My Favorite Gift Exchange

I’ve exchanged gifts with my friend Steffanie for as long as I can remember. She and I met WAY BACK in 1999 when I got out of college and started my first REAL job.

We worked for a VERY special car company.   A Different Kind of Car Company, if you will….

Steff and I bonded over work fun, crafts, and cocktails.  We quickly became great friends and it’s CRAZY to think that I haven’t seen her since 2002.  In 2002, Steff headed off to Boston where her husband E completed his MBA, and I headed out on my Colorado adventure.

We’ve kept in touch over the years via phone.  Sometimes there’s a few months in between our conversations, but we’re always able to catch up quickly.  I really appreciate her friendship!  Hopefully, we’ll get to see each other in the new year.

Well, let me tell you about our cool gift exchange.  Every Christmas (and birthday), Steff and I send each other something we love – – at times, our “favorite thing” of the year.  Examples of gifts from the past:  A favorite hand lotion, a fabulous hand-sewn tote, a handmade scarf, Bakerella’s Cake Pop book, etc.  Every year it’s fun to come up with something fun and fabulous to send to my friend… knowing fully that she’s going to send me something awesome, too.

I tweeted last week that I arrived home to find a SURPRISE Crate and Barrel box on my front door step.

I literally paused at the box… trying to remember if I ordered something for myself??  When I opened the box, I immediately knew it was from Steff… check out how cool they gift wrap.

Well, inside the box, I found some BEAUTIFUL Christmas decorations.  (Really, they could be year-round decorations).  I’ve mentioned that this is the first year I’ve decorated for the holidays in FOREVER... so what a perfect gift.

The glass candle holders were inside the box.   How perfect are they with my IKEA candlesticks?

Just perfect for my dining room

Best part of the gift:  The Card.  Steff wrote that she bought a set for herself, too!  I do the same thing every year with her gift!  One for you…. One for me….  Thanks, Steff, for such an AWESOME gift!

So.. What did I send Steff?  Well, I heard that she received it today… so, I’m free to post now.  I sent her a pretty necklace I found on Pinterest.  It was sold on Etsy, and I just love contributing to new artists that are creating pretty stuff.

Source

Of course, the one I sent her was an “S” and I got myself a “K”, too.  So pretty!