This week is the last school week before Christmas break, and my class decided to do “Garbage Secret Santa” (“Schrottwichteln” in German), which seems to be all the rage this year. In case you don’t know what this is: Regular Secret Santa means you pull a name out of a hat and give this person a small gift for Christmas without telling them who you are. The “garbage” version means, you can’t (or shouldn’t) buy anything, but rather give something you already have lying around the house.

The large package on the bottom left was for me, and guess what was in it – ‘Brewer’s Dictionary of 20th-Century Phrase and Fable’ (from 1991)! Whoever my Secret Santa was knows me very well, because this was no garbage at all!

If you’ve been following me for a while or know me personally, you know that I just absolutely love unusual and old dictionaries, so this really was a wonderful gift! One person’s trash truly is another one’s treasure!

What a great way to finish out this year – thank you, Secret Santa, for picking the perfect garbage from your house!