A Cautionary Secret Santa Tale- I may laugh by next Christmas

This year I decided, having had a year's break, that I would join in with the Secret Santa. I got my names in an email for the card swap and secret santa, I read it, yay, and then thought ages to go yet, must make Christmas cards.

A Canny Santa messaged me on the advice of the Chief Canny Santa and said 'Do you know if my victim wears jewellery', 'Yes I said, but your victim lives near to me and I have this idea of making baked good and turning up on Christmas Eve dressed as Santa, with my elf sporting Fairy Wings, and delivering them so why don't we swap and you can have Chief Canny Santa who is my victim and I will have a more local victim'. Great idea but we, of course, weren't telling Chief Canny Santa about our subterfuge because , of course, it would be an even nicer surprise for her to not know who she had. Thought no more of it. I did message an elf who passed on a message to my new victim to say not to worry if things didn't arrive last week, organisation is key after all.

Still making cards on 14th, not thinking about it as I didn't need to get things sorted until a week after the 15th. On Wednesday find out fairy winged elf was actually working on delivery day but no matter, I could still play Santa. On Thursday I thought I had better send my Canny Card, it being the last posting day for 2nd class. Umm who is my recipient? I look at my message, my chin hits the desk as my stomach hits the floor and my insides turn to ice. My Christmas card victim was Chief Canny Santa but my Secret Santa victim was the Canny Santa I had swapped partners with so therefore if things stayed as they were Chief Canny Santa would get two Secret Santa packages (check thread, phew that's not happened yet) and my former victim(who didn't know she was my former victim because she thought Chief Canny Santa was my former victim) would get nothing, or if, by chance my former victim(who didn't know she was my former victim because she thought Chief Canny Santa was my former victim) hadn't sent anything yet, she'd have been sending to herself, bog all surprise there! This was the same day I'd managed to take Matthew to the doctors for the wrong time, the day I became more convinced that I'd be joining my friend's day care alzheimers group.

So I came up with a new plan, this involved contacting other Canny Santas and asking if they actually had Chief Canny Santa as their victim. If they fessed up, I would ask them if the gift they sent to Chief Canny Santa, would also be suitable for my poor former victim(who didn't know she was my former victim because she thought Chief Canny Santa was my former victim) who would be facing a bereft Christmas, losing sacred belief in Secret Santas and possibly crying over the turkey. If the answer was yes then I was going to contact Chief Canny Santa, promise to use only recycled items on all my cards next year, and pay the postage so Chief Canny Santa could send on that gift to my former victim(who didn't know she was my former victim because she thought Chief Canny Santa was my former victim) !

Panic had barely subsided, still making cards, and no what is this? I sent those messages half an hour ago and no one has replied, these Canny Santas have lives, how very dare they! In the end panic getting worse I contact my former victim(who didn't know she was my former victim because she thought Chief Canny Santa was my former victim) and told her that I had really messed up and my card swap partner was Chief Canny Santa and not my Secret Santa victim and was she happy if I asked Chief Canny Santa to forward her parcel or someone else's onto my former victim (who didn't know she was my former victim because she thought Chief Canny Santa was my former victim) (I said both as she didn't know she was actually my former victim (who didn't know she was my former victim because she thought Chief Canny Santa was my former victim) but I only meant one of the parcels).

Much laughter ensued judging by the smiley faces in my former victim(who didn't know she was my former victim although she now knew Chief Canny Santa was NOT my former victim)'s message. Thankfully my former victim said she hadn't actually sent her parcel to her new victim so would be happy to switch back to her former victim and, oh by the way, who was actually my original victim?

Phew, great, fabu....hang about my former victim(who didn't know she was my former victim although she now knew Chief Canny Santa was NOT my former victim) just asked who my victim was....Noooooooooo!.. If I say nothing then she knows she was actually my original victim who became my former victim (who didn't know she was my former victim back when she thought Chief Canny Santa was my former victim)and then my old new victim. If I say can't tell you then she knows she was actually my original victim who became my former victim (who didn't know she was my former victim back when she thought Chief Canny Santa was my former victim)and then my old new victim. If I say it's you then she knows she was actually my original victim who became my former victim (who didn't know she was my former victim back when she thought Chief Canny Santa was my former victim)and then my old new victim. Bother (yes of course that was the word used and Matthew didn't have to yell 'Mother language ' at me yet again (he'd been doing that a lot that week what with one thing and another)). In the end I went with I can't tell you and she suggested that if she was actually my original victim who became my former victim (who didn't know she was my former victim back when she thought Chief Canny Santa was my former victim)and then my old new victim then I should send the parcel to her home address and not her business address.

