Okay, I’m sorry for the late post! My package arrived yesterday and I was able to open it up, but I got a bit stumped on writing my thank you post. You’ll understand why in a bit. 
Also I am so sorry my desk is messy.
We have a strange package from another state with a mysterious alias on the return address… Hmm. Let’s see what’s inside!
Some chocolates I can’t get around here (my fiancé and I ate them all in one night,) and a wonderful letter! There’s some personal information in the letter I’m not sure if I can share or not, but I’m going to be extra cautious and not post it. But something in that letter prompted me to flip over the back, which lead to this glorious scene…
You see, my friends, this is not just any castle. This is the Grand Castle. It’s infamous in West Michigan for being the brainchild of some weird rich guy who wanted to replicate the old castles in Germany. It’s a large apartment complex with an indoor parking lot and I’ve heard it has actually decent amenities? It was definitely somewhere we thought about when searching for a place to live this past summer. But alas, I do not live in the castle… I am a plebian commoner who lives 10 minutes away… Anyways, it’s rumored to be on an unstable/swampy foundation and the envision-er does not have the best reputation around here.
Wait, who’s that at the top? It’s @zubat spreading Christmas cheer! My first E4 Secret Santa happened to be them! Our winged friend is actually quite familiar with the Grand Castle… possibly as a paid actor to make the place more spooky? Who knows, but the artist’s rendition of the Grand Castle is much closer to the actual building then you may think!! (Not my photo. I just think it captures the essence of the Grand Castle very well.)
Zubat mentioned that they had met some Yanma behind the Grand Castle’s ‘moat’ (more like murky swamp,) so maybe the upside is a Trophy Garden!
Oh, and the actual cards! I found a little wrapped collection of sleeves under my wonderful drawing, and here is what I got!
はじまりの樹のミュウ (Tree of Beginning’s Mew) - A beautiful cosmos foil released to commemorate the 10th movie! This was one I’ve never seen before and I love the silver borders on DPPt-era cards!
Ledian holo from Skyridge - A beautiful card that I have been chasing after for awhile, the holo on this copy is super clean!!! It made me smile ear-to-ear to see this card, because Ledian is so often forgot about!
Yanma (Shiny) reverse holo from Supreme Victors - Ahh I love this card!!! I’ve had some of the DPPt reverse holo secret rares pass through my hands at one point or another, and having Yanma is amazing!!! My favorite Pokémon overall and the one I’d have as my companion, haha!
Seriously, this was awesome. I did a lot of lurking when I first joined the site and the Secret Santa program looked so fun from the outside! I’m so happy I participated-- Zubat, you are seriously awesome. Thank you so much! Also much thanks to everyone who kept this event running for so long!