Winter Gift Exchange

[manji]

I’m cheating and reposting my Reddit secret santa one. I’ve been cultivating this for five years, so please do not feel that you need to post this much on yours!

I’m a baby pediatric nurse. That is to say, I graduated last May, and am still kind of getting my sea legs as far as being on my own is concerned. My job is a ton of work, but I love it. Besides, can’t beat having four days off a week! I just switched to day shift, and its so much more work, but I love having a life again.

I have chronic illnesses, Lupus, Fibromyalgia, and Celiac Disease. They all suck pretty hard, but for the most part I keep them in check. I do my best to rock being a spoonie (someone with a chronic illness), and try not to let it keep me down. I still have my bad days that keep me on the couch (like today). I am so grateful that my husband supports me through all of it Because of my illnesses, I tend to do a lot of “low energy” hobbies.

I love to read, and always have, my whole life. Video games are also something that have stuck with me through the years. Even when I feel like shit, I like to at least watch people play games on Twitch (Cohn Carnage is my favorite streamer). I have a Switch and a Ps4, I tend to play mostly single player games, and am working on 100%-ing Super Mario Odyssey.

I also try to work on projects and hobbies that can better myself and my world. I am trying my best to get back into working out, specifically weight lifting. Sometimes that easier said than done, as we all know. In the last year, I’ve started drawing and painting, mostly watercolors. I also like to do a lot of fiber crafts, slowly working on finishing a cross stitch, but also weaving, crochet, etc. I’m also slowly but surely working on converting to Judaism, its a year (or more) long process.

Edit: Women’s shirt L, Men’s M

[Cj_Heighton]

Manji, to clarify, you just said dont write too much to a forum entirely populated by writers. We’re gonna write way too much, i know us xD

But yeah, lets see…

uhhhh…

im big on music, as you guys probably know. Album stuff might be nice, mostly a “Surprise me” kinda thing tho, as long as its not metal or rap. Possibly a new capo would also be super appreciated, since my current ones falling apart. That or new picks. always losing those buggers.

Im big on gaming, but i already have a bunch of stuff that i like based on that, so the only stuff that might be not already owned on that aspect would be a new wired controller (so i can keep doing my controller support work for blitzkampfer xD)

As much as i dont look like it, im pretty big on nice jackets or sweaters, so stuff like thats always appreciated. Shades of grey, blue or green usually.

mhh… Other than that, im huge on reading and writing. I love anything from classic literature to fiction. Current stuff im wanting novel wise is “The Bullet Journal Method”, “oathbringer” By brandon sanderson, “EdgeDancer” by the same dude, brandon sanderson, and “The bands of mourning” by - you guessed it - Brandon sanderson xD

mhhh… otherwise… i have a massive sweet tooth. i love foreign, weird candy, and other stuff that i havent seen before. Knicknacks, candy, anything like thats always neat to me. Might also like a new blanket. please. im dying of the cold up here. Its regularly -20*Celcius. Save me from mother nature.

Rambling aside, Seriously though, Im fine with whatever. even the idea that people are gonna be sendign me something gives me anxiety xD, im not really a picky sort x3

[Nimueh]

Okay, um… Well, I like reading and writing, tried my hand at a lot of different crafts (though I’m terrible at all of them). Huge geek, video game nerd… Musician. Been into archery for years, though only actually joined a club last year. Love all things celtic; mythology, designs, music. Um… favourite colours are turquoise, purple, and aqua, and I prefer silver tones to gold (moon guild, lol). I celebrate Xmas out of habit cause the rest of my family does, though really I need to start properly observing Yule (I’m Wiccan/Ecclectic Pagan). My profile has smiliar stuff, lol, cause I have a copy/paste that I use pretty much everywhere. My Neithernor profile is also basically me too, so maybe there’s something on there?

Literally guys, I’m the type of person you could send anything small to and I’ll probably love it cause you took the time to find it/make it. This is especially a thing cause getting stuff over the pond in one piece at this time of year is… well, Royal Mail isn’t exactly reliable at the best of times.

[Ravenwing]

Suuuuuper late response but I am def in!

