) Chihiro's age

So, this one was pretty easy as I knew the first two ones immediately and had to look up the other two ones. Only finding out which number belonged with which wheel took me longer than I want to admit :D

Inside the safe were three awesome teas! I tried them already and fell for them! <3 And then there was this awesome mystery cipher roll (which turned out to be a cryptex) and 7 hints. They were:

1+4) id + ego + superego + consciousness _

2) You are doing it right now _ _ _ _ _ (ing)

3) Solving puzzles is her forte

5) Morning is here _ _

6) Translate 1 through 5

7) Choose a symbol that suits you

After - literally - hours of figuring out how to solve it - as there were only 7 hints but 13 letters - a friend of mine saw that the first 4 letters can be "cogi" and as he studies philosophy just like me, he thought of "cogito" and hence we quickly figured "cogito ergo sum" out. Also, the symbol one really tricked me because I LOVE skeletons as well as aliens, but also Harry Potter which was the right one. Inside of the cryptex I found an awesome selfmade wand which also brought me nearly to tears and 3 orginal Hogwarts documents! I already framed the acceptance letter and hung it on my wall! Oh wow, dear afrael, you made me happy like a little kid, I couldn't stop smiling stupidly the whole day! Also, I might remind other ones with my glasses of Harry Potter. I am also eagerly awaiting my HP redditgifts present! I am so, so glad. I hope your exchange was as fun for you as for me and still I am sorry about your hand. You really rock!

btw: after other hours I figured out how the read the hints and solve the cryptex:

1) is "I"

2) is "think"

3) was an anagramm for "therefore"

4) is also "I"

5) it is morning time! hence "am"

6) as I study Latin "cogito ergo sum"

7) deathly hallows symbol

bonus fun fact: I dont know whether you knew that I am kind of Descartes expert - at least for my level of studying - and am currently writing an important essay about him and his relation to nature! This felt so personal and thoughtful, this was the best day/evening/night in 2017, I feel like I can't thank you enough!