E4 Secret Santa 2023 [PICTURE THREAD]

[Dyl]

Today I received my Secret Santa package! At first, I thought that I would have the self-restraint to wait a few days to open it, but that ended quickly.

I had @swolepoke as my Secret Santa!

Wow! This package was so unique. First up, was the rare and valuable swolepoke auto and illustration, which will go straight into my Secret Santa binder.

Next, were Glico Cratz Crackers/Almonds (Broth Flavored) and Meiji Galbo Chocolate packs. I have never had these specific Japanese snacks, but they look incredible. Supposedly, the crackers/almonds must be eaten with beer to enhance the experience and flavor of the beverage.

One package had adorable stickers of Mew, Mewtwo, Dratini, Dragonair, and [the best Pokemon] Dragonite, a vintage(?) PSA logo sticker, and a 20-year-old Hoenn starter notebook. I have many fond memories playing Pokemon Sapphire on the Nintendo DS, so most things from Gen 3 make me smile immediately.

Another part of the package had two of the best, most iconic illustrations from Pokemon 151: Mew EX from the 151 Ultra Premium Collection graded as a PSA 9 and Komiya’s infamous Gengar from the Japanese 151 set graded as a PSA 10! Now I will have to buy the Ghastly and Haunter in PSA 10 to finish the evolution line.

The final part of the package had six vintage Pokemon Movie Medals in their original cases?! Whoah - these are hard to find outside of Japan and can be pricey. Supposedly, the Commemorative Medals were released at Pokemon Centers and movie theaters in Japan to coincide with new movie releases. Now that I have these six, I am eager to learn more about the complete set and to buy the remaining medals. Thank you for giving me a new collection goal to look forward to, @swolepoke!

Opening this package made me feel like a kid again. Thank you so much for your kindness and generosity, @swolepoke - and for choosing the items so thoughtfully. This was one of the most creative gifts that I have received in a long time.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays E4!

[TorterraSimp]

Thank you @lyleberr for an awesome e4 secret santa gift Firstly, the artwork was incredible, I loved the torterra lv.x inspired art featuring smeargle and pikachu- it was such a nice touch!

On top of that awesome piece of artwork, they also sent me a customized galarian gallery turtwig

They included 4 gifts in my secret santa package- #1 & #2 being slabs featuring none other than the greatest tortoise in pokemon- Torterra

For gift #3 I couldn’t have prepared myself for what was to come- just pure beauty (and
healthy dose of chocolate sprinkled in)

And lastly, for gift number 4, they wanted to make sure I was warm for the winter and they absolutely delivered!

And on top of all of this- they added another note inside of the slowpoke advertising another gift that had yet to arrive…

Thank you again @lyleberr for your super generous secret santa gift- my torterras welcome these new additions with open arms!

[lyleberr]

Snow pikachus are cute but snow torterra is way more impressive, and what better pokemon to have show one off in all its Lv. X glory than a smeargle. Glad you posted a clear photo, I always seem to forget to take one of the final version.

Again, apologies on the missing portion, it has been a saga of a new craft and step 4 will be done next week with step 5 being relatively quick and then I just need to find time to deliver it. Crossing fingers itll be late next week but maybe itll be a good start to your new year… if everything survives step 4.

Hope you got as much a laugh out of the comically large “mug” as I did when I saw it. I also wasnt expecting it to completely fit a very large bag of chocolates, if thats your idea of a healthy dose then I envy your metabolism.

Im thrilled you enjoyed the cards since I find both the arts really cool for torterra and the holo on the half deck is amazing in person. Glad you got some fun pulls too.

Thank you for helping me learn more about the awesomeness of torterra. Ive now drawn torterra so many times I think I can do it with my eyes closed since I had to play with how to get it work with a holiday theme. It was a blast having you as my giftee this year. Happy holidays!

[TorterraSimp]

I absolutely love the art and am 100% getting it framed! He’s a mobile Christmas tree, which is just amazing in every way possible.

