I know, I know, Christmas Shopping is just around the corner, but by starting your 'gift selections' now, you'll have the best choice and might be able to find some bargains out there.

Just pick another Collector Forum member and scour the internet for the perfect gift for this person. Keeping within the price limits of $5-$1,000,000 (It was $5-$500,000 last time, but things are more expensive now.)

Before you decide to participate, read how it went last time - in 2001

Simple rules, pick only an active CF member. Post the name you've picked. That person is then obligated to participate and pick another member (not the one who picked them.) Once a member is picked, no one else can pick them again (or Dave would get all the presents.)

Our Cruise Director will periodically post a list of those who have been picked and those who need to pick.

Find the perfect gift and a few days before Christmas, you'll post a link to the gift you've chosen for the person -- and explain why what you've chosen is "just right for you!"

35 actual days to Christmas Eve... Which is when Christmas really starts for me, we always used to have our presents after the church service in the early evening on Christmas Eve.

I would love to give something to our friend Iris (Lightshipfan), so count me in! Great idea!

Good one to Resurrect John! I remember this was a lot of fun!

I'll pick Lorie(and John) Roe
Bob

Come on! Let's get more people into this! I've actually been planning to resurrect this idea since March, when I discovered the old thread...but I kind of forgot, and it went the way of the Second Annual Wacko History Day (I'll have to have a "Kind of Second Annual Wacko History Day" next year).

I'll take John.

The list so far:

Has been picked, has to pick someone:
Lorie/John Roe (Lorie Roe)
Tammy Wolfe (Tammy Wolfe)
Derith (Nana)
Hyper-Bob (HYPERRADIAL)

Up for grabs:
Me (Greg) (seagirt)
Judy (Lighthouser)
Ruthie (MrsTLC)
Patty (Kaiz)

Has been picked AND has picked
Bob Scroope (rscroope)
John Chidester (JChidester)
Dave Hannum (DaveH)
Jen Selwa (Jen Selwa)
Iris (Lightshipfan)
Stan and Margret (LighthouseDuo)

LAST UPDATE: 23 NOVEMBER 2005, 12:59 PM

Deadline for participation - Let's say December 17. Gift presentations can be December 18-24.

"Up for grabs" Can include ANYONE else who's a member but hasn't been picked.

I'll take Bob "Bald Guys" Scroope. (He can see it coming now.)

I'll pick Jen Selwa.

Judy

I'll pick Derith aka "Nana"

Since Dave had Mike and me last time (and he did some serious thought)...I want Dave, aka Bubba to me!!!

Patty

Just so everyone knows...I will keep maintaining the list in my post above with the latest stats on needs to pick, needs to be picked, and picked/picked. I'll try to timestamp it, too, so make sure you check the newest posts, too, since things could be different while I was offline.

Thanks, Judy! This sounds like fun! I'll take Tammy Wolfe.

I would love to give something to our friends Stan & Margret (Lighthouse Duo), so count me in please!

Iris - since Margret & Stan picked you, you'll have to pick someone else -- sorry, just one of the rules.

Guess Patty is looking for a way to pay me back for that real nice new boats and truck I bought her the last time. Or maybe Mike is still upset about the dinghy and looking to get even?

I will take care of Stan and Margret for the holidays. I have some ideas for gifts I think they will enjoy.

Sorry, I should not do things like this so early in the morning. So please count me in, I would love to give a gift to our fiend HYPERRADIAL (Hyper-Bob).

Come on! Let's get more people into this! From what it looked like on the original thread, it's going to be a really fun concept.

We still need Lorie, Tammy, Derith, and Hyper-Bob to pick. People still need to pick me, Judy, Ruthie, and Patty/Mike.

There's also a lot of other Wackos who aren't involved yet, but would have a lot of fun with this.

Jump in! Let's have some fun with this!

22 days until Christmas...
Oooohhhh nobody picked Greg yet... can I have two people?
I can think of a present for Greg....

How's your virtual shopping going?

Hey we need more participants here. Some people haven't been picked yet and if you didn't get the same number of presents as your siblings when you were growing up, you know what that feeling is like.

Mom and Dad didn't love you as much.

You won't need to fight the crowds OR spend real money on this. It's all for fun and fun for all.

Since we are running out of shopping days I will make a saintly decision and assign the last four matchups.

Derith buys for Patty & Mike
Lorie buys for Ruthie
Tammy buys for Judy
HyperBob buys for Greg.

Margret, if you want to give Greg a "side gift" feel free to do so, but please limit your spending to less than 10 grand US.

I will send an email to those above to notify them. Possibility that they have not even seen this thread.

Oh, sorry I didn't notice that I was chosen...

Thanks for the reminder Dave. Like Tammy...I didn't realize I was included in this game. I will do my best shopping for Ruthie.

