The Return of the Skanky Swap

“Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.” ― Gustav Mahler

If there is one thing my life has been about, it's been the celebration of certain beloved traditions, and this year, for the first time since the start of the pandemic, we were able to reestablish one of my favorites--the annual skanky swap on New Year's eve.

We hosted a smaller gathering of family last year, but this time around, we opened it up a bit wider, and practically all of our recurring friends were able to attend--about 18 in all. Unlike the more traditional "Yankee Swap," the object is to bring with you gifts that aren't nice...nor gifts that are even somewhat decent, just blah...but to bring gifts that are simply downright awful. We have through the years established some ground rules--you cannot actually include real feces in any of the gifts, for example, and you MUST leave with whatever gift you get stuck with-but beyond that, practically anything goes. 

I think because of the long absence, although some folks were planning to leave hours before the new year rang in, everyone ended up staying around until two in the morning, which kind of shocked me. Nobody really wanted to leave. I think we were just all so happy to be together again and doing something that we loved being a part of. 

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