WARNING - Be prepared for a massive amount of text and excessive exclamation marks. My santa deserves it!

I knew that I had an awesome santa from the very beginning since she messaged me right away. We are basically the same person in multiple bodies. She asked me a ton of questions and then asked me to create an imgur album of recent pictures of myself. Color me intrigued! Not only that, but she messaged me several other times to give me updates on shipping. Judging by many of the posts in r/secretsanta, my santa is the rarest of unicorns for giving me frequent updates.

Once my gift was shipped, I watched tracking like a hawk. Alas! My package was not delivered because FedEx went to my house while I was working and it required a signature. Not a big deal though since I only live 15 minutes from the FedEx location where it was being held. As soon as work hours were over, I rushed home and sped off in my car to FedEx... Nooo... I forgot my ID in my carry-on after traveling this weekend! falls to knees Whyyyyy?! Now I have to go all the way back home to get my ID and then come back. Totally worth it.

Thirty minutes later... I successfully obtained my package and I was preparing myself for the most torturous 15-minute drive of my life. My present is right next to me, but I can't let myself open it yet. My awesome santa deserved more than me ripping open my package in a dimly lit parking lot or inside my car. It was super tempting though!

Once I was home, I immediately sat down on the floor and opened the box. Everything was packed well with bubble wrap and those big air pouch things; I super duper appreciate the care taken to make sure everything arrived safely. When I started pulling out items, I felt like a magician with one of those neverending scarves. SO MANY THINGS!

Candy! OMG pralines = love. As you can see in my picture, I opened one immediately and remembered mid-bite that I should take pictures before eating my gifts. She also threw in delicious-sounding chocolate - honeycomb and caramel with a touch of caramel. Definitely not sharing! (The star in the picture is actually soap, not white chocolate as I thought. Very glad not to have taken a bite!)

A Marauder's Map infinity scarf! My santa and I share a love for HP and I am going to wear this all the time until it falls apart from too much love! Also, I feel like I need a dress made out of this fabric.

ALL THE SMELLS. In my likes/dislikes, I said that I was just getting into perfumes and really wanted to find my "signature scent." Damn, did she deliver! She also did a top-notch stalking job and found a comment about how it would be neat to try a library- or book-scented perfume. She sent me four! FOUR! Paper & Cotton by Tokyomilk, Paperback by Demeter, Ravenclaw Tower by Fictitious Fragrances, and my favorite so far, Rustic Library by Garden Tale Gifts. Not to mention all the other pretty scents! Three perfumes from Nest Fragrances, a gingerbread diffuser and a perfume sample pack from Demeter Fragrance Library. Santa, you earn an O on your Perfumery NEWT!

Nail polish! There is some voodoo magic going on, because I almost bought these Formula X polishes for myself on Black Friday. Fittingly, they are named Voodoo and Juju. The third polish from Above the Curve Nail Lacquer is extra awesome because it's named Sirius Black AND it glows in the dark! As soon as I take off my current polish color, this is next in line.

Tea! Could you have picked a more delicious sounding tea? No. The answer is no. I am super excited to try it! It's also really cool that it's from a local business!

Make It In a Jar book! I LOVE baking and all these recipes sound delicious and the end-products look super adorable! Time to start saving all my jars!

I almost forgot - LIFE'S ENTROPY IS ON THE WAY! Again, another example of my santa's stalking skills. I made a comment about wishing I had ordered something on Black Friday, and she let me know that I now have something on the way! This is extra amazing because the online store is now closed due to the large volume of orders received on Black Friday, so I thought I had missed my chance. Santa to the rescue!

A card filled with a lovely message, for my eyes only :) I got a laugh out of the card picture - I said a hot air balloon ride would be on my bucket list! My santa gave me explanations for everything she picked out and she is just the sweetest. Seriously, let's be friends.

Last, but definitely not least, A FRAMED WATERCOLOR PAINTING OF ME. WHAT?! This is unbelievably awesome! My talented santa used the pictures in my imgur album to paint a portrait of me! I would have been thrilled to just receive this, but in addition to everything else... WOW. I just don't have adequate words to express how blown away I am by the time and effort she put into this.

August01, thank you SO MUCH. For everything. I feel so lucky to have had you as my santa. Every single item was so thoughtfully chosen and it's hard to believe that we've never even met! I really and truly would love to stay in touch if you are open to it! I can't say it enough - thank you, thank you, thank you! Much love from North Carolina to Texas, and I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas!

TL;DR My secret santa is the best person I've never met. Just look at the pictures if you don't believe me. I will be forever thankful for her thoughtfulness!