2024 Secret Santa Workout Gift Exchange

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

Amazing work again this year on all of the gifts, Santa Bees! The care and creativity everyone puts into them is a wonderful reminder of how awesome this community is!

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

Finisher: Dance for as long as you want!

This could be a very long workout!


Thank you, Santa!

And thank you for inviting Shelby to the party too! It means a lot to me to have her there, and I know she will be so happy to see all of her Bee friends! (Plus Cooper, of course! And Bennie and Ollie. Shelby will make friends with the kitties too, if they are willing.)

 

[Saffity]

Gift for @Saffity :

The Most Adventurous of Them All

It had been a long and hard year in Southern Ontario, and Saffity really, really needed a vacation! Carrying her little Bees up and down, rocking them to sleep, chasing them around the house, starting a new job, and all the other challenges that life threw at her could not be managed just with micro workouts and a standing desk. This year she really needed to get away from it all!

But of course, going away needs more than wishful thinking… or does it? Hmmm… the Hive is a magical place after all, and when the Bees decide that magic can happen, then by all means it will happen! Saffity read about a magical Hive-land where fevers did not exist, everyone slept through the night, and lots of deliciously healthy food dripped from trees. This was her destination for sure! And how could she get there? By building a rainbow road, of course! That way she could take her little Bees with her, and all the other Bees of the Hive could use the rainbow to go on vacation too.

To build a rainbow road one doesn’t need bricks and mortar, but a song, a dance, some sprinkles, and just putting one foot in front of the other! So Saffity went to work:

20 march steps
10 bridges – hold long enough for a little Bee to crawl under
20 side leg raises
20 butt kicks
10 baby squats – every time you go down you need to high-five Munchie and Biggie
20 back leg raises

Filler: In between each exercise you need to dance one round of the Macarena with Munchie and Biggie

3 sets=level 1
5 sets=level 2
7 sets=level 3

The more sets done, the bigger the rainbow road and the more Bees will be able to use it to travel to the magical Hive-land. Go for the max!

With the help of her little Bees Saffity enjoyed her rainbow road building activities and suddenly it was there! She could already see the magical Hive-land shimmering at the end of her rainbow!

It’s party time! Let all the Bees dance the Macarena!

Santa, I don't know who you are yet, I haven't had a chance to check, but I just howled laughing at my desk. We LOVE LOVE LOVE DJ Raphi in our house, and the adventure to build a rainbow road is epic. We are all going to love doing this together, and since my Dad and his Wife (Papa and GK) are in town, they will be mighty entertained too.

A more perfect adventure and workout could not have been written for us!

 

[Maegaranthelas]

Oh goodness, I hope you and the whole family enjoy that workout @Saffity

I might see if I can rope partner into doing mine with me.
It won't be this evening though, since there's an impromptu Valheim stream and if our friends are in the chat it may be a loooot of squats to do xD
We make them do squats for every death in Helldivers, maybe they will make us do squats for every death in Valheim... That would add up

 

[graoumia]

thank you so much to my Santa, and thanks to all the team who contributed to this wonderfull event. This workout is perfect, i will test it asap. Merry Christmas bees

 

[NancyTree]

I'm having so much fun with all the gifts!

 

[Saffity]

I am attempting to figure out who is who's Santa from just the few days, but it's tough... @Syrius was the insanely good detective last year and figured everyone out. We have a few days left to get our workouts done, so I'm going to try and find mine before she does

 

[Syrius]

I do already have my spreadsheet going. I've got a few suspicions already, but no guesses on mine just yet. I'm still investigating.

 

[heeropotter]

I recently returned from the mountain, excited to share my transformative getaway gala, which turned out to be a bit longer than planned. However, I can assure you that I’ve been diligently exercising. I embraced the challenge and pushed myself for extra credit, all while cleverly concealing my identity as a Secret Santa.

**December 24:** I energized my day with an impressive routine: 300 push-ups, 350 mountain climbers, 5 minutes of punches, a challenging 120-second side star plank hold, 200 jumping jacks, 50 lunges, and 100 leg swings. Each exercise was more than just a workout; it was an opportunity to enjoy the journey and truly feel the burn.

