My 2019The Broke and The Bookish Secret Santa Gifts
This past Christmas I took part in The Broke and the Bookish's Secret Santa, hosted in 2019 by Jana of That Artsy Reader Girl on her own. It's a Secret Santa where you sign up for a certain tier (1 book and a small gift, 1-2 books and a couple of small gifts/goodies, 2+ books and small gifts/goodies), you're paired up with someone in the same tier, and you send your Santee presents! I signed up for the last year, and received a box full of lovely things from Hannah of Hannah's Bookshelf! I thought I'd share with you all the wonderful gifts she sent me. (All photos can be clicked on to enlarge.)
So many presents!!! When I opened the box, I was like a kid on Christmas morning after Father Christmas has delivered his presents! I was so excited! But I waited to open them until Christmas Day. Not pictured in the post (because I'm an idiot), but that you can just see in the top of the box in the first photo, is a huge bar of Galaxy chocolate! Galaxy is my favourite, so I was so, so happy to see it - and knew Hannah had been following the hashtag on Twitter, because I said not to bother with food in my survey as I am such a fussy eater, but mentioned the chocolate I love via the hashtag! So I was already sure I was going to love all my gifts, because Hannah had been reading my answers!
Hannah was super cute in that she wrote wrote hints plus her reasons for each book she had chosen for me on the gift tags, so I'm sharing photos of them, as well.
Everyone raves about The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, and I've always meant to read it. And now I can! It sounds so good, and I'm really looking forward to reading it. Especially as I've decided this is the year I get back into reading a lot of high fantasy. YA has generally taken me away, but high fantasy is my first love, and I want to read more. Thanks to Hannah, I'll be starting off on the right foot with her gifts!
I requested The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden on NetGalley when it was first published, but I was never in the right mood to read it whenever I tried. But now I have this beautiful final copy (look at that cover!), and I'm reading it right now. It's amazing! I am absolutely loving it! Right up my street, as I'm really in the mood for gorgeous, atmospheric, enchanting stories with beautiful writing that feel like a fairy tale, and that's exactly what this is! And a retelling of Vasilisa the Beautiful! I am one very happy bunny!
I already have Christina Henry's Alice and The Girl in Red (the latter a review copy), but not read either yet. Now I have The Mermaid! It's a retelling of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen (my favourite!), but ties in with the real P. T. Barnum's circus, and the "mermaid" (it was a fake) he had on show. So it takes a completely different look at the story, and I'm so excited to read it!
I do love contemporary poetry, and I've had my eye on Amanda Lovelace's Women Are Some Kind of Magic series of books for a while now, and now I have a copy of The Witch Doesn't Burn in This One! I love how the titles tend to link to fairy tales, are around women and empowerment, and I've just discovered that Lovelace is a witch herself, so I am looking forward to reading this collection even more!
Ok, so. Before I carry on, I need to give a little context that will help you understand how much I love the next few gifts. In the survey, when we signed up, we're asked to list some books on our wishlist, and also tell our Santa about ourselves. I ummed and aahed, but finally decided to list some witchy books and that I'm a new witch. I was quite nervous about it. What if my Santa thought I was weird? Or had morals that were completely against my spiritual path? Maybe they would decide to ignore that whole part of my survey. Maybe they would email Jana and refuse to be my Santa because they objected so much. I was really, really nervous about what my Santa's reaction would be. And it turned out that not only was Hannah accepting, but she also bought me other gifts, not on my wishlist, that had a witchy connection, that she thought I would like. I can't even begin to tell you how much this meant to me. A complete stranger, who doesn't know me from Adam, not only accepted who I am and my spiritual beliefs, but also went beyond that to think of some gifts off her own back that related. It really meant the world, and moved me beyond words. I actually got a little emotional opening these presents. And now, onwards!
Basic Witches by Jaya Saxena and Jess Zimmerman was actually on my wishlist in the survey I sent, haha! But I love that Hannah had either not noticed or forgotten, and got it for me anyway, thinking I'd like it! It sounds amazing, and I am so, so looking forward to this one!
You Are Magical by Tess Whitehurst was recommend online somewhere - I either saw in an article of witchy books, or someone tweeted about it, I can't remember exactly now - and it sounded so good! I've had a quick flick through it, and there's even a little bit of science thrown in, which I love! Whitehurst might have some different spiritual beliefs from me from what I've seen, but I'm still really excited to read this and learn more!
