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Hi, welcome to the 2023 Secret Santa party ! A sunny Secret Santa that begins here, today, in France, with an outsider temperature of 33° Celsius ! We're in summer !

To the beautiful people of TFF, I would like to wish you all a very merry Christmas. Please if you get a spare moment post your fossil gifts your received this holiday. This year MrsR purchased from the USA, for my prehistoric gift a wonderful unerupted Desmostylus tooth from California. Hippopotamus-like mammal lived during the Miocene 15.5 million years ago and had incredibly unique teeth. This is a rare opportunity for me to add one to my collection ( it also reminded me of Doren, as he introduced me to this goofy mammal). Desmostylus hesperus, Temblor Formation, California.

Found this fossilized Brazil nut in Northern Oregon and pieces of a bunch more anybody got an idea of the value?

Hi guys just wondering if I should save some budget if the Christmas auction was going ahead this year?

Well, I hope it will be spectacular. Thank you to Santa's Helpers and everyone who participated last year to make it such a success. I think Doren would have been very pleased. Never forgotten. Thanks, once again to my wonderful helpers and advisors from last year, @Darktoothr @Bobby Rico @fifbrindacier and @sixgill pete. Honestly, your assistance was worth more than you know. Invaluable. I hope I can rely on you once again when I start to panic. If you, or anyone else, has any suggestions or advice Welcome to the Secret Santa Exchange 2021, a Festival of Fossils. The Secret Santa Exchange is when you enter your name into a pool and get matched with another player to send a gift, while another Santa sends you a fossil surprise! We try to keep the gifts to close to a $35 value, so no one is sending too extravagant a gift or receiving too menial a one. When making your selection on what to send, ask yourself; "Would I be happy receiving this?" ALL ARE WELCOME TO PLAY AS LONG AS ADHERE TO THE FOLLOWING RULES : This is a Secret Santa Exchange. The point is that your recipient won't know who is sending the gift or what it will be until it is received. Your name will in turn be chosen for a different Santa to send you a gift. It goes without saying that the real Santa will be watching and it is crucial that the identity of whom the gift is coming from be kept totally unknown, so that the real Santa gets all the thanks. So no hints or contacting who you are sending to! If you have any doubts, contact me. Signing up for this fun annual event will begin immediately and entries will be accepted until the cut off for entry on Wednesday 27th of October at midnight your time. You will then be matched with with your exchange partner and the names and addresses will be sent out by the witching hour on Halloween. Please PM me, @Tidgy's Dad with your full name and postal address. There are three choices you can make for your exchange recipient. 1. US domestic only. 2. European only. (includes Morocco and Wales.) 3. International. (includes SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, Jupiter, etc.) Deadline for post may be variable due to the current world situation, postage costs may also be higher. Some countries may ship by sea only which will take a lot longer. Here the camels are pretty fast at the moment. International post can be cripplingly expensive, so please check before agreeing to send a fossil tree stump to Taiwan. Please ship your parcels as soon as possible as the situation in your state/country or that of your Secret Santa partner could change at any moment. Last year, the international cut off date for sending from the USA was the second week in November, but I'm not sure about this year. Post as soon as you can. Internal US or within Europe will be quicker, but please check and bear in mind that some of the postal services are not making any promises. Please post as early as possible, if someone has a parcel under their tree for two months and has itchy fingers, it's much better than them not getting their parcel until March. It is important that everyone posts their parcels well before any deadlines, especially in these years of pandemic. Everything is still in flux, so better safe than sorry. Please do yourself and your partner the courtesy of posting in plenty of time. You may open your parcels whenever you wish, I know some folk can't wait til Christmas because of impatience or because they have plans for the holidays that would make this inconvenient, so you don't have to wait to open it on Christmas Day if you don't want. Boxing Day is fine too. One of the rules of the exchange is that you MUST photograph your fossils and share them on this thread, preferably before Christmas or on Christmas Day or Boxing Day, so PLEASE photograph your fossils as soon as they are out of the box and before they are distributed around the house, put in your collections or the kids have run off with them. Last year, some fossils vanished before photos had been taken and so the sender never had their lovely gift shared online. It's all about sharing, folks. And there's a game to be played guessing who sent which parcel of fossils with points to be won! So, don't mention your Santa by name until it has been worked out by others. A few handy tips that we have learned from past exchanges that may help the shipping transactions run more smoothly and prevent any unnecessary hold-ups : 1. Make sure your items are cleared of dust and dirt as best as you can. Most foreign customs services frown upon having a load of foreign dirt entering their country. 2. Check the box on your customs form as "Gift." This gives a better indication that the contents are not being brought in for commercial resale. 3. In the past, when writing the description on the customs' declaration, it has been found that something very simple like "Geological Specimens for Educational Purposes." or "Study Grade Fossils for Educational Purposes - No Commercial Value." works well. You don't want your gift to incur taxes if the tax office thinks they're going to be sold on. 4. For the contents value box on the form, make sure you have a low valuation, say $10, no matter how high the value of the actual contents may be. ($35, ahem!) Many customs departments will charge the recipient an additional charge based on the supposed value of the package's contents as declared on the form when entering the country. As it's a gift, we don't want any of our friends to have to pay to get it released from customs! 5. DO NOT PUT ZERO (0$) on the valuation section either. This automatically raises a red flag to customs. Nobody sends a parcel through expensive postal services that is worth nothing at all. 6. Please, please, please package your items with lots of packaging material. The parcel may seem well packaged when sitting upright on your coffee table, but they get tossed around, jumbled, beaten with baseball bats, have heavier parcels placed on top, get turned upside down etc. You can never have too much padding, especially when you parcel is travelling halfway around the world. There is nothing sadder and more frustrating to anxiously await a package and then to find that the sender did not take the time to ensure everything was packed tightly and your gift is broken. If you can feel the slightest movement in your box, assume it will break. Pad every item individually and the spaces that surround them. HAVE FUN ! ! ! ! But, okay it must be said. This exchange is built on trust. All participants are putting their decent items that they have either found, purchased or been gifted on the line in the hope that the other players have done the same. We cannot control what members do, so please play fair. Do not send a box of trash rocks. We all want items that we would be glad to have in our collections and your gift should reflect that. Remember that this is for the 25th December Holiday! A major part of this exchange, indeed , a compulsory part is to post pictures of the gifts that you receive. Please photograph what you get when you receive it, before the specimens disappear into you collections. Share with us. We want to see what Santa sent you. That's half the fun! If you don't feel the rules and deadlines are suitable for you, then please refrain from signing up for this event. We have had shed loads of fun with these events in the past and hope to keep it that way. LET THE FOLLIES BEGIN ! ! !

