Holiday Music and Secret Santa

I love a Secret Santa. 

Doesn't matter to me if it's the style where you know who you're buying for, or if it's a free-for-all. I love the silliness of it, the anticipation of it, and the laughs. The different approaches to it are also fun to watch. There is one person that goes and grabs something on their way to the exchange, the one who send their spouse, the one who regifts, the one who really tries to pick the best gift for the person they got, the one who tries to be the funniest, and the one who forgot. 

Most of the time the Secret Santa's I was part of, you picked a name and that was who you were shopping for. I liked to find the combination of silly and something that I thought they would like. Just like with regular gift-giving I preferred giving to receiving. But maybe that is because I always get the person who forgot until they were on their way over or the one that had their spouse pick it all out. 

And then there are the "pirate" style gift exchanges where you blind buy a gift, wrap it, and then pick a number. The number gives you the order in which you will be picking. As people take their turns, they can exchange what they picked for what someone in front of them already picked. It can be a lot of fun watching as one gift turns out to be the one that everyone wants. 

I don't have a workplace this year. So I will be missing out on this. Unless I can rope some friends or family to join in.

If you do get to be involved in one, remember it is supposed to be fun. So have some. And don't get your present at the gas station on the way to the exchange.

Today's music selection is kind of a cop-out in a way. While technically not a Christmas song, it does mention taking place around Christmas, and the melody and as well as the inclusion of bells at the beginning of the song make it feel somewhat festive. 

River by Joni Mitchell was released in 1971  on the "Blue" album and is believed to be about her breakup with Graham Nash. this is the most covered of all of Mitchell's catalogues and maybe the most popular. It's definitely not a bright and merry holiday song, but it is beautiful.



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