Looking forwards to Secret Santa

Steven91 · Oct 30, 2021

Hey everyone,

I look forwards to Secret Santa every year since I've been doing it and part of r2r and I wanna share why. December has been rough for me for the last 10ish years, between my parents getting divorced, my grandpa passing away on Christmas night and another one passing away 2 weeks before Christmas, and my Aunt passing away 2 days before Christmas (as well as my job in retail). This made me hate seeing December and Christmas, sucked the joy right out of, took what is supposed to the happiest time of the year and made it the worst time of the year.

When Secret Santa started on here a few years ago (or at least when I first did it), I wasn't sure how it was going to and was a little nervous trying to buy for mine and getting everything out on time. That first year, I actually looked towards Christmas and opening my Secret Santa gift was actually a lot of fun as I had no idea what was inside of it. Now because of this, I look forwards to Christmas every year, as I get to be surprised by someone and I hope to make their holiday a little more special.

Happy Holidays to everyone and please feel free to share your stories

Peace River · Oct 30, 2021

Awesome story about the challenges and power of the holiday season! Thanks for sharing - I had a similar experience losing a loved one just after Christmas so this this was very meaningful.

Weasel1960 · Oct 31, 2021

Glad it helped you after a hard time. My first SS was last year, felt like a kid again waiting for my gift to show up. It was awesome to see how much joy was given and received reading all the threads about their gifts, especially the non hobby related ones.

Stang67 · Oct 31, 2021

I also did not enjoy (hated) the holidays prior to joining in on the r2r exchange. My displeasure was purely stress related and primarily self inflicted stress. Trying to do too much for too many. I have since learned it's not about the quantity but the quality of time and I try to make the most of the time I have now. R2R has just given me a more personal connection to others that share this wonderful hobby. I truely look forward to this (and the donation drive) every year now. And for me it is more about the giving then receiving.