**December 25:** I maintained the momentum with 300 push-ups, 120 arm scissors (a personal favorite), 4 minutes of marching steps, and 200 jumping jacks.

**December 26:** I took it up a notch with 300 push-ups, 120 flutter kicks, 90 plank rolls, 250 arm scissors (yet again, my favorite), a rewarding hour of hiking up and down the mountain, and once at the top, I connected with nature through 5 minutes of tree pose for each leg, followed by 50 lunges and a thrilling 45-minute bumpy motorbike ride.

**December 27:** Being resourceful while away from home, I got creative with my workout: 300 push-ups, 100 squats, and shoulder presses using my backpacks, plus 120 scissor chops, 5 minutes of punches, and an invigorating hour-long walk to the communal ranch.

**December 28:** My workout that day included 300 push-ups, 30 side bridges, 3 minutes of high knees, 160 side leg raises, 5 minutes of toe touches, 80 up-and-down planks, and dancing to "Macarena."

**December 29:** I concluded my week with exercises that truly bring me joy: 300 push-ups, 30 burpees (except for this one hahaha!), 200 arm raises, 200 back leg raises, 200 hops on the spot, and 200 jumping jacks.

While I don’t usually incorporate one specific exercise into my routine, I find it incredibly enjoyable and effective. It's a high-intensity routine that really gets my heart pumping and significantly boosts my aerobic performance, so I ensure it’s part of every workout.

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

Happy New Year, Santa Bees!

Reminder: We've all got 5 days left in which to complete both the gift we gave and the one we received, and post about them in our check-in threads. (You don't need to explicitly state which gift you did for the one you gave. Vagueness and hint-dropping are encouraged. And for those Santas who are disguising themselves by doing all the gifts, go you! That is awesome!)

I will drop one hint here for the Santa Sleuths (not so much a hint really as simply full disclosure, in the interest of fairness, since I deviated a wee bit from the exchange rules this year): one of the gifts was created by two people, and two of the gifts were created by the same person. (This is probably a dead giveaway of something to the expert sleuths, but I didn't think it would be fair not to tell you.)

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

Did anyone figure out who their Santa is yet?
It's a challenging puzzle thus far this year!

 

[Syrius]

Not yet, I'm still investigating!

 

[Sólveig]

Did anyone figure out who their Santa is yet?
It's a challenging puzzle thus far this year!

Nope. I dug into some logs and left more confused.

 

[Saffity]

Since my checkin thread is a novel I'm not surprised my secret santa hasn't found me yet... To give a big hint, theirs is the only secret santa workout I did other than mine.

 

[NancyTree]

Did anyone figure out who their Santa is yet?
It's a challenging puzzle thus far this year!

I have a suspicion.

I think I'm pretty sure on 3 others though

 

[Maegaranthelas]

I am also pretty sure on a few, but not yet on who gifted me.
I suppose it's time to go trawl through some logs looking for clues

Of course since I did all of them at least a little bit, it might be hard to tell which one I did, so let me hint something!
Some of these exercises came from a workout I did a multiple times in the early weeks of December. Happy hunting!

 

[Anek]

I have no clue about mine but I have a strong suspicion about one of the other's.
I left one little clue for my giftee when I did their workout. I should leave more... Here's one: I like to refer to their thread title

 

[Maegaranthelas]

After a little sleuthing I am not much closer to my gifter, but I do have a sneaking suspicion some of our bees ended up gifting each other

 

[Syrius]

Here's my clues thus far:
From back when I designing the workout - I hid a secret message, mostly because your message to Santa amused me so!
I only did 1/2 of the workout gifts - because I was scared about being too obvious to hide the exercises alone

I now have a strong suspicion about my Santa, but I need to double check my work. Lots of food for thought.

 

[graoumia]

I have no idea for my Santa. I can just say for 3 or 4 bees that they are not my Santa.About my giftee, i have a kind of clue related to something I put in the workout about which i reacted in his thread

 

[NancyTree]

I have no clue about mine but I have a strong suspicion about one of the other's.
I left one little clue for my giftee when I did their workout. I should leave more... Here's one: I like to refer to their thread title

If you read the threads well, you can figure it out, at least I think I figured it out for yours. Maybe crtl+f your name

 

[NancyTree]

Here's my clues thus far:
From back when I designing the workout - I hid a secret message, mostly because your message to Santa amused me so!
I only did 1/2 of the workout gifts - because I was scared about being too obvious to hide the exercises alone

I now have a strong suspicion about my Santa, but I need to double check my work. Lots of food for thought.