This is kind of funny and cool all at the same time. The Witch's Book of Self-Care by Arin Murphy-Hiscock wasn't on my survey wishlist, but it is on my Goodreads wishlist, which I didn't include a link to in my survey, because it's not up to date - but forgot to say that it's not up to date in my survey. I did tweet it, but it looks like Hannah missed it. I already had this book, though I've not yet read it. HOWEVER, my copy was a paperback from The Works that is cheaply made and not the nicest, but now I have this gorgeous, lovely, shiny hardback! So I'm super happy! I'll probably do a giveaway for my paperback copy at some point, and really look forward to reading this beautiful one!
I saw this Lunar Calendar on Etsy, and loved it. It's got all the dates for the Moon phases in the UK throughout 2020, and as I want to be aware of when the Full and New Moons are to plan my days in advance, this is going to be super helpful! It's already in the pocket of my 2020 planner!
LOOK AT THIS! Look at this really lovely, really thoughtful gift! I completely adore it, and I adore Hannah for getting it for me! I've not put it on yet, because I want to set it with my intentions as part of my Full Moon ritual on Friday, and then charge it under the Moon, but I love it! I've wanted to find ways to bring my spirituality to my everyday, and I've set some goals to do so (more coming on this on Friday), but this bracelet is a perfect for doing this! Wearing a bracelet set with intentions every day! I love it!
How gorgeous is this mug?! I love this quote, and have done for a while, but I'd never thought of it in a magical sense. I don't know if that's what Hannah was thinking when she bought it for me (she says "powerful" on her tag, but that doesn't necessarily have to relate to magic/witchcraft), but I'm choosing to see it that way. I can set my intentions in the morning into my tea in a mug that reminds me of the magic I have, and the spells that have come to fruition.
AND LOOK AT HIM! Isn't my little Father Christmas decoration gorgeous?! Oh my god, I love him! He went straight on my tree! I mentioned in my survey that I am a massive Christmas fan, and on the hashtag that I'd love a Christmas related gift, and Hannah got me this decoration! From a Christmas market! It's lovely, and so thoughtful, and I will love putting him on the tree every year from now on!
I got festive socks! I am a big fan of novelty socks, fun socks, and festive socks! To be honest, most of the socks I own are Christmas socks, and so I wear them all year round. They make me smile! And now I have more! These are so pretty, and actually surprisingly soft! Softer than normal socks. I love them.
I love this print and this quote. I love that it references books, but also the Moon, which is pretty important to my spiritual practice. And it's just gorgeous! So I added it to my Etsy wishlist, and Hannah picked it out of the several on there! She's just awesome, eh?
I mentioned on the survey and on the hashtag that I love games, and my family spend Christmas evening playing lots of board games, so this was such a wonderful gift! Mince Spies are drinks coasters with secret mission tasks on the bottom that each person has to complete throughout the evening, without other people noticing or realising. We didn't get a chance to do them, because it was early evening when I opened them, and there wouldn't really have been enough time for people to complete their missions without being spotted really. It's definitely a game to start earlier on in the day, so I look forward to playing this with people maybe next Christmas!
I have four pen pals, and mentioned them in my survey, and lovely Hannah bought me some letter writing stationary! Isn't it pretty?! Looking forward to writing to them on this lovely paper this year!
I love these bookplates! They're so stylish and sophisticated! I don't tend to lend books out to people, simply because no-one really wants to read the books I do, but I might put these in some of my most very favourite books anyway. My little stamp; these are mine, my special books, do not hurt them!
Aren't these bookmarks so cute?! Just adorable! I mentioned in my survey that I have a little succulent and a grass man plant, which I love. I don't know if Hannah picked these because of my plants, or she just thought they were cool, but I love them. I will have plants growing from my books!
I love that Hannah bought me this lip balm, and worried about the possibility of the scent. I mentioned my fragrance sensitivity in my survey, and said to not get me anything scented as it would likely give me a migraine. But questions were asked about lip balms on the hashtag, and I mentioned liking mint lip balm. So Hannah bought this for me! I should have probably made it clear that it was strong, powerful scents that are the issue, so she didn't worry! The scent is so subtle on this lip balm (and I'm not sure if mint in general is an issue? I don't think it's given me a migraine before), and I love it! I used to wear mint lip balm a lot when I was younger, this one lip balm that I just adored, but I could never find it again. I've been living with flavourless Vaseline ever since, but I've now got mint lip balm again! And it tingles just like it used to! I love it!
This gift came without a tag. I've never tried Burt's Bees lip balm before, but it's recommended as one as being really moisturising, and I quite like that it's natural and cute looking! I'll swap to this once the mint one has run out.
