I received PART of my gift from my Santa last night!

A fairly small and verrrryyy lightweight box from Amazon arrived. I was a bit worried at first - What could they have gotten me that is so small and light?? Feathers? Cotton balls? A feather tied to a cotton ball wearing a felt Santa cap??

Inside is a gift wrapped with a little note on the outside:

"Hey deviatingnorms, I was not able to ship this with the main present. Also, I have no idea how amazon gift bags look like. If you read this and don't know what's inside, I advice you wait until you get the other one! Sincerely yours, [Santa]"

Well, I DON'T know what's inside. So I took your advice and closed it right up! I love surprises - so this makes it extra fun now to wait for the other part of the gift!

What could it be?!! It's so tempting to look inside the little gift bag for a hint... BUT I WON'T. I PROMISE.

Update to come...

UPDATE 1/7/17

I'm so excited! The mail came today and brought me the rest of my gift from my Santa! It may have taken a little while to get here, but it was well worth the wait! Here's what's inside...

First, my Santa hand-wrote me a 2-page letter. I always ask my Santa to share with me part of who they are and/or what their culture is. I learned my Santa is from Berlin (I love your city!), and so he shared with me some music he loves that he feels represents German culture, a song called "Dichterliebe" by Robert Schumann and sung by Fritz Wunderlich (listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZLjf_m6j0A). Honestly, this is my favorite part of the gift. It perfectly represents why I always choose to do the international exchange. And it's especially awesome this year that my Santa is from Germany (and my giftee was, too!) because half my relatives are German and I only visited them in Bavaria for the first time 2 years ago. I keep in touch with my younger cousins now and they may be visiting me in the USA this year. I'll have to show them this song to see what they think! :)

Next is what I think my Santa was referring to as the "main present." It's a $40 gift card to the local studio where I recently started a new hobby - fitness pole dancing! I fell in love with it, but classes are super expensive. This helps immensely with mitigating the cost so I can keep fit and having fun in the new year!

My Santa also enclosed some really yummy treats from Germany. The perfect reward for after my pole workouts!

Finally, I opened the first gift that was sent to me. I am seriously SO HAPPY that my Santa got this for me. Every class I say to myself, "I really need to get myself some Dry Hands." I keep thinking about getting it but for some reason I haven't yet. But NOW I have my own bottle! I am so happy! This stuff is magic! I can't wait to use it in my next class to see how well I will stick to and grip the pole! Thank you so much and please thank your friend for me, too - She was so right to suggest it!

In the letter, my Santa wrote a thought that I want to share. I totally agree with you, Santa - There are tons of people (especially around the holidays) who erroneously think accumulating material goods will help people find happiness. I always appreciate this reminder, especially at this time in my life. Travel and minimalism will definitely help you to define and solidify what's really important to you. I have found that what makes me happiest (and many others do, too) is putting something positive out into the world and growing and nourishing relationships with others.

Thank you so much, Santa. I wish you luck in traveling more and leading a minimalistic lifestyle this year!

And I'm wishing everyone happiness in 2017!