I think I figured it out
- 10 mins later - or...

 

[Syrius]

- 10 mins later - or...

Exactly how I felt. I was like "OOH, I think I got it." and then the more I thought about it, the more I was doubting it. Still haven't checked my work.

I wish I had gotten to do yours by now! It is totally on my list and I even have the excel formulas worked out. I love that your gift had so much math in it.

 

[Saffity]

I have an advantage, having been Gopher Elf, I know half the list that can't be connected to me. The problem is, I forgot who was on my list, and just spent 10 minutes searching through a thread that turned out to be fruitless because there's no possible way they were my Santa

 

[NancyTree]

I have an advantage, having been Gopher Elf, I know half the list that can't be connected to me. The problem is, I forgot who was on my list, and just spent 10 minutes searching through a thread that turned out to be fruitless because there's no possible way they were my Santa

I am pretty sure about yours

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

I do have a sneaking suspicion some of our bees ended up gifting each other

I'm not positive. But I think there may be as many as three pairs of reciprocal Santas this year.

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

I think my Santa left me a bunch of rather cryptic clues scattered here and there.
But if I'm right, it means I've run out of likely suspects for one of the other gifts. (Which has an exercise in it I know one of the Santa Bees is fond of--but I don't think that Santa created that gift! I could be wrong about this though.)

Question: Does a white sweater, twinkling in rainbow lights qualify as an ugly sweater? (Asking for a friend. I would probably think it was pretty!)

 

[Syrius]

Question: Does a white sweater, twinkling in rainbow lights qualify as an ugly sweater? (Asking for a friend. I would probably think it was pretty!)

It is totally not an ugly sweater. I think it's pretty too! Not all Christmas sweaters have to be ugly!!

 

[graoumia]

It is totally not an ugly sweater. I think it's pretty too! Not all Christmas sweaters have to be ugly!!

I fully aggree

 

[neilarey]

Are we leaving clues? If so:

The gift was from both me & Damer

 

[NancyTree]

Are we leaving clues? If so:

The gift was from both me & Damer

Oh... that changes things.

 

[graoumia]

Are we leaving clues? If so:

The gift was from both me & Damer

@neilarey, then maybe Damer and you did the very long gift for NancyTree , and it would be logical that the same person did The 2 gifts for Damer and you, as explained by @Laura Rainbow Dragon. Don't ask me who

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

Okay. I think I've figured it out. And since I have fewer people to guess between than anyone else, it's only fair I should be brave and guess first. So here we go:

@Syrius are you my Santa?

 

[Sólveig]

Are we leaving clues? If so:

The gift was from both me & Damer

Okay, that's two names gone on my list.

Edit: Screw it, I'm taking a shot in the dark right now. @Matan was that you?

 

[graoumia]

Edit: Screw it, I'm taking a shot in the dark right now. @Matan was that you?

On my side i was suspecting @Matan to be the Santa for Jiolfi it was my only guess.

 

[graoumia]

there is so much suspense

 

[Syrius]

Okay. I think I've figured it out. And since I have fewer people to guess between than anyone else, it's only fair I should be brave and guess first. So here we go:

@Syrius are you my Santa?

You got me!!! I am your Santa!!

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

You got me!!! I am your Santa!!

Yeah! Thank you!

I was trawling through threads yesterday, searching for clues. I saw a comment in yours about ugly sweaters and I thought: Wait! What? Because when I read my story I thought how nice it was that an elf got dressed specially in a way I would find joyful and festive to guide me and Shelby to the party! So I'm glad you thought it was a pretty sweater too! (I like colourful things--especially colourful lights--what can I say? )

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

Okay, that's two names gone on my list.

Edit: Screw it, I'm taking a shot in the dark right now. @Matan was that you?