Thanks for the reminders Dave. I don't HAVE to give a gift to Greg, but I thought he should not have to "go without" .... wouldn't be fair! So I will give him what I thought about anyway....

Thanks for reminding me. I am tickled to have the Kaisers and can hardly wait to begin my shopping.
Derith

Someone remind me...
when do I "wrap" the virtual present?
I am having a senior moment here....

Whenever you would like to, Margret.

OK ... I'll make a start...

This

is for Iris (lightshipfan) and her partner Dirk ....
With love from The Lighthouse Duo Stan & Margret

You've set a high bar for all of us to meet, Margret and Stan. Complete with wrapping, bows and MUSIC! Thanks.

Christmas Gift for Derith aka Nana aka Pixie

The first thing I will do is buy you a lifetime rental of a 1994 Lear Jet 31A to take you to any location of your choice. You can also bring along six of your favorite family and friends.
Come Fly Away

The second gift is weeks stay in room of your choice at the B & B at Heceta Head Lighthouse in OR three times a year. As they say on their web site, “When God created the earth, He spent a little extra time on the Oregon Coast. And it's as if He placed Heceta Head Lighthouse there Himself.
God\'s Gift

The third gift is a lifetime stay at the B & B at Point Cabrillo, CA. Also, a weeks stay three times a year.

Heavenly Stay

Wishing you and yours a blessed and Happy Christmas and a stress free New Year. Much love & hugs to my dear Pixie friend.

Dear Greg,

This

is our present for you! Hope you have fun with it! We were going to give you a new Landrover, but it is so hard to find a reputable New Jersey dealer, when you are so far away!



Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Greg, have another look at your present! Might be even better

Here's John and Lorie's present!
I hope they can fit in 110 days into their busy travel schedule?
I'm hope Santa can confirm that you've been very GOOD? Merry Christmas

Here's a little stocking gift that I think you need?
Big Stocking!


Merry Christmas,
Bob & MaryAnn

Wow!! I am so impressed by all these gifts. HOWEVER, I think Bob's tops them all. That is some trip!! You're my kind of gift-giver.

I love it Bob! I'm sure your gift included the Grand Suite. The only thing that would make it better is to have you and MaryAnn join John and I for the cruise. Just be ready to party.

PS...thanks for the stocking stuffer...that would make my collection complete.

Here is Part 1 and Part 2 of Tammy's Christmas present...the rest to come tomorrow!

Jen, thanks so much! That's my dream lens... I've been trying to get a quote for a used one. And that Canon EOS-1DS Mark II looks pretty nice!

First of all, Santa decided that Bubba needed a new roof for the house, so that is the first thing we decided to buy at approximately $7,500 (give or take)…estimated cost is relative low when we’re talking about $1,000,000.

Well, we know that Dave, Susan and Heather like to travel, so we decided to start out with this so they could travel in style (plus they would have extra room for a few friends):

http://www.lazydays.com/rvs/Motorhomes/A...rhomes_015.html


But you have to have gas to drive this beast around so we’ll add in a gift card to a gas station for 20,000 gallons of diesel fuel.


When he’s not driving the RV around, he needs a new vehicle as the old van has plenty of miles on it…I picked out this one as it will give him to carry all his “reunion” goodies. Also made sure it was a diesel, so he could use his fuel card.

http://www.fordvehicles.com/suvs/excursion/gallery/index.asp?v=html

Next...you have to keep up with us. So, since Santa brought me a motorcycle...here's one for you too!! (no tattoo included)

http://www.harley-davidson.com/PR/MOT/20...section=gallery

The remaining money (approximately $500,000) will be used to finance Dave’s expenses in planning all our lighthouse gatherings. Can we say Alaskan cruise? He can use it for renting airplanes for fly-by’s, hotels, and just scoping out new places for all of us to visit. Hey this way he can stay focused on entertaining all his lighthouse friends!

MERRY CHRISTMAS BUBBA!!!

Patty, Mike, Cedes, Turbo & Zulu

COOL!!!! Great present! My dream trip, too!

I've already picked out my cabin, too! An amidships, in-hull balcony on Four Deck. The in-hull balconies are better for ship junkies like me, since they are actually cut into the hull, and when inside, they give a real "shippy" feel. They also dine in the Britannia Restaurant, which, while not the Grill class, is considered the most impressive room on the ship.

I'm sure you guys are expert tour guides, too! It'll be tons of fun touring the coasts with you guys! Maybe, if we have time, we can even stop in Solihull, for a tour of the Land Rover factory!

Thanks again....a great gift!

Why, thanks, Mike & Patty and critters. Once I get done with truck driving school I will look forward to cruising in style! Think I'll have to go with the gold/beige Excursion to try and compliment the land yacht. More options in the motor home than I have in the current house....(which does thank you for the new roof - still sporting that snappy blue tarp for the time being.)

