Woman stunned by true identity of her Secret Santa
A woman knew something special was in store when she saw her parcel for Secret Santa weighed in at 36.7 kilograms.
On December 17, Reddit user szor, or 33-year-old Shelby from Michigan, was getting ready for bed when she saw she had received an email alerting her a RedditGifts Secret Santa package was coming her way.
She saw the package was coming from the state of Washington, which is where one of the most famous RedditGifts Secret Santa participants is from.
Billionaire Bill Gates has been participating in the online gift exchange since 2012, according to Tech Crunch.
When Shelby saw where her parcel was coming from and it had been shipped overnight, she turned to her husband and joked about having Bill Gates as her Secret Santa.
For Shelby, 2019 has been a rollercoaster of emotions.
In March, 10 days before her wedding, her mother died suddenly.
“It has been hard to drum up holiday spirit this year,” she admitted in a post on RedditGifts.
It wasn’t until she checked on the package’s delivery status the next day while she was at work that Shelby realised the parcel weighed 81 pounds, or 36.7 kilograms.
In a video shared to RedditGifts, she explained she noticed the return address said “Bill Gates”, right before she was about to walk into an important meeting with her boss.
“MY PACKAGE IS BEING OVERNIGHTED ACROSS 8 SHIPMENT ZONES AND IT WEIGHS 81 POUNDS,” Shelby wrote on RedditGifts in a post.
“This is when it hits me that this is something truly special. It’s only 9:30 am and I can’t just ditch to go home to accept this surely gigantic package.”
Shelby explained she made it through the rest of her shift and called FedEx to hold her parcel at the post office, so she could pick it up on her way home from her work Christmas party.
When she arrived at FedEx and gave the clerk her tracking number, he too was excited for her.
“Oh my God, you’re the Bill Gates package. We’ve been waiting for you all day. Is this really from Bill Gates or is it a hoax? Grab a cart because you’re going to need it,” the clerk told Shelby, according to her post.
The number 95 appeared on each surface of the box, which confused Shelby until she remembered it was the 95th RedditGifts exchange she had participated in, something she had included in her profile.
The box was so large it didn’t fit in her car, so Shelby had to return to FedEx and open the parcel right there.
Two things were on top of all the gifts – a letter from Bill Gates and a picture of him writing the letter as proof.
Among the gifts was scripts from season two of Twin Peaks and a jacket worn by crew members during the second season of the show, along with various other Twin Peaks-related items.
She also received a “fancy” manuscript copy of The Great Gatsby, which was particularly special to Shelby who says the 1925 F. Scott Fitzgerald classic is her favourite book.
Mr Gates also wrote on the inside of the book.
She also received a candle with a passage from The Great Gatsby inscribed on it, a bunch of books, two ‘adult’ LEGO sets, toys for her cat and a bunch of sweets.
Perhaps the most touching gift Mr Gates gave to Shelby was a donation to the American Heart Association in her mother’s name.
“I know no gift will ever make up for losing someone so important to you,” he wrote in his letter, saying he was very sorry to hear about her passing.
“I hope you and your family find your ‘new normal’ this holiday season.”
“Bill Gates, you are a blessing,” Shelby wrote on RedditGifts.
“I still cannot believe how lucky/cool/honoured/all the adjectives I am to have had someone craft such a special and personal set of gifts just for little ol’ me.
“And your donation to The American Heart Association in my mom’s memory is the most special gift of all. It means more to me than I can express.”
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