So those were my gifts! Thank you so much to Hannah for buying me them, I adore them all, and you are just the best gift giver! I absolutely loved taking part in #TBTBSanta, buying the gifts for my Santee, and receiving these gorgeous presents from Hannah, and I'll definitely be taking part this Christmas! Keep an eye out on Jana's blog around October time if you fancy joining in, too!
Did you take part in any Secret Santas in 2020? What did you get? Or did you get any really cool gifts for Christmas in general? Let me know in the comments!
So many presents!!! When I opened the box, I was like a kid on Christmas morning after Father Christmas has delivered his presents! I was so excited! But I waited to open them until Christmas Day. Not pictured in the post (because I'm an idiot), but that you can just see in the top of the box in the first photo, is a huge bar of Galaxy chocolate! Galaxy is my favourite, so I was so, so happy to see it - and knew Hannah had been following the hashtag on Twitter, because I said not to bother with food in my survey as I am such a fussy eater, but mentioned the chocolate I love via the hashtag! So I was already sure I was going to love all my gifts, because Hannah had been reading my answers!
Hannah was super cute in that she wrote wrote hints plus her reasons for each book she had chosen for me on the gift tags, so I'm sharing photos of them, as well.
Everyone raves about The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, and I've always meant to read it. And now I can! It sounds so good, and I'm really looking forward to reading it. Especially as I've decided this is the year I get back into reading a lot of high fantasy. YA has generally taken me away, but high fantasy is my first love, and I want to read more. Thanks to Hannah, I'll be starting off on the right foot with her gifts!
I requested The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden on NetGalley when it was first published, but I was never in the right mood to read it whenever I tried. But now I have this beautiful final copy (look at that cover!), and I'm reading it right now. It's amazing! I am absolutely loving it! Right up my street, as I'm really in the mood for gorgeous, atmospheric, enchanting stories with beautiful writing that feel like a fairy tale, and that's exactly what this is! And a retelling of Vasilisa the Beautiful! I am one very happy bunny!
I already have Christina Henry's Alice and The Girl in Red (the latter a review copy), but not read either yet. Now I have The Mermaid! It's a retelling of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen (my favourite!), but ties in with the real P. T. Barnum's circus, and the "mermaid" (it was a fake) he had on show. So it takes a completely different look at the story, and I'm so excited to read it!
I do love contemporary poetry, and I've had my eye on Amanda Lovelace's Women Are Some Kind of Magic series of books for a while now, and now I have a copy of The Witch Doesn't Burn in This One! I love how the titles tend to link to fairy tales, are around women and empowerment, and I've just discovered that Lovelace is a witch herself, so I am looking forward to reading this collection even more!
Ok, so. Before I carry on, I need to give a little context that will help you understand how much I love the next few gifts. In the survey, when we signed up, we're asked to list some books on our wishlist, and also tell our Santa about ourselves. I ummed and aahed, but finally decided to list some witchy books and that I'm a new witch. I was quite nervous about it. What if my Santa thought I was weird? Or had morals that were completely against my spiritual path? Maybe they would decide to ignore that whole part of my survey. Maybe they would email Jana and refuse to be my Santa because they objected so much. I was really, really nervous about what my Santa's reaction would be. And it turned out that not only was Hannah accepting, but she also bought me other gifts, not on my wishlist, that had a witchy connection, that she thought I would like. I can't even begin to tell you how much this meant to me. A complete stranger, who doesn't know me from Adam, not only accepted who I am and my spiritual beliefs, but also went beyond that to think of some gifts off her own back that related. It really meant the world, and moved me beyond words. I actually got a little emotional opening these presents. And now, onwards!
Basic Witches by Jaya Saxena and Jess Zimmerman was actually on my wishlist in the survey I sent, haha! But I love that Hannah had either not noticed or forgotten, and got it for me anyway, thinking I'd like it! It sounds amazing, and I am so, so looking forward to this one!
You Are Magical by Tess Whitehurst was recommend online somewhere - I either saw in an article of witchy books, or someone tweeted about it, I can't remember exactly now - and it sounded so good! I've had a quick flick through it, and there's even a little bit of science thrown in, which I love! Whitehurst might have some different spiritual beliefs from me from what I've seen, but I'm still really excited to read this and learn more!