Phew, here endeth the saga. Everyone can go and get a cup of tea, "GET BACK HERE WHO SAID YOU COULD LEAVE", "Erm well we thought....", "SIT".

I calmed down then, bother (Mother etc), my bought gift for my new victim after my former victim who was no longer my victim was from Stampin' Up, the trouble is my new victim was now my former victim and my former victim (who didn't know she was my former victim,..) was my new, new victim (are you as lost as I am with these victims? I have written victim so many times that the word now looks weird and I actually had to google to find out if I genuinely am losing my mind and if victim is spelled victim) and she was also a Stampin Up representative! It's Thursday, very late on Thursday, and I have no idea what to buy for my new, new victim especially as she is predominantly not a paper crafter! It's also Thursday, I need this stuff by Tuesday first thing at the latest and paaaaannnnniiiiiccccc! Go to my mainstay craft shop because they are usually quick (although it's Christmas and they send via Royal Mail and they are an unknown quantity at this time of year) but fingers crossed. I found items and just hoped that they would prove useful in my new, new victim's endeavors and yes they arrived on Saturday (since ordered something on Christmas Eve Eve from same shop and got it Christmas Eve so clearly that shop is on very good terms with RM).

And relax, until Monday anyway. So Monday dawns, it was probably raining, it's Manchester after all, Rob's birthday and have set aside Monday afternoon for baking! I plan refrigerator biscuits because they don't spread much in the oven and you can cut them to size. Made them loads of times in the past, fudge, made that a fair few times recently and dog biscuits, not made those but Sarah said they're easy (just need her bone cutter). Start biscuits, did double batch just in case, follow recipe, hmm this doesn't look very solid, oh well been ages since I made it, maybe it goes solid in the fridge. Nope. Oh well put it on greaseproof make it vaguely sausage shape and put it in fridge, maybe it goes solid the second time it's in the fridge, nope. Ok new plan, cook them, some with choc chips on top some plain then cut them out to the right shape with a cutter. Cook them, take out of oven, Mum and Dad there by this time, someone phones, get distracted, tops harden on biscuits, plain ones a bugger to cut, very lucky I made so many, forget the idea of cutting choc chip ones. Anyway they are left to cool. Start the fudge, used double quantities, different larger pan as thought I could also give some of it to other people as a gift, Sarah still not replied re the borrowing of dog bone cutter. Boil fudge, boil fudge some more, keep boiling ferocious bubbling fudge, get burns on fingers from ferocious bubbling fudge spit, they should market this stuff as a weapon of mass destruction, it refused point blank to get to 118 degrees, the optimum soft ball temperature. In the end it was starting to catch so took it off the heat, whisked it and it did thicken slightly. Mum said to put it in the fridge and it would hopefully harden, so that's what we did. Sarah had replied so go down and to get cutter. Asked me how it was going, cue a bottom lip wobble moment and how I wish I hadn't joined in this year and it was my own stupid fault it was all in a mess, so she sent me back home with the promise that her partner would bring down freshly baked dog biscuits later so I could go home and order Rob's birthday meal and relax. Of course, I messed up that order, why wouldn't I? However the dog biscuits were dropped off later

Tuesday dawns, time to package the fudge, has it set? Hmm nope. It's thick but as soon as it comes out of the fridge it starts to soften so whilst it went into the bag in sort of individual pieces by the time it went into the bigger box it was more a blob! Go to the post office, cry a little at the postage price, but I HAVE DONE MY SECRET SANTA, my new, new victim would not be crying into the turkey although she could well be looking at the fudge and thinking what kind of life form is that? Come home, go upstairs and there, on my desk, is the card that should have gone into the parcel!!!


Moral of this story, do not mess with Secret Santa, the real Santa will find out and cast a Santa spell to make sure you learn from your mistake!!!!!

