Newsletter chitchat - October 17, 2023

[Cassel]

Have you ever participated in a particular type of gift exchange?

Share how particular it was? What did you get? What did you give?

Let's chat!

[cindy harris]

hi Mrs. Cassel, 

I know either idea will be Awesome, but I live the book idea.

[Ruth Kazimer]

What a wonderful idea!  That book will become a treasured keepsake.

 

[Ann Seeber]

For several years now a group of Facebook Friends and I have signed up for a Secret Santa exchange through the website Elfster. It allows you to post wishes, which is a big help when  you don't really know the people intimately like family. There's a set budget limit of $25 usually. I got a really neat kit to grow my own bonsai trees last year but my "black thumb" prevented all but one of four from germinating. Here's a reproduction of the invitation I received:

[Corrie Kinkel]

We have "Sinterklaas" - Santa Claus in America, Canada, Great Brittan. Sinterklaas has his birthday on December 6th and the evening before it is celebrated. In the older days is was just for kids, who could put their shoes by the stove or mantelpiece and then found some small gifts in or next to their shoes when they had been behaving themselves. When I was young this had evolved to giving each other gifts and make surprise gifts. Mostly my mam made little notes with our names on it and folded them, then we had to draw one of those notes and for the person whose name was on the note you had to make a surprise. In this surprise came a little gift and it was all about making something great and tease the recipient, but in a nice way. It also had to have a little poem also making fun of that person or use something funny that had happened in that year. My grandparents always came too. Later we did this with our own kids and sometimes I made a paper trail through the house and they had to go from the garage to the kitchen, their rooms, look under the bed and every time there was a new hint. In the end of course there was a gift, this worked very good for an impatient child. When the kids were young they believed Sinterklaas and his helpers had concealed their presents and wondered how he new the bad or good things that had happened. Later when the kids were older they made gifts and surprises on their own and it was a couple of weeks of: do not enter papers on the doors of their rooms, cries of where are those scissors, glue, tape and mam I need more tape, paper , pencils and so on. And on the evening of the sinterklaas party there was a feeling of expectation and can we start now please. I remember a gift my son made for me that I still use today. He crafted a wooden box for those little post-it papers and it was packed in some sort of primitive computer, because we were in the days of the first home computers. Sadly the poem that came with it, got lost over the years. In school this was also celebrated and every pupil made a surprise gift for a classmate who's name was on the paper. Every one always hoped he/she had the teacher, because it was a legitimate way to make fun of their teacher. The shops had great and lovely displays in their windows and the X-mas deco came after Sinterklaas had left, but nowadays it has become not so important any longer and we already have X-mas displays and commercials everywhere.

[Jannette Nieuwboer]

12 hours ago, Corrie Kinkel said:

We have "Sinterklaas" - Santa Claus in America, Canada, Great Brittan. Sinterklaas has his birthday on December 6th and the evening before it is celebrated. In the older days is was just for kids, who could put their shoes by the stove or mantelpiece and then found some small gifts in or next to their shoes when they had been behaving themselves. When I was young this had evolved to giving each other gifts and make surprise gifts. Mostly my mam made little notes with our names on it and folded them, then we had to draw one of those notes and for the person whose name was on the note you had to make a surprise. In this surprise came a little gift and it was all about making something great and tease the recipient, but in a nice way. It also had to have a little poem also making fun of that person or use something funny that had happened in that year. My grandparents always came too. Later we did this with our own kids and sometimes I made a paper trail through the house and they had to go from the garage to the kitchen, their rooms, look under the bed and every time there was a new hint. In the end of course there was a gift, this worked very good for an impatient child. When the kids were young they believed Sinterklaas and his helpers had concealed their presents and wondered how he new the bad or good things that had happened. Later when the kids were older they made gifts and surprises on their own and it was a couple of weeks of: do not enter papers on the doors of their rooms, cries of where are those scissors, glue, tape and mam I need more tape, paper , pencils and so on. And on the evening of the sinterklaas party there was a feeling of expectation and can we start now please. I remember a gift my son made for me that I still use today. He crafted a wooden box for those little post-it papers and it was packed in some sort of primitive computer, because we were in the days of the first home computers. Sadly the poem that came with it, got lost over the years. In school this was also celebrated and every pupil made a surprise gift for a classmate who's name was on the paper. Every one always hoped he/she had the teacher, because it was a legitimate way to make fun of their teacher. The shops had great and lovely displays in their windows and the X-mas deco came after Sinterklaas had left, but nowadays it has become not so important any longer and we already have X-mas displays and commercials everywhere.

Corrie you forgot the chocolate letter. A shoe gift was a letter made of chocolate. Generally the first letter of your first name. Nowadays they are richly decorated with all colors of chocolate. But back in the day it was just thick chocolate with frontal diagonal stripes like in blue Yeans. And you also forgot the gingerbread men. Also, tippicle santa time-related. 

[Jannette Nieuwboer]

Carole again didn't get the newsletter this week. I do get the tutorials. 

[Cassel]

23 minutes ago, Jannette Nieuwboer said:

Carole again didn't get the newsletter this week. I do get the tutorials. 

That is strange as it shows, in the backend, that you opened it, 18 hours ago. Are you talking about the store newsletter (on Sunday) or the Campus one (on Wednesday morning)?

[Jannette Nieuwboer]

1 hour ago, Cassel said:

That is strange as it shows, in the backend, that you opened it, 18 hours ago. Are you talking about the store newsletter (on Sunday) or the Campus one (on Wednesday morning)?

Indeed I had it but it was already in my bin. I had a quick look this morning but didn't find it then. I had a reaction cause I saw Corrie's report about Santa this morning so I understand there had been a newsletter. SORRY!!!

I will read it right now. 

[Corrie Kinkel]

7 hours ago, Jannette Nieuwboer said:

Corrie you forgot the chocolate letter. A shoe gift was a letter made of chocolate. Generally the first letter of your first name. Nowadays they are richly decorated with all colors of chocolate. But back in the day it was just thick chocolate with frontal diagonal stripes like in blue Yeans. And you also forgot the gingerbread men. Also, tippicle santa time-related. 

I left them out because my story was rather a long one and there was the sugar animals and little Sinterklaas puppets of chocolate too in their colored foil as well.

[Jannette Nieuwboer]

3 hours ago, Corrie Kinkel said:

I left them out because my story was rather a long one and there was the sugar animals and little Sinterklaas puppets of chocolate too in their colored foil as well.

Now I've read the newsletter I understand better what you wrote. You wrote about the gifts habits. Not the other habits. For example the sweet treats. As wel as 'Zwarte Piet' Black Peter who put naughty children in a bag to drag them to Spain. 

[Corrie Kinkel]

2 hours ago, Jannette Nieuwboer said:

Now I've read the newsletter I understand better what you wrote. You wrote about the gifts habits. Not the other habits. For example the sweet treats. As wel as 'Zwarte Piet' Black Peter who put naughty children in a bag to drag them to Spain. 

I left Zwarte Piet out too because of the opinion in some parts of the world, the US in particular, that are complaining about it and accusations of racism. Think of all the commotion we had and the US ambassador who filed a protest with our government, even the UN had something to say about it.

[Jannette Nieuwboer]

good it's over now.