This is kind of funny and cool all at the same time. The Witch's Book of Self-Care by Arin Murphy-Hiscock wasn't on my survey wishlist, but it is on my Goodreads wishlist, which I didn't include a link to in my survey, because it's not up to date - but forgot to say that it's not up to date in my survey. I did tweet it, but it looks like Hannah missed it. I already had this book, though I've not yet read it. HOWEVER, my copy was a paperback from The Works that is cheaply made and not the nicest, but now I have this gorgeous, lovely, shiny hardback! So I'm super happy! I'll probably do a giveaway for my paperback copy at some point, and really look forward to reading this beautiful one!
I saw this Lunar Calendar on Etsy, and loved it. It's got all the dates for the Moon phases in the UK throughout 2020, and as I want to be aware of when the Full and New Moons are to plan my days in advance, this is going to be super helpful! It's already in the pocket of my 2020 planner!
LOOK AT THIS! Look at this really lovely, really thoughtful gift! I completely adore it, and I adore Hannah for getting it for me! I've not put it on yet, because I want to set it with my intentions as part of my Full Moon ritual on Friday, and then charge it under the Moon, but I love it! I've wanted to find ways to bring my spirituality to my everyday, and I've set some goals to do so (more coming on this on Friday), but this bracelet is a perfect for doing this! Wearing a bracelet set with intentions every day! I love it!
How gorgeous is this mug?! I love this quote, and have done for a while, but I'd never thought of it in a magical sense. I don't know if that's what Hannah was thinking when she bought it for me (she says "powerful" on her tag, but that doesn't necessarily have to relate to magic/witchcraft), but I'm choosing to see it that way. I can set my intentions in the morning into my tea in a mug that reminds me of the magic I have, and the spells that have come to fruition.
AND LOOK AT HIM! Isn't my little Father Christmas decoration gorgeous?! Oh my god, I love him! He went straight on my tree! I mentioned in my survey that I am a massive Christmas fan, and on the hashtag that I'd love a Christmas related gift, and Hannah got me this decoration! From a Christmas market! It's lovely, and so thoughtful, and I will love putting him on the tree every year from now on!
I got festive socks! I am a big fan of novelty socks, fun socks, and festive socks! To be honest, most of the socks I own are Christmas socks, and so I wear them all year round. They make me smile! And now I have more! These are so pretty, and actually surprisingly soft! Softer than normal socks. I love them.
I love this print and this quote. I love that it references books, but also the Moon, which is pretty important to my spiritual practice. And it's just gorgeous! So I added it to my Etsy wishlist, and Hannah picked it out of the several on there! She's just awesome, eh?
I mentioned on the survey and on the hashtag that I love games, and my family spend Christmas evening playing lots of board games, so this was such a wonderful gift! Mince Spies are drinks coasters with secret mission tasks on the bottom that each person has to complete throughout the evening, without other people noticing or realising. We didn't get a chance to do them, because it was early evening when I opened them, and there wouldn't really have been enough time for people to complete their missions without being spotted really. It's definitely a game to start earlier on in the day, so I look forward to playing this with people maybe next Christmas!
I have four pen pals, and mentioned them in my survey, and lovely Hannah bought me some letter writing stationary! Isn't it pretty?! Looking forward to writing to them on this lovely paper this year!
I love these bookplates! They're so stylish and sophisticated! I don't tend to lend books out to people, simply because no-one really wants to read the books I do, but I might put these in some of my most very favourite books anyway. My little stamp; these are mine, my special books, do not hurt them!
Aren't these bookmarks so cute?! Just adorable! I mentioned in my survey that I have a little succulent and a grass man plant, which I love. I don't know if Hannah picked these because of my plants, or she just thought they were cool, but I love them. I will have plants growing from my books!
I love that Hannah bought me this lip balm, and worried about the possibility of the scent. I mentioned my fragrance sensitivity in my survey, and said to not get me anything scented as it would likely give me a migraine. But questions were asked about lip balms on the hashtag, and I mentioned liking mint lip balm. So Hannah bought this for me! I should have probably made it clear that it was strong, powerful scents that are the issue, so she didn't worry! The scent is so subtle on this lip balm (and I'm not sure if mint in general is an issue? I don't think it's given me a migraine before), and I love it! I used to wear mint lip balm a lot when I was younger, this one lip balm that I just adored, but I could never find it again. I've been living with flavourless Vaseline ever since, but I've now got mint lip balm again! And it tingles just like it used to! I love it!
This gift came without a tag. I've never tried Burt's Bees lip balm before, but it's recommended as one as being really moisturising, and I quite like that it's natural and cute looking! I'll swap to this once the mint one has run out.
Did you take part in any Secret Santas in 2020? What did you get? Or did you get any really cool gifts for Christmas in general? Let me know in the comments!
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