I'm trying to decide if your intent is to try and kill me off with the Harley . . . . . will have to add training wheels or a side car for balance on that thing!

I will have to start mapping my trips. The Excursion will come in handy as there are many areas that are not RV friendly. So amny places to go . . . . . . .

Dave, no need for Truck Driving School. I will volunteer as your chaffer just for the free ride!

And the last part of Tammy's Christmas present...

Departing September 10, 2006, from London, England and arriving November 25, 2006 in Miami, Florida, a suite for Tammy and Randy at the lowly cost of $66,965 for 76 nights on Crystal Cruise Lines the "Crystal Serentity". $250,000 in shipboard credit should cover shore excursions, gambling, drinking, jewelry, extra dessert, massages, bingo, and entertainment of the like. Here is your Itinerary !! Merry Christmas!

Greg, it goes without saying: The Landrover factory is a must! Solihull is not that far from here!

Greg, I am going to be a sad case of envy and cheekyness.... In your list you said we had been picked ... did you know we haven't actually been picked?... Iris had tried to pick us, but was told she couldn't, because we had picked her.
So I think we are sad little "orphans" now.... Sniff....

No, Margret - when John said Iris could not pick you I said I would take care of the challenge. I know what the gift will be, I just need to find time to get the shopping finished for you.

Thank You Dave! No panic please ...I am sure you have better things to do!
But thanks for the thought!

Jen,

Your present is a two weeks stay on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, a place you've said you've love the opportunity to photograph. You and family, and photographic equipment will fly first class into Norfolk, Virginia, where you will be picked up by limousine ad driven to Corolla, NC. There, you will stay one week at the Sanderling Resort and Spa, and take in all the pampering it has to offer. You will be provided with a Hummer for getting around the OBX.

The Sanderling

After your week's stay on the northern end of OBX where you've taken prize winning photos of Currituck, Bodie Island and Hatteras, you'll use the Hummer to take you south to visit Ocracoke, Cape Lookout, Old Baldy, & Oak Island. Itiniary and lodging arrangements for this will be sent in future mailing.

You will also be provided with $10,000 for any needed new photographic equipment for the trip and for shopping along the way. You will also have access to a photo lab, if you should like to use it. You will return home, flying first class from Wilmington, NC.

Enjoy!

Merry, merry Christmas!

Judy

John-

I remember you mentioning in a Reunion thread a few months ago how you wanted to visit two places in America, the only two states you havn't seen so far - Alaska and Idaho. Well, Idaho's pretty, but I couldn't think of much to do there, other then an internship on a potato farm. So...

You're going on a two-month-long, Land-Air-Sea tour of Alaska!

And you're not going the cruise way, either - you're going to see an intimate, close-up view of Alaska. You and your family are going to fly first-class from Scottsdale to Anchorage. There, you will be met by me and my expedition-equipped Land Rover (what else?) for two weeks driving as far north as you can go in North America on a road, following the Dalton Highway all the way to Prudhoe Bay. There, we will go on a tour of the oil fields and such there, and, if you want, we can all go swimming in the Arctic Ocean.

We'll go back to "home base" in Anchorage, drop the Rover off, and take a private, luxury seaplane (the wings of which will hopefully stay attached) to visit the various national parks up there - Denali, etc. At each one, we will stay in luxury lodges, hike the mountains, and explore the Arctic area.

When our National Parks tour is done, we'll fly back to Anchorage for the final leg of our journey. We'll board a private, 100-foot, expedition yacht to explore the islands on both "legs" of the state. We'll stop at as many as we can visit, and each night dine on gourmet meals by our 5-star chef. Of course, every Alaskan lighthouse will be seen, and viewed up-close if possible.

When we finally return to Anchorage, we'll part ways, you and family returning to AZ first-class, and myself driving the Land Rover back to NJ. We'll probably be sick of each other by then, but I want to be able to show you the sights first-hand.

Happy Christmas, and Joyous Boxing Day!

_greg

Tammy,

THANK YOU! My dream trip, actually. My ancestors hail from Scotland and everyone in my family has been there except me. AND, to stay in a lighthouse there...better than a castle!

I'll be sure to take the golf clubs too!

Merry Christmas!

Judy

John and I want to wish Ruthie and Terry a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

We thought this would be an enjoyable gift to start out 2006 to travel in style. (It would also have plenty of room for friends to tag along.)

http://www.americancarriage.com/New%20Web/New%20Coaches.htm

Of course this gift would come with a lifetime supply of fuel so there wouldn't be any limits on your lighthouse touring.

As a final gift...we wouldn't want you to stress about driving so you would have your own personal chauffeur to drive you around.

PS...John and I talked about this gift idea a week ago but I have been so busy that I haven't had time to post it. Sorry if it seems like we were duplicating some other ideas.