I celebrate Christmas but I ain’t religious, it’s more a social practice than anything. Grew up celebrating solstice as a kid.
I’m a maritime historian going for my bachelors in History and English with a minor in Classics and Museum Studies. I’m into Irish traditional music and I play in an ensemble with that as its focus. I love reading, drawing, writing, etc. I love folklore. A lot of my stories have a lot of folklore feel to them (so I’ve been told). I’m pretty outdoorsy and love hiking alone and camping. I do a lot of exploration around my hometown and am always down for an adventure. I don’t really have a solid house, so something bulky might not be a great idea. Everything I own is spread between both my parent’s houses, college, my friend’s house, and wherever else I happen to be (currently Connecticut).

Fav colors range from olive green, grey, and navy blue, and like a fog(?) blue. Fav animal is a raven (don’t think this is news to anyone ). I drink a lot of tea and coffee. I dress pretty practically and I would be super content with a pair of wool socks or a scarf. Journals, pens, weird books you found at the thrift store, all good options. I love weird stuff. I also like learning new skills!
I freakin love getting any kind of gift from anyone, even if it’s just a postcard!

[Ashburn]

I celebrate the Santa side of Christmas.
I’m a stagehand that finished college eight and a half years ago.
Definitely geeky, and pretty nerdy too, and I really like combining these interests in my crafts.
Most of my creative pursuits recently have been crochet and cross stitch. I also really like making holiday decorations (even though I have next to no space for them ).
My style is pretty much jeans and tshirt most of the time, nice top and pants when I have to dress up for something. (Shirt size is large for unisex cut, around xxl for feminine cuts; basically the torso needs to be about 44" around)
I’m running a couple of races at Disney in a few months and would love to have a piece of my Mountie family with me as I challenge myself.
Adding: more of a cocoa/tea person, not so much coffee. Pretty open to tea types, but haven’t been super keen on non-citrus fruity flavors that I’ve tried.
In Florida, so items meant to warm may not get much use. Seriously, it’s like eight months of summer.

[Sellalellen]

I’m Christian, so I do celebrate the religious side of Christmas. That being said, I am not opposed to Santa or other non-religious aspects of the holiday. I have a weakness for nativity scenes, especially ones made from unique materials or in the style of a specific culture.
I don’t have a real career like some of you but I have been trained as a nail technician and nail art is one of my favourite hobbies. I love music of all kinds, especially stuff I haven’t heard before, but prefer lyrics with little to no profanity.
I have autism, so stim toys and weighted blankets are awesome, I’m bound to use those. I am also always cold, so blankets, socks, sweaters, all those things are lifesavers.
Style wise, I flip flop between a timeless, elegant sort of look, and a vampy gothic look. Gothic more so in the winter, because layering. I’m always looking for unique accessories, with a definite emphasis on the “weird” connotation. I prefer silver to gold. Idk I just think it looks better on me. Favourite colours in general are black, red, and purple.
I think lately, crocheting has been my favourite hobby, with an emphasis on the lacemaking aspect. I dabble in most fiber arts, though. Cross stitch, embroidery, quilting, whatever.
I just recently got into exercise (mostly dance/cardio)and I also discovered I have a lack of workout clothes and gear. I don’t even have a water bottle and I remind myself to buy one every time I go into the city but forget. Okay I’m rambling now I should stop.

[annabloem]

Is it still possible to get involved with this, or am I too late?

[Ashburn]

If @Skylad is counting by US December 1st for the cut-off, you may be able to sneak in!

[Revenir]

That would actually be perfect. Right now we have an odd number of participants, which means one person would be left out. But with you, we’d be at the perfect number for everyone to both give and receive a gift!

[annabloem]

Awesome! I’ll write up a little introduction thing later today ^^

[Skylad]

I’m not looking to start organising till tomorrow! At present I lack the ability to breath without yawning so inbox me your address and I’ll add it to the list (tomorrow)

[grimangel53]

will make my way down to disney on those weekends to say hello and give mountie support

[grimangel53]

I celebrate the santa and more…pagan sides of christmas. I mean i even have a “Young Santa” outfit and i produce wonders for those i care about. no joke. i go all out on christmas.

Unfortunately, i wont be able to do that this year, as i just started a new job, and it pays significantly less than my old one. I’m now a teacher.