I didn’t want to put you on blast for the last gift but the art was so good that I had to share it! (and honestly everything that arrived was incredible already, so that’s just icing on the cake).

The mug was a great addition, I love it already haha. If I value feeling well I won’t annihilate the chocolates, but we’ll see

I think the bw torterra art is easily one of the best torterra arts, the blue borders are such a neat bw design

I love everything so much, thanks again for such a nice variety of items! The hits from the box are going to work well with the decks Im building- Happy Holidays!

[Quuador]

@TorterraSimp I’ve moved your post and the replies to the correct ‘PICTURE THREAD’.

Awesome gifts @lyleberr. I especially like that Slowpoke bowl, that looks so goofy. And I really need to get that Giratina Half Deck Torterra myself, that artwork looks awesome. Especially since Torterra is my favorite Grass-Type Pokémon/starter.

Greetz,
Quuador

[pokemike22]

Got my secret Santa gift from @Slade
Thank you very much, sabrinas alakazam is one of my favourite alakazam arts!
Merry Christmas!

[sherbert13]

My gifts from @genosha
Thank you very much for the presents, the zards will slot nicely into my binder, and will be ripping the packs over Christmas, also Looking forward to trying your local treats that were included.

[Slade]

Glad you liked it! I may have forgotten to mention about the Goop Gas card. Last secret Santa I had gotten it as a joke and I am passing along the joke. Next year you can pass it along to your next SS. A continuation of getting Goop Gased lol.

[TorterraSimp]

Whoops, thanks for fixing that! Also, you have a greate taste in grass starters

[candle]

Dove in early as I’m gearing up to travel until mid January. Absolutely could not wait till then.

I was immediately greeted by a very cute and possibly evil Pikachu. Pretty sick drawing, much better than I could have managed that’s for sure.
Quite the spread lay before me

First up were the packs n pens. I’ve got just the cup at my desk for these.

Then I dutifully unwrapped the presents in order

A really nice set of goodies popped out! Love these reverse holos, esp the Blastoise which is such a classic banger. I also appreciated the Tyranitar tag team. I have never had any cards from this era, and was really impressed by the quality and texture of the Japanese version. Plus the TTar is giving his best :whatshouldibuy: in the back. Absolutely livin it up. The golden Augom is also suuuuper sick. I hadn’t seen this card before and it’s extremely luxurious . The lil mag cases they came in are also pretty cool, way better than screw downs and perfect for the office set up.

@zork my friend, thank you so so much for such a thoughtful and heartfelt gift. I loved your note and I can say that you are 100% part of why E4 is one of the best places on the internet. I’m thankful for E4 too and I’m thankful for you

The signed cards and illustrations are always my favorite part of this tradition. Pikachu went straight to the fridge

[zork]

DUDE! I am so glad everything arrived safely, I was crazy nervous the package got lifted from your porch or something.

I hope the spread was worth the wait — I really enjoyed learning more about vintage Digimon, and I def agree the Tag Team textures are gorgeous in person. I hope the packs had a hit or two.

And that Pika isn’t evil… he’s just tired

[nic]

That mug is amazing!!

[thymeee]

My secret santa went insane, thank you so much!!
I know i made it hard saying I would make a collection thread, but I just did not get around. I am sorry, but you made it happen with some insane stuff.

I dont really collect english that much apart from some miscellaneous. The english promos that you included were ones I was eyeing, and you got them. Thanks so much!

I dont know much about yugioh, but this pack looks nice. I will probably keep it sealed for now, but this will be a great memento of this event, together with your drawing:)

And then with the absolute insane ending. A sealed 2005 movie commemoration deck. I love the mini sets from this era so this deck will look great on display.

Thanks a lot, and a merry christmas to you all!

[jawsh98]

Merry Christmas Brotha!

[Xylometa]

Thank you Santa!

