Loot

[Katya]

1. What was the most random Christmas present you got this year?

2. What was the most useful Christmas present you got this year?

3. What was the Christmas present you got that was the most specific to you? (I.e., a present that is great for you, but it wouldn't be nearly as good for most people.)

4. What other Christmas presents do you want to share?

[Whistler]

1. tiger hat (it is, to be fair, cute)
2. my husband promised me a car, which I believe will be useful... otherwise, probably these boots I just bought for myself
3. My in-laws got me an art print from krebscout. Woo!
4. A Japanese novel called _Battle Royale_ that was published a long time ago and is weirdly similar to _The Hunger Games_

[C is for]

1. A melted crayon masterpiece. You know, like this: Nailed it! But mine actually looks like the top one.
2. Earbuds. Haven't used them yet, but I plan to find them very useful!
3. WordPerfect
4. I basically only got clothes. Lots of clothes, and even more on Boxing Day when my mom returned things and then bought more for me. And no books, which is kind of a new thing.

[Defy V]

1. Dice! So random, right? Actually, I didn't get dice, nor did I get anything particularly random. I gave my husband some dice though with his Killer Bunnies expansion, so that sort of counts.

2. Probably maternity pants.

3. The duet version of Liszt Rhapsody II. It's not particularly difficult, but it's still awesome. I'm glad my husband is willing to humor me and play it with me.

4. I got a lot of chocolate this year (my stocking had nothing but chocolate in it), and I was surprised how unappetizing it was. I think I prefer non-chocolate candy to chocolate candy on average.

[Unit of Energy]

1. A shell from my little sister. A tiny sea shell.
2. A handmade wooden cutting board and stirring spoon.
3. A pillow pet cow.
4. A custom framed picture of Christ.

[NerdGirl]

1. This book: http://www.amazon.ca/Wanted-Children-We ... 1605503576 It was incredibly entertaining.
2. Probably the spice rack.
3. Tiny spatulas. For the tiny jars that I can never get stuff out of that drive me crazy.
4. A quinoa cookbook, a kitchen aid mixer (!), an ottoman that has storage space inside and you can take the top off and turn it over and it becomes a tea tray, lots of bubble bath (I pretty much take a bubble bath every morning, which means I have to get up around 6:30 in order to get my morning routine done and get to school by 8:30, but it's worth it).

[bobtheenchantedone]

NerdGirl, I am so jealous of your bubble baths. Not only do I not have time these days, the bath in my house doesn't plug properly. No baths for me. (Except for when I can take a bath at Marduk's parents' house, but I've only done that once.)

1. The $5 certificate for Redbox I got at TBS's white elephant gift exchange.
2. Yarn which my mother will use to make me some fingerless gloves.
3. My duct tape Jack Skellington ring. A remake of the ring my sister gave me for my birthday, which I ruined. Also, after hearing me talk about a bracelet I loved on Etsy using chainmail and crystals, my aunt made me her version of it.
4. More duct tape rings.

[krebscout]

3. My in-laws got me an art print from krebscout. Woo!

They were very nice to work with. I think they thought I was a little shady because the shipping seemed to take longer than it should have and they got it in the nick of time (even though the other print I sent out at the same time got to its destination like a week earlier)...anyway, I hope you like it! It's entirely flattering to have a friend's in-laws secretly order a print from you. So thanks.

[krebscout]

1. A rad and unexpected Threadless shirt from my sister-in-law. This one: http://www.threadless.com/product/765/L ... _Than_I_Am. I also got the movie The Last Starfighter, which I'd never seen before, but was kind of wonderful. Or shaving cream.
2. Clothes are always useful, and I got a couple of things, including pants that fit. Not a single pair of my pants fit before. I also got a pair of earbuds - I have the hardest time keeping the Apple earbuds in my ears when I run, but these Skullcandy ones fit like a dream.
3. Probably the out-of-print Harlan Ellison book I got. Wooooo.
4. Also got a Beatles guitar chord book and capo, an electric toothbrush (which I'm hesitant about, since you can buy toothbrushes for a dollar and they do the job just fine), a gluten-free cookbook, a necklace with a small and tasteful nativity charm, a used copy of Wario Ware Smooth Moves that was too scratched to use and is going to be replaced, and probably some other small things I'm forgetting. My in-laws gave us the gift of flying us up here for Christmas and taking all of us to the Great Wolf Lodge for a wonderful two days of indoor waterpark heaven...it was fantastic.

Is there a place we can brag about the presents we gave?

[NerdGirl]

Speaking of gluten free, krebscout, I finally have been posting new recipes on my blog. I'm pretty sure you have me on facebook, so you may already know that, but there are some links on my facebook wall! (http://glutenfreewolf.blogspot.com for the lurkers/people that don't actually have the address memorized to my blog that I didn't update for about 2 months!)

[Katya]

1. An art print that my friend got at a local fair.

2. A digital tire pressure gauge, which I have already used about a million times.

3. The complete works of Alexander Pushkin (in four volumes).

4. The book The Disappearing Spoon, which is part physics, part chemistry, part history and I highly recommend it. (I'm learning a ton and it's also very entertaining.) I also got a pair of earrings which are tiny books.

[Emiliana]

1. A goat.
2. A goat.
3. A goat.

(Okay, so *I* didn't actually get the goat -- my best friend bought it in my honor through Heifer International, which I think is one of the best charities EVER.)

[TheAnswerIs42]

1. We got a new waffle iron - one of the ones that flips over - along with Belgian Pearl Sugar and a recipe to make waffles with it. I don't know if any of you have tried that before, but wow, that was trippy. The waffles took an hour to make, since it involved yeast, and then you mix in these sugar bits right before you bake them. The sugar just melts into the waffle for a crisp little sugar crunch mixed in. I don't know if we will ever go through that effort again, but it was worth the experiment!

[bobtheenchantedone]

Just tonight, when I stopped by my parents' house, my 13-year-old sister gave me a present. It was a six or seven foot yarn scarf she'd made herself with a hat loom and like a dozen different skeins of yarn. It's kind of odd, but I was a little touched, I admit.

[Laser Jock]

@TheAnswerIs42: I've made those before (and also bought them from a stand), and I agree, they're pretty awesome! Easily the tastiest waffles I've ever had, and in my opinion they don't even need any toppings...though there are a few toppings that can enhance them even more.

[Indefinite Integral]

1. Long underwear. Wasn't expecting that.

2. A humidifier (I think my mom wanted me to stop borrowing hers every time I got sick)

3. Crazy socks. I love crazy socks.

4. Tons of kitchen stuff. Also, my school bought kindles for the whole faculty. Cool, right?

[Craig Jessop]

3. Crazy socks. I love crazy socks.

I got crazy socks too. It's my way of sticking it to the man.

[Portia]

3. The book Old Filth. Now I don't need to feel incomplete having read only The Man in the Wooden Hat.

[Dragon Lady]

1. Cleaning rags. I suppose that could go under #2, as well. Maybe it isn't so random since I asked for them...

2. A toaster and a pan rack (like, that hangs from your ceiling).

3. Babysitting. Sure, a lot of other people could use that, but it's still really specific to me.

4. Furniture! A couch and a loveseat, to be particular. Oh, and we bought ourselves a 6' love sac. It's really nice having a place to sit in our new house.

I suddenly feel really old…
And as a random side note, for the first time in years I didn't get any books or games. (Yellow did get Lego Star Wars for the Wii.) Though, I haven't gotten my Christmas presents from my mom yet, so perhaps this might turn out to be not true. We'll see.

[Portia]

@Dragon Lady: Definitely read that as a toaster that hangs from the ceiling!