So, after my first ride at the RedditGifts rodeo went so well -- it's finally freezing below 70 degrees here in LA, and man, did that hot cocoa come in handy -- I said, WTF not. As long as I don't actually list "Bizarre Animal Poops from Around the World" as an interest, what could go wrong? And so I signed up for the end of year Secret Santa.

My Santa gave me a Lego Mal blanket.

I say that very matter of factly here to belie the very un-adulty, "HOLY SHIT!"-exclaiming reaction I had on receiving it. This gift was nothing I could have predicted, I laughed for a while at my Santa's creativeness. I love it! It is shiny. So, so, very shiny. Because one, see aforementioned below-70 degree shiver-inducing weather, when blankets become more than just things you take to Hollywood Forever picnics. And two, Legos, well, self-explanatory amazingness there. And three, I still haven't forgiven Fox television executives for how they treated Firefly. Yes, they're television execs and are inherently predisposed to poop on quality programming, but that doesn't make me want to curse them and their inevitable betrayal any less.

The blanket gives me a Whedonesque Snoopy dance of a smile when I see it. And like the hot cocoa gift from my last exchange, a tiny warming reminder that not everything sucks all the time. This is my first year on Redditgifts, mostly as a rematch Santa, but I often skim the gallery just to marvel at how thoughtful some strangers can be to each other. Yes, Redditgifts, it's true: you are one of the twinkle twinkle little bright spots of my year. Am I getting sentimental? Okay, I AM. But I blame YOU, you bloodydamn wonderful redditors here who make RedditGifts the merry-go-round of awesome that it is. YOU did this to me!

TL;DR I love my Lego Mal blanket and I love Redditgifts. And if any of you laugh at me, I swear by my pretty floral bonnet, I will end you.