Boxing Day Bonanza Merry Crimbo to you all at TFF. I would like to share with you my lovely fossilised Christmas gifts. I start here at the beginning sadly I missed the TFF Secret Santa deadline. So I contacted @Welsh Wizard to see if he was up for a Christmas gift off. One of my motivations was to give at Christmas every year one fossil to a TFF member that Doren gifted me . So Nick was up for it and I kept my tradition going . MrsR said “your mate sent you a rock then , nice to see you back on TFF Bobby “ Thanks Nick I am over the moon about all the gifts. Here is my fantastic Christmas surprise. love the book and comics too.

I got it for Christmas the other day and it seems a little....off

Merry Christmas to all you lovely people of the great Fossil Forum community . Please show us your Christmas fossils and other paraphernalia related gifts. I have not open my presents yet but got my fingers crossed . all the best to you and yours the Ricos .

Cool display in Paris France on Twitter

, My good friend Doren has done this for the last couple of years, so please excuse me and my other friends; Sophie @fifbrindacier who will be helping with the European side of things, Dave @Darktooth helping on the USA side and Pete @sixgill pete for his experience in this field. And @Bobby Rico for his help too. (see below). Anyway: Mostly quoting Doren from last year: Welcome to this years' Secret Santa Exchange. 2020 a FESTIVAL OF FOSSILS. The Secret Santa exchange is when you enter your name into a pool and get matched with another player to exchange gifts. We try to keep gifts to about the maximum $30 range so no one is sending an overly extravagant gift or a too menial one. When making your selection on what to send, ask yourself ; "Would i be happy receiving this? " All are welcome to play as long as you adhere to the rules. This is a Secret Santa exchange. The point is that your partner will not know who is sending the gift or what it will be until it is received. Your name will in turn be chosen for a different Santa to send a gift to you. Obviously, there is a real Santa, but I can't guarantee that he or she will be involved. It is crucial that the identity of who it is coming from be kept totally unknown, so no hints or contacting who you are sending to! Signing up for entering this fun event will begin today, October 2nd, and will be open until the cut off for entry on Tuesday October 27th at midnight, your time. You will then be matched with your exchange partner and the names and addresses will be sent out by midnight October 31st. Please PM me @Tidgy's Dad with your full name and postal address. There are three choices you can make for your exchange partner; 1. US domestic only. 2. European only. (includes Morocco, okay?) 3. International. (includes the ISS or any bases on the Moon, Mars, etc.) Deadlines for post will be most variable because of the world situation, postage costs are also often higher, some countries may ship by sea only which will take a lot longer, etc. International post could be cripplingly expensive so please check before agreeing to send two kilos to Europe which might cost you $75