ROFL Ruth, fab, now that is, but not at the time. I was also kicking myself as I can fess up to being the unhelpful person who didn't answer your message and could indeed have swapped to ease this a little, but who thought she was being good in getting her parcel sent off before settling down to the PC. I think I'd actually had the message the night before and not noticed it, aargh.
But you'll like this Ruth; yours was all sorted before Christmas, with much strife, however I......

realised yesterday (that would be Christmas day) afternoon, that I had sent my UKS stocking swap to the WRONG person!!!
So my partner didn't get one, and I sent mine to someone who wasn't even in the swap.
You might think this simple enough, the person not in the swap would realise a mistake had been made and contact the sender, but well, no.
Poor lady has been in hosp with an op that went wrong and the last thing she needs to be worrying about right now is an unexpected stocking which may, or may not, have her name, or the name of the intended recipient on the card inside.

So Ruth, you can rest happily and chuckle at me while I try to gather up more goods to send in a stocking to my poor team-mate who didn't get one!
I would go to Norwich for the Hobby craft sale as the boys are going to football and it's right next to the Stadium, however Mother is here and the last place in the world I want to take her is a craft shop. We have also been invited to my Bro's for tea, well that's a lie, I asked if we could come as I did think it reasonable he entertained his mother for a while.

What is it with gift baking/cooking though it never seems to work out as well as regular baking for no special occasion?

Thank you for that wonderfully entertaining report Ruth, more so because I was/ or could have been involved in it.

So, should we have next year's victims allocated now Ruth, do you think that would help either of us?

lol, and I was confused why the end result was different to what I thought - and I don't even take part!

Note to self: if organising SS and Card Swap another year, send two different PMs to Ruth, so she doesn't get the names mixed up in her mind. Or would that make any difference?

Note to Ruth: when receiving separate PMs allocating your SS and Card Swap recipients, please print them out and pin to your calendar, (a) to be a permanent reminder of to whom you are sending what and (b) to remind you that you actually need to make/buy/steal the necessary by a suitable date for posting.

And to think all this was going on without me knowing (or Karelyn, by the sounds of it)! Has it put you off joining the SS for life, Ruth?

Lynda

No way, I think she HAS to join in now, just to get it right next time.

Basically Lynda send me (working fairy winged elf) Ruth's victims and I'll make sure she gets it right and doesn't do any swapping lol

That's a tale and a half Ruth and certainly made me giggle. Presume I was the victim who lived locally and would have loved to see Santa in person and fairy winged elf on Christmas eve! Did wonder too about the message from said elf about delivery nearer the day, and then when SS did arrive, sort of gave the game away that it had come by courier, but fun anyway awaiting the surprise. Glad you got it sorted in the end and the edibles are enjoyed.

I have had to read that a few times and I'm still getting lost part way, LOL.
Glad you did manage to sort it out in the end.
All's well that end well.

Don't worry, Alison - I'm getting lost, and I knew who all the SS recipients were!

Lynda

You're getting lost, I got lost writing it with with all the victims, ha ha, I am beginning to laugh about it but only beginning and part of that is schadenfreude because of Karelyn's howler!

I confess to having read this yesterday, out loud in the kitchen, to Phil, but I had to stop after laughing so hard that I spat my G&T all over the work surface; and I knew what was going on!!

Alls well that ends well, as they say, and I was chuffed to bit with my stuff, (and relieved that the 'bought' part of my own victim's gifts were suitable for her, as well as Chief Canny Santa!).

lots of love

'former victim'

P.S. Archie says biscuits are yummy.

LOL at 'former victim', Tina - I guess that makes me The-victim-who-never-was, as I was due a card from Ruth rather than a SS!

Lynda

hahahahaha

teehee !

Was all double dutch to me

Don't know how I missed this??? Absolutely pmsl.

It turns out after my boob that having sent the stocking to the wrong teamie wasn't such a bad move as the girl who got it needed a bit of a boost at the time, so all is well there, and the replacement arrived at the poor missed out lady's not too long after Christmas.

Well done Karelyn, sometimes things happen for a reason.

A further twist in the tale is that my new new victim isn't actually a stampin up rep at all anymore so I could have sent that present to her after all!

WeirdCat wrote:A further twist in the tale is that my new new victim isn't actually a stampin up rep at all anymore so I could have sent that present to her after all!