We held our annual Christmas get-together at the office today, and as usual there were lots of baked goods and lots of ceramic items exchanged.  Here are a few photos taken during the gift exchange; we do it "dirty Santa" style, where you can either open a new gift or steal one from someone who's already opened one.  There was fierce competition for the unopened toaster and the DVD of "Six Days and Seven Nights" (??), and oddly, no-one wanted to keep the ceramic skeleton sleeping in front of a computer. Weird.

There was also a large cache of intriguing items found in an ex-employee's office, including a plastic axe, a cauldron, white gloves, and SARS masks. 

We had waaaaay too many magic cookie bars, chocolate cupcakes, and Roca bars, not to mention (thanks April) Dahlia Bakery coconut pie treats.  Needless to say, I'll be treadmilling until Christmas morning to work all of this off.

Note to self: do not eat tons of sugar and then watch YouTube video of the cat riding a Roomba...

Here's to a happy, healthy, and successful holiday season to all of our far-flung family members, community members, and colleagues!