The Secret Santa Book Exchange Grand Opening!

Do you remember how, as a kid, the closer you got to Christmas morning... the longer it seemed to take? Do you want to know how to get that feeling back as an adult?!

Participate in an Online Secret Santa Book Exchange and set a date and time when you will all log on to the computer together to open your gifts.

As I've mentioned in my previous post, I've had my Secret Santa's package sitting here on my bookshelf for a few weeks now. Taunting me every time I walked past it. Whispering to me from the side of the room that "no one will know if I just take a little peek".

It was hard to be strong, and became progressively harder as the days passed, and moved closer and closer to opening day. But that was NOTHING compared to the wait I had to suffer through this morning.

We set the time for 5:30pm this evening.

Of course, I performed my usual morning routine of getting the kids up and out for school at 7am, showering, reading a few pages in my book.. But I just could not concentrate! The clock kept distracting me. And I had this horrible urge to raise my head, eyeing up my Secret Santa package. I found myself willing it to give me a hint of what it contained.

So I decided to run a few errands. Upon my return, there it was, that darn package, begging to be caressed and held. I'm stronger than this - I know! I will wrap some presents. And position myself in such a way that the christmas tree blocks my view of the package. And this works for awhile... Until I realise that even though I can't see it, I can FEEL it, back there, behind the tree, perched on the bookshelf. Damn it again! I cannot concentrate on wrapping the presents, Im tearing corners and using too much tape.

I leave the living room, and kill some time on the computer, figuring the more space I put between myself and that package, the better! Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads... And little by little, the time creeps closer and closer to our grand opening.

The excitement and anticipation could be felt through the computer screen. Once we were sure those of us who were able to be there at that time had made it, we gave ourselves the green light, and tore into those packages like there was no tomorrow!

The next half hour found us simutaneously tearing into the packages, uncovering our Secret Santas, discovering which books we received, and then posting who they were and what they got us.

My Secret Santa spoiled me! I received a beautiful card, 2 bookmarks, Mary Shelly's "The Last Man" and "The Invention of Morel".


After all the stress and anxiety and excitement from the wait to open our Secret Santa packages, I am now suffering a different type of stress and anxiety and excitement.. the type that comes from figuring out when to read them!!! Ahhhhh......