Glad you enjoyed everything!!!
Thank you- I think we are officially cancelling Christmas again this year- and it’s raining. 
@J-Lu I am so glad that you appreciate nerdy gifts!! I enjoyed searching for something for you, and I am an avid notebook user. Happy that you will get good use out of the book too. Cognitive Surplus is my go to for nerdy gifts - you should check them out - everything from fungi to brains to physics.
Happy holidays, and thank you for participating in COTH SS, I can’t wait to do it again next year!
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I hope it’s ok to out myself here as your secret santa. I’m so glad you liked everything! Having something in my car was exactly why I made those emergency halters, as a catch all if I ever ran into a critter on the road. I haven’t needed it yet, but I’ve tried them on my horses and they do work as intended. The leather conditioner works great but it can be a little finicky, you need to let it warm up in your hands to work it into the leather. It works best if you give it a really firm buff with a cloth afterwards to let the fat work into the leather. It still works without this step, but sometimes I find it goes past that “freshly conditioned tacky” feeling to sticky, and buffing takes care of that.
I can’t wait to see the hats in action! I remember someone posted a link to some in a previous secret santa thread, and couldn’t wait to try my hand at it.
(And if you haven’t seen the Posture Prep thread in Horse Care, check it out. My horses love it!)
Merry belated Christmas! 
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Dear @PaintingElf,
Today your box of gifts arrived and I mean this with all sincerity: You really seem to know me. Truly, I got all weepy. It was all so thoughtful.
I am a scented candle person, and I have two puppies right now, so that tea and ginger aroma is very welcome. And, as you’ll see by the pic below. I have an assortment of holiday deer decor. The one you sent is right at home!
But the cookbook… OMG! I’ll be in heaven pulling recipes out of there forever! That is really special.
The packet of birdseed has been scattered outside my kitchen window, where I can watch the many birds enjoy the feast.
Thank you so much.
Now. Who are you really???
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Hi @Paint_Party!!! I’m so so so glad everything arrived safe and sound AND fits into your home! We’ll have to exchange ideas with the cookbook… it was so highly recommended by my barn owner (born and raised here in Virginia Beach) that I had to get a copy for myself too. 
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He loves the cookie so much he dragged it into bed last night and was wrestling it at midnight!
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I’m burning the candle right now. It smells so good!
I especially love the variety of the recipes in the cookbook. All kinds of stuff I’d never heard or thought of. It makes for fun reading.
Again, thanks for the thought you put into everything.
A thousand likes to you! OMG, I took the bird thermos to work today! I’m an avid birdwatcher and did a lot of research with birds, including endangered species. I headed a seabird rescue program and some of my fave releases were from whale-watching vessels of Laysan Albatrosses (who came in after landind on ships and couldn’ take off) where the sea winds were high enough for them to take off. Once, the bird circled the boat - so great! I have bird feeders to this day! And actively combat the squirrels that I offer rodent food to. Rodent food from expired cages and vivarium bags. Yes, the rodents around here get a once daily spread of high-quality food. And some hose grain. The birds get a great mix of seeds and nuts and I’ve constantly battled the rodents and birds to keep the bird feeders squirrel -free! Hell, there is one squirrel that will approach me and take a pellet from my hand. I know I shouldn’t. I know. I know.
I’m so happy you turned me on to this site!!
Oooh that was me in 2021, we got matching hats from my secret santa!! That was such a fun gift! 
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Surely I’m not the only one dying with curiosity about this magic cookbook @Paint_Party and @JumpWithPanache are talking about??
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I love these deer!!
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Behold! The Cookbook in question. Flipping through the book, it’s mostly fairly simple ingredients… but the intro to the book encourages the cook to focus on quality of the raw ingredients. I’m looking forward to experimenting with it too!
Tidewater on the Half Shell – Known throughout the Commonwealth for its tried and true recipes, Tidewater on the Half Shell is an award-winning cookbook that serves up a collection of the most sumptuous recipes from Virginia. Published by the Junior League of Norfolk-Virginia Beach in June 1985, this cookbook features 600 triple-tested recipes including extensive seafood selections and classic recipes made of natural ingredients. Inducted into the McIlhenny Hall of Fame, an award given for book sales that exceed 100,000 copies.
https://www.jlnvb.org/support/cookbooks/
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The appetizers, chicken recipes (we eat chicken a couple times a week) and the salads-- oh, the salads! – will be yummy adventures.
That’s why I enjoy local and regional vintage cookbooks. Most of them contain real life recipes that have been lovingly curated through the years. They’re the hidden gems of cooking.
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I’m still waiting for Santa to arrive!
I’ve been trying to mark off as folks get their gifts. I know I have an unrelated package still out in limbo so was going to give shipping until New Year’s. I will start contacting elves for updates individually next week. PLEASE let me know if I have missed anyone or if you have sent something for one of the following people who I believe are still waiting on Santa:
@EADoug
@ParadoxFarm
@zpsid91
@tarheelmd07
@LilRanger
@equinelibrium
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I got mine! It was perfect ! (I’m also really bad at updating )
That’s exactly the update I wanted to hear! 
I figured some folks may be busy or traveling and just hadn’t had a chance to comment.
I think the mail is extra slow because I’m still waiting on something my mom sent me a couple weeks ago, too! 
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An elf told me mine had been posted but would be late
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