My interests include gaming, (both of the tabletop and video variety), movies, books, and really any sort of media. I live for absorbing that stuff. I’m a huge pokemon, power rangers, and harry potter fanboy, and love a good story.
stylewise…i’m in florida. so i flit between hipster/indie clothing (plaid button downs, jeans, converse) and more…beachy clothing (flip flops, shorts, tanks, and open button downs.) I’m also big on the more dressy type of style too.love things like pendants and rings, as they help me connect back to my oddly spiritual beliefs (can you say all the gods are present? and natural magiq everywhere? I connect back to the celtic, norse, and greco-roman pantheons). (shirt size large or xl due to my…longer frame.)
Favorite colors are red, blue, green, and most neutral colors.
Always down for some new or interesting music. as well.
Im also a big fan of podcasts like Lore, MBMBAM/The adventure zone and of groups like rooster teeth, game theory, the completionist/normal boots, and achievement hunter.

I enjoy giving, especially in this time of year.
so im all for whatever comes my way, and im ready to send off that which i can!
SUPER EXCITE

[Revenir]

Oh yeah, I should probably do one of these.

So I’m Rev, and I’m a computer scientist-turned-theatre technician. Currently in undergrad, but I’m hoping to get accepted into a grad school and eventually establish a solid career in costume design. I guess you could say I’ve sold my soul to the theatre. But yeah, it’s what I’m passionate about. I love making art and especially designing for the theatre.

As far as what I celebrate, I ‘celebrate’ Christmas because my parents do. Now I’m kind of trying to figure out what I want to celebrate, something that fits into my actual spiritual beliefs? But I’m mostly neutral about the whole thing, except for Christmas creep ruining my favorite holiday, Halloween.

Hobbies and things I like… Well it’s probably not a surprise that I like painting and sketching. Mostly I stick to pencil, ink, and watercolor, but sometimes I branch out. I like telling stories in general, though doing so via writing is tricky for me, time consuming. Beyond this, I’m a pretty crafty person, I like doing paper crafts and I’m a bit of a stationery nerd. Oh, and I like playing video games, though I try not to play too much. I love point and click adventures, rpgs, and visual novels. I have a PS4 and the older 3DS.

Favorite colors - neutral tones, red, and gold. Favorite animal is a shark. I dress pretty comfortably, a lot of t-shirts and jeans. But I like to dress up in a punk/goth hybrid style when I get the inclination. I’m a men’s size large in t shirts, if that’s applicable. I also love beanies, and knitted things. Y’all know I’m a stationery nut, I love fancy paper and unique pens, unlined journals. I’m real into antique-y stuff too, like the Book of Briars is totally my aesthetic. Worn books, old boxes, ancient knick knacks, I love 'em. I also dig it when people get crafty, like knitted scarves, collage art, handmade jewelry, etc. Oh, and I might be the human incarnate of a crow, because I enjoy shiny things, like crystals.

There’s probably more stuff about me floating around in the pen pals thread, and in some of my initiatives. I’m an open book.

[annabloem]

Alright, since I’m super new to this forum and don’t really know anyone yet, I’ll try and write quite a bit, because otherwise it would be super hard to get me anything.

I’m Annemarie, 25 and I am Dutch. I studied Japanese language and culture in University and once I graduated moved to Japan, where I have now been living for about 2,5 years. My main goal was to get better at Japanese (as we basically only learned a little Japanese in Uni, my specialty was Antropology). I currently work as an assistant language teacher, which means I teach English at Kindergarten and Elementary school and assist the English teachers are Junior High School. I go to a total of 12 different schools, some of them with barely any students (my smallest elementary school was 19 students, total) and others more regular sized. (They’re going to fuse some elementary schools and the junior high schools together soon, though). I live in a lovely coastal village, but it’s quite small and there’s not much here, because most of the town is still in the process of getting rebuild after the Tsunami of 2011, which destroyed pretty much everything. I moved here to improve my Japanese (and that definitely happened, seeing as no one here speaks English) but I also really enjoy my job right now, my students are lovely, and I truly love languages, although I’m not necessarily good at them. (I struggled so much with French, German, Latin and Old Greek during junior high, although I liked them).

