This year's Secret Santa had begun quite well. My Santa pulled off my information almost immediately, and quickly got in contact with me. A few days later I got a notification of an incoming package, well before the deadline. So much better than me, who was actually late this time around!

All this positive momentum came to a grinding halt however, as a so-called Parcel "Hero" spectacularly failed to achieve what he was paid to do. The timing of the first delivery attempt was almost too good, since it occurred before I could check the tracking log. Leaving not a single hint in my mailbox, by the time I wondered where the package was, it was already on its way back! I stared for a long while at a very suspicious "second failed delivery attempt" at ten past midnight...

It all went from bad to worse at that point, as I got tossed around by support staff at various "heroic" subcontractors, while the package embarked on what looked like a European tour, got missorted to the wrong depot, finally getting permanently stuck in some kind of central hub of kafkaian proportions. I imagine my Santa faced the same struggle, as after telling me he planned to re-send the package once he got it back, he finally had to announce his package had been declared lost by Parcel "Hero".

At a point where mere mortals would simply give up, my Santa instead doubled-down on the gift, telling me he would buy it all again, and apologizing for the delay! As Redditgift automated scripts were pressing me to confirm whether my Santa had delivered or was an abject failure, I kept my faith in Santa and kept waiting, as negative points started marring my Redditgifts profile. I was ready to wait a while, since my Santa had explained he was about to take some long-needed holidays, and that the new package would possibly only be sent after that.

On January 24th, however, I received a call from a delivery man telling me he was right next to my home with a package for me. I certainly did not expect a delivery at that time, but I certainly had an idea of what it could be! What I also did not expect was the weight of the package, which was substantial.

Except for the month, this could very well have been a Christmas night, we actually still had some decorations around that were waiting to be put back into their boxes! So before dinner that night, excited as a child, I finally opened the box, and was floored by the incredible contents. Santa did not send me one gift or two... but five! Truly, each of those would have been fine by itself, and here I was, looking at this treasure trove, amazed Santa would be this generous, flabbergasted he would buy it all twice!

So, what's in the box? First and foremost, the complete new translation of the Lord of the Rings in French. The original translation was of good enough quality, but done at a time nobody had any idea of the scope of Tolkien's work, with not enough vision into his whole universe. A new translation had been desired and rumored for years, and finally achieved a couple of years ago, inevitably generating a lot of debate among the fans, chiefly about many name changes. I was very curious about this, so I listed it among my wishes, and Santa obliged.

This would have made a nice gift by itself, but my Santa also included another item from my wish list, one of the thousands of French comic book released every year, one that had caught my eye many years ago. "Le Grand Mort" (literally "The Grand Dead One") is a fantastic tale by the great Régis Loisel, and Santa not only offered me the first book in the series, but the second and third as well!

Finally, and probably not wanting to stick to wish-list items, my Santa included a surprise in the box, a fun "book light" that can be opened and attached in various ways and provides a very nice cozy atmosphere in the room. Awesome!

In his final letter to me, my Secret Santa apologized for "letting me down". These are apologies I cannot accept, for I was not let down, far from it! I'm still amazed as I write this, too many days after opening the box!