This Christmas I asked for Japanese exclusive promo’s and that is exactly what I got, and I am super happy with my presents!

The drawing from my favoriete Pokemon is aboslutely amazing and deserves a spot in the binder next to my first E4 Secret Santa cards.

I am especially fond of the Eevee and Arceus card since I have never seen them before. The art on these cards is amazing and they definitely right in my alley.

I hope this message reaches you well.

Thanks again Santa!

[imakuni]

Santa managed to bring me the present exactly on the day of the holiday!
Oh, how much this package went…
From Australia, to the USA to Israel, I’m just glad she arrived safely.

Thank you
I appreciate it very much, and the chocolate is excellent.

[D3F14NC3]

Merry Christmas All. I opened my package today and discovered it was from the great and venerable @suicune. He drew a Charmeleon for me which should have been a clue for what was to come (we’ll get to that soon) but it didn’t click until after.

Attached to the note was something that blew me away and far exceeded any expectations. A Trainer Deck Pidgeotto. I wanted to start collecting the Trainer Deck cards and was floored when I saw this. I love odd bits of Pokemon history like this and it really set the tone for the rest of the gift opening.

The remaining gifts were all in separate little packs, making it so much fun to open.

First up, a rare Suicune signed card which I will always keep. It was on top of a graded Base Set Pikachu. I’ve never owned any graded cards so this is very exciting. I will admit, for the briefest of moments I thought the signed card was graded and that gave me a chuckle.

Maybe something new. A beautiful Japanese Electabuzz. I’m excided to learn more about this card as Japanese cards aren’t my speciality but I love this so much.

Something nostalgic. A WOTC Black Star Mew which is one of my favourite Pokemon plus a vintage rules book. It does bring back a lot of memories seeing this.

Local and a promotion. He couldn’t help sneak a Suicune card in. Plus some other lovely promos. I love the art of these cards.

Something you love (open last). And Finally, the Crème de la crème. My all time favourite card. Dark Charmeleon and a 1st Edition no less. You did you research well as I didn’t mention this in my Secret Santa note. Believe it or not, I actually never owned a 1st edition before so this has literally become my all time prized Pokemon card.

Thank you so much for the gifts. I truly appreciate all of the work you put in researching what to get for me. You nailed it! I will cherish these cards forever.

[stryker2407]

In the last week of November I found a note in my mail box that I had to pick up a package at the local post office with a dutch tracking number. First I was confused as I didn’t order anything from the Netherlands but when they handed me the package I knew immediately what it was

After a long wait I opened it earlier today and found this beautiful sketch from @Xylometa

In addition to that were three numbered packages, one for each year I was back in the hobby. The first one had a great selection of singles and some instructions to follow.

Onto package number two. I never opened any Evolving Skies or Eevee Heroes so it was very fun to rip open some packs and see a couple of cards I’ve never seen before. I pulled the missing Leafeon (as I was told to do) and an Alternate Art Umbreon V which is just an awesome card

The last package contained one of the missing alternate Art cards.

There were also some extra goodies and they were secretly my highlights. The Van Gogh post cards are just gorgeous and I didn’t even knew the art existed besides the Pikachu.
The Kruidnoten and the chocolate are delicious but Santa knew that Stroopwafels are my weakness… and I already ate them all.

Thank you Secret Santa for all these awesome and well thought out gifts. It was a blast progressing through the packages with your little notes and I was smiling the entire time from one ear to the other. You really made my Christmas this year.

[suicune]

Enjoy :), I was worried that it wasn’t going to arrive in time, as I was busy with exams and only got it off a few weeks ago. I don’t really collect wotc so it was a scramble trying to find things, and had to get some in all the way from the US. Anyways, Merry Christmas from your neighbour in NZ

[corncob2001]

@neverforget50in07

Arrived a while ago but waited until today to post the goods!

Thanks a bunch for this awesome gift!

I was quite impressed with the quality of the deck box! It’s my first one and is looking great on display