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| Image via MS Designer |
Dear Santa or VeVe Fam… whichever is available.
Behold! My Christmas list this year shall be written below.
If you are here to read about the joys of giving, different winter holidays, and slightly veiled criticism, sorry! That was last week; you can find it in the archives. This one is my list, please and thank you very much, so this one is more important, anyway.
1.
The first thing I want on Christmas morning is…….! (drumroll)
Coffee, it’s coffee.
How long have you been here, anyway? Because the chances of anyone coming here for the first time and wanting to hear a “gimme gimme” blog is really slim.
(But if you are new, um… welcome, and read this anyway.)
2.
To watch Doctor Who. Because everyone knows that the Doctor always comes on Christmas, except for a few fortunate years when someone got the “brill” idea to move it to New Years, which everyone hated… but now the Doctor’s back again! And on that note, while anything at all Doctor Who related would be “Fantastic”... I’d collect every figurine or sonic screwdriver you’d like to throw at me. But I really, really want a Tardis to take on tour with me, because that would be the best AR prop that I can think of… bar none.
3.
Gift cards! I love them! My sister, now, she hates them. She thinks it’s lazy gifting to the point that when I ask for a gift card for Christmas and she actually gives me what I want, she often apologizes for it. But let me explain my situation here.
Anytime I am gifted money, it always goes to my kids or bills. Every time. When it comes to regular gifts, relatives… bless them… like to give gifts that have giant labels of “Mom” or “Wife”. Well, everytime I hear anybody throw those kinds of terms at me, I feel another brick put on top of my head, when I’m already balancing more than my fair share already. Unless I ask for something specific, a giftcard is a much safer bet, because the likelihood of any relative getting my interests right are pretty slim, even if their hearts are in the right place. There is no way they could figure out that I want a Miles Morales hoodie over a knit cardigan, they just wouldn’t.
But a gift card is not just a 20 dollar Starbucks card or a 25 dollar Apple or Target card. It is permission. It is permission for me to actually use that gift card for something I want for a change, instead of what everyone else thinks I want. And although, yes, there are times I use that money for my kids too, the agency given is priceless.
How I wish VeVe had gift cards so we could share them with relatives and friends so they would feel the permission to buy some collectibles without the fear of putting in their own money since they don’t know what they’re doing! Until then, I guess I’ll settle for some more Apple cards.
4.
Classic Christmas drops!
Okay, stamps are always a thumbs up with me, as long as I don’t have to put them up in the showroom (and until we finally have a surface snap). They are inexpensive and charming, and generally speaking are easy sets to finish. We come to expect holiday stamps every year, so it’s become both an anticipation and tradition to see which ones we end up with.
But this does not give me the same level of Christmas nostalgia as what I’m looking for. Coke drops are good; I wouldn’t mind another snowglobe set. But what I really want are some real classic statues. The Santa Clause in five poses, with the SR including the Sleigh and Charlie. Or how about The Christmas Story, with the SR being Ralphie being stuck on the pole. Any sort of iconic movie moments would work for this no matter how old, because I certainly wouldn’t pass up a Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye White Christmas collectible either.
To make it simple:
If Hallmark ever made a Christmas Ornament out of it, it’s fair game as a holiday digital collectible, as long as it’s in the Christmas spirit.
And last but not least…
5.
A Holiday Sale!
I’m sure you know just how many collectibles are sitting in the store with a price tag between 40 and 90 gems because their price in the market is 20. Well, instead of burning them outright, how about an old fashioned Holiday sale? It doesn’t have to come anywhere near the market price, just enough of a discount to make it enticing for people to want to go for those special mints and SR’s that are buried among the unsold. It would be very exciting, especially since it’s never been done before. Everyone knows that the day after Christmas (whether you call it Boxing Day or not) the sales bring a second day of cheer to weary buyers with weary pockets that are glad that they are finally free to buy for themselves for a change. In fact, it draws so many people out of their houses, you wonder what in the heck were you thinking trying to go out when you knew the stores would be packed?
Fortunately for us, digital collecting allows us to shop in our bathrobes…
And with a cup of coffee. Always with a cup of coffee.
Wishing you the best this winter holiday season,
Doublequill.