AFTER CHRISTMAS UPDATE:

First off Santa, I'm sorry I didn't post yesterday, but I ended up getting caught up in all the Christmasiness and wanted to wait to post until I had time to do your amazing gifts justice! Hopefully I didn't keep you in too much suspense.

Now, for everyone at large, look what I got! My Santa was awesome to've found all this stuff that relates to my interests, and I couldn't be happier with any of it! The first gift came in one of those reddit cat boxes, and seeing that I almost laughed out loud because I'd mentioned that I'd recently bought my cats a bunch of new toys so they didn't really need anything, but my Santa still managed to find something for them anyway, and I'm thrilled with the result! I put it together almost immediately and placed it in a quieter, out of the way area while I worked on the rest of my gifts, but I noticed Ollie sticking his head in to investigate pretty soon after.

As for the official first gift, I had said that I love Korean dramas and it's helped me develop an interest in their culture in general, so I was delighted when I got past the bubble wrap and saw a box with Korean lettering, and inside it an absolutely beautiful cooking pot. My Santa asked me if I enjoy cooking, and thinking back I may not have been super clear in my answer because I barely have any experience so far, but to clarify I've actually been more interested in trying it lately (which is also thanks to seeing such intriguing food in Korean dramas) so I'm really excited about this gift! I don't know what I'll make with it yet, but considering my second gift was Korean soybean paste (something I've never tried before) and the third gift was a pack of chopsticks, I definitely want it to be something Asian so I can use those!

After those first three gifts, when I opened the fourth for a split second I thought it was more food of some kind, but then my brain processed the wording (thankfully with plenty of English, including directions) and I realized they were face masks! I almost squealed in glee at that point, because while they may not be an exclusively Asian thing (I don't know), I'm familiar with them through dramas and now I can look silly while pampering my skin like they do!

The last three gifts were another related set of items: a gorgeous Hobbit sketchbook with nice, thick paper, a basic starter drawing set, and an Art of Drawing Manga book! I love Middle Earth, I read plenty of manga, and I assume my Santa noticed I hang out in r/Art sometimes. These presents are honestly awesome, because I've actually been interested in learning how to draw (at all, currently I've only mastered stick figures), and now I finally have a starting point with plenty of tools at my disposal!

Thank you Santa, you've done an amazing job finding gifts for me, and I appreciate and love every single one. I had a great Christmas that was only made better by the thoughtful gifts you sent, and I'll be getting plenty of use out of all of them for a long time! :)

P.S. - In case anyone was wondering, my hand has healed nicely by now and the cats seem to've completely forgotten their trauma from the vet.

ORIGINAL POST:

I should start by saying that my Santa's been awesome and contacted me a few times to chat and ask a few questions, so it's obvious they've put thought into what to get me, and it's made me so excited to see what they picked!

I hadn't checked redditgifts or my email for the past couple days, so I had no idea my gift had shipped until a friend stopped by today and brought in a huge box from the step. (Good thing they grabbed it for me too, because I took my two cats to the vet yesterday and after Princess clawed my thumb pretty good trying to avoid going in her carrier, Ollie bit my wrist on the same hand once we were at the vet and I ended up going to an urgent care clinic afterwards to have it taken care of, so now my hand is bandaged so thoroughly I can't move my wrist or thumb very much. Grumble mumble.) So at first I wondered what on earth the package could be since the only thing I was expecting was tiny, but then they said it had my reddit username on it and it clicked. I was shocked that it could've shipped and arrived so fast, but there it was! My friend wanted me to open it immediately, but I insisted on pictures first. Then, since I'd already decided from the beginning of the exchange that I'd wait till Christmas to open my presents, I had my friend open the box just enough to peek inside and make sure whatever was there was wrapped. As soon as they confirmed it, I giddily snatched it away and opened it myself, tossing aside the padding and finding a lovely handwritten note on top. After reading it, which only made me more curious about the gifts since it alluded to them without actually giving anything away, I continued by (somewhat awkwardly, remember I was working with mostly one hand) taking out each present and examining them as I went, trying to guess what they might be, while in awe of how many there were and simultaneously squealing like a little kid at the wrapping paper Santa chose.

So now they're sitting under my tree, and I'm going to have to exert a LOT of willpower to keep my original resolve to wait until Christmas to open them. It's only twelve more days, that's not so bad, really, less than two weeks, I just have to hold out that long...

And rest assured, Santa, I will update this as soon as I open the gifts!