@Sólveig a hint for you (because your Santa has been too quiet): they've had something on their mind for an upcoming holiday that's also been on your mind lately.

 

[Syrius]

Yeah! Thank you!

I was trawling through threads yesterday, searching for clues. I saw a comment in yours about ugly sweaters and I thought: Wait! What? Because when I read my story I thought how nice it was that an elf got dressed specially in a way I would find joyful and festive to guide me and Shelby to the party! So I'm glad you thought it was a pretty sweater too! (I like colourful things--especially colourful lights--what can I say? )

Hehe, yeah, I never understood why Christmas sweaters had to be ugly. Bernard the elf has many cute sweaters and he knew that you would like his rainbow light sweater most of all!

Also, if you look at the first letters of your exercises, they spell out A LUMP OF COAL (excluding the finisher). Coal is a very useful item and since you are preparing for your birthday, I tried to give you some exercises to help you prepare and that you might not necessarily receive.

And I left your dance finisher open ended because while I can't dance for a long as I like, I didn't want to put a limit on something that you love so dearly.

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

Hehe, yeah, I never understood why Christmas sweaters had to be ugly. Bernard the elf has many cute sweaters and he knew that you would like his rainbow light sweater most of all!

So it's not just me! I have seen some Christmas sweaters that I thought were not particularly stylish. But mostly I see things like red sweaters with snowflake patterns on them being called "ugly sweaters" and I'm like: Why? I would totally wear that anytime the weather was cool enough for a sweater!

Also, if you look at the first letters of your exercises, they spell out A LUMP OF COAL (excluding the finisher). Coal is a very useful item and since you are preparing for your birthday, I tried to give you some exercises to help you prepare and that you might not necessarily receive.

LOL! I thought there was something in there! I was trying to puzzle it out. "Alum. Pofc. Pofc?" I should have kept at it! The planks and archer lunges did make me think of you. And thank you for finding new exercises for me to do. It does get harder every year to fill out my birthday workout. (I know there are a lot of exercises out there. I don't necessarily think of them all though.)

And I left your dance finisher open ended because while I can't dance for a long as I like, I didn't want to put a limit on something that you love so dearly.

I was joking when I suggested my Santa might have specified "for as long as you want" because that value would be zero for them. (Probably I am the only one who would think of something that nefarious.)

 

[Maegaranthelas]

Another hint for my giftee: I speak multiple languages, some of them just not very well

 

[NancyTree]

Okay. I think I've figured it out. And since I have fewer people to guess between than anyone else, it's only fair I should be brave and guess first. So here we go:

@Syrius are you my Santa?

You got me!!! I am your Santa!!

I knew it!

Still not sure about mine .. the battery of my tablet is empty, so cannot check my notes with the newest info... >> waiting for it to charge << ....

 

[graoumia]

Another hint for my giftee: I speak multiple languages, some of them just not very well

@Maegaranthelas are you my Santa?

 

[Saffity]

In reading through the threads again (and the post with beautiful pictures here) I realized someone joined me in the Macarena.... @heeropotter have I spotted you as my Santa?

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

I thought mine would be ID'ed from the writing. But maybe not? Do I need to provide a clue?

 

[Matan]

Nope @Sólveig and nope @graoumia

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

Some random (or not) observations:

1. The location of the Great Getaway Gala is not named in the writing prompt for this year's Gift Exchange. Yet some of the gifts give a name to the location.
2. Music features prominently in some of the gifts this year. Who has written about music recently in their check-in threads?
3. One of the Santas does not have a Check-In thread. But you have seen enough of their writing elsewhere to suss them out. Which gift reads the most like a DAREBEE RPG?
4. One of the Santas has been sharing pieces of an adventure story in their check-in thread recently. Which gift reads the most like a similarly-styled adventure?
5. Who has mentioned an activity recently that they do not do IRL? Which gift features that activity?

 

[Saffity]

Biggest hint for my giftee… in the 2023 thread, when LRD asked for ideas, I mentioned what happens in your gift story.

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

Let's give everyone through to the end of this weekend to try to guess their own Santa.
The free for all (when anyone can take a stab at guessing anyone else's Santa) will begin on Monday.