I love reading, writing (both fiction, and I have a daily life kind of blog) and have recently been getting into art as well. At the moment I usually do pencil drawings and watercolours. In terms of books I mostly read fantasy, classics and young adult, though in terms of Japanese books I usually read crime/detectives. Not sure why that is. I also enjoy sports, my favourites being horse riding and archery, both of which I can’t do in the village I live in, so that’s kind of a pity. (They barely have any horses in Japan somehow). I now play soft-volleyball twice a week, and also recently joined a futsal team. Another hobby of mine is translating/ making subtitles for Japanese dramas and variety shows. In terms of music, I’m currently kind of obsessed with Japanese music, mostly groups from an agency called Johnny’s my favourites being Arashi, Hey! Say! JUMP, Kanjani8 and Johnny’s WEST (yes they are boybands) and I also really like Ieiri Leo.

In terms of Christmas, it always was my favourite holiday, I loved having all my family together and eating good food, as well as exchanging presents, but moving across the world kind of makes it impossible (which is one of the reasons I’m excited about this exchange to be honest.) Japan doesn’t really do much with Christmas at all, so I’ll be working. (I could take the day of, but all my friends will be working, so that’s even more lonely.) My family and friends from the Netherlands will be sending me gifts as well, and I’ll skype with them on the day itself, so don’t worry I won’t be that lonely.

In terms of colours, I like blues, purples and pastels, and my style is mostly comfortable. I like both cool styles and cute styles, though I don’t really have the confidence to wear stuff that really stands out. Also, living in the country side means that anything revealing/short is out of the question. I get enough stares as it is for being a foreigner. My shirt size would be a female M, or a male S.

I love tea, don’t drink coffee. Things like sweaters/blankets are always welcome, since Japan doesn’t have this thing called central heating (I’m working with a kerosene heater here).

Some other stuff I love: learning new stuff/letters/books/things related to paganism/harry potter/pokemon/crystals/tarot/runes/mythology (especially norse/greek/roman)/traveling/nature photography/dancing and I’m probably forgetting a bunch of important stuff, but this has already become pretty long, so I’ll just stop here

[Tinker]

I guess I should maybe do one of these as well…I have some stuff on my profile bio from when I first did penpals…but it definitely wasn’t as detailed as people are getting here, so:

I’m a third year graduate student studying mechanical engineering, but I’m also very much into the arts. I trained in Shakespearean acting in middle and high school, and have been a dancer since I was a smol. And I play the violin, particularly Irish Fiddle style.

I also do all sorts of crafts - I crochet and sew (lots of renaissance faire costumes and some semi formal wear sprinkled into my repertoire). I also enjoy watercolors, but I’m not like…good at drawing at all, so it’s often difficult to motivate myself to practice. I can do a little bit of jewelry-making, and I’ve tried my hand at lasercutting a bit. I also tend to pick up weird craft techniques sometimes…like bookbinding and chain maille making.

I also like to read a lot, mostly urban fantasy/magical realism/high fantasy. My favorite book has been “The Night Circus” for a while now, but I’ve always got a place in my heart for HP (Gryffindor for life). And I’ve recently fallen in love with the Grishaverse books.

I love to travel - I studied abroad in China in undergrad and I’m literally never gonna stop talking about it. I speak Chinese and am learning French…slowly but surely.

I do celebrate Christmas and am really in love with the vintage Christmas style.

Uh…what else. Favorite color is probably a cobalt-y sort of blue or an eggplant purple (and black…lots of black). I’m also rather fond of rose gold because I’m trash. I’m open to pretty much any genre of music, but I tend to listen to hipster/indie music and my old punk standbys. I don’t watch a TON of tv, but I love a good cheesy RomCom. And I’m a sucker for a Robin Hood adaptation.

Honestly, I’m really just excited to get to know more of the Mounties. That’s what I love about the penpals stuff…it’s cool to hear from people offline and I love putting together little bits and bobs for people.

[Nimueh]

Hey, just wondering when the names were being drawn? Realising I’m going home next week and that my local post office there is closed, so trying to send an international parcel will be a pain in the backside, so if I can get it sent before I leave it’ll be awesome.

[Skylad]

I’ve sent them off to a friend to do. You should hear something soon

[Ashburn]

So, did this friend have a particular time frame for sending out by?

I recall there being talk about navigating the holiday shipping nightmare.
Was it officially decided that we’d try to get things out by the 14th? (I went thread-digging to see what was last mentioned)

[Skylad]

It’s not already sitting in your inbox???