Merry Christmas Hyper-Bob !

Please click here to find out, what I found for you :-)

Dear Margret, dear Stan,

as I already told you, I waited until Christmas day to open my virtual Christmas gift - today was the day! What a wonderful dream... no need to work behind a desk any more... write wonderful articles... explore all the lightships... visit you at any time... - a great gift - thank you very much, it is wonderful to have friends like you.

I started to post this Christmas Eve, but decided instead to wait and make this a "Boxing Day" gift for our English friends.

This year there has been a definite travel trend in the virtual gifts - if only we were able to actually "live" the gift, we would have some fantastic stories and photos to share with each other!

Well, when I decided to adopt Margret and Stan 5-6 weeks ago, I did so with the plan to provide wonderful travel for them. I actually had a number of trips planned for them, but then thought "gee, we have $1,000,000 to work with - why not simply provide some mega gift cards so that Margret and Stan can set their own schedule?"

With that in mind, here goes a gift that should keep Margret and Stan on the move for a while:

Margret enjoys her photography, and has provided us with some great photos of lights we might not see otherwise. To help her take her skills to a new level, the first part of this gift is a two part photo package:

• First I am providing a $25,000 gift card for photo equipment. To help them find some top level stores to spend the money at, here is a listing of UK camera shops .
• The second part is a $25,000 credit to be used participating in the Popular Photography Magazine Mentor Series photography workshops. While not featuring lighthouses, there are some great workshops in areas that do have lighthouses. These will help them to learn how to maximize their use of all their new photo gear.

Behind Door #2, we have a credit of $150,000 to be used enjoying US Lighthouse Society tours , both in the States and around the world. These tours will provide some wonderful lighthousing experiences along with the opportunity to put to use all their new photography equipment and knowledge. There is also a credit of $100,000 for Ultimate Lighthouse Tours from Lighthouse Depot.

Behind Door #3, we find a $500,000 credit at the "miles" type credit card provider of Margret and Stan's choice. This will allow for first class travel to and from their lighthousing adventures, as well as accomodations and rental cars. If they play their cards right, they will also run up some frequent flyer miles which will continue to provide travel (both from the credit card and airlines).

Lastly, behind Door #4, we find a $200,000 pre-paid credit card from the provider of their choice to help pay for their incedentals (gotta eat and you know when they visit Mombo their will be a bar bill . . .)

Now, the only catch is this: You are not allowed to travel alone on your lighthousing adventures. I figure this will be a good way to spend some time with your friends Iris & Dirk. It will also allow you to include various Forum members in your adventures. After all, lighthousing with friends is always more fun!

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and Boxing Day!

Does Dave know how to shop or what?! Margret and Stan are very lucky indeed.

WOW ... Dave, Thank you for that unbelievable virtual present... If only...

We would come to the USA first, before buying the photographic equipment. It is at least a third cheaper there. Then we would very much like to hire a motorhome and visit as many lighthouses as we can. As well as going on the tours from US Lighthouse Society and from the Lighthouse Depot.

And we would LOVE to see CF members join us at various stages of this dream of a life time!

And thank you for including Iris and Dirk too! They are good friends and we'd love to share some or all of our adventures with them!

Thank you for a thoughtful and brilliant present!
Grace is right! We are very lucky!

Hey, which lighthouse would we have to include to have YOU as a guide?

Lori & John, we just love our gift. It fits us perfectly. Terry loved this part a lot....
Terry always tells people that our RV only sleeps TWO He has agreed however, that we can take friends with us to travel but they would have to stay at a hotel nearby, not with us.
Thanks so much for your thoughtful gift.

Wishing you a very Happy New Year and hope we can see you sometime during the coming year.
Ruthie & Terry

"Good friends are like stars.......You don't always see them, but you know they are always there."

Well, Margret, I was going to say Ruthie and I could help you out, since we received new motorhomes, but Ruthie doesn't take boarders . . . . I'm still available for the Great Lakes and East/Gulf coasts.

Hey .. how about doing the trip in a RV-Convoy? Would be fun, wouldn't it?

Judy, I'm glad you liked my gift. I should have gotten you some new golf clubs, too.

Jen, a belated thank you for part II of my gift. Your timing was perfect. I spent three months in Europe in 1985 and went to England in 1987 to be a "chief bridesmaid" in my penpal's wedding. I have wanted to go back ever since. But Randy hasn't been too thrilled about Europe. When I was looking for Judy's gift, I mentioned Europe a few times to Randy, and he said, "I would go on a European cruise." Anyway, I laughed when I saw your gift.

Margret, Dave mis-quoted me...this is what I said...
We take borders, just not overnighters.
We would love to show you some of the West Coast.

Ruthie, I would prefer my own RV anyway. But as I said ... love to travel in a convoy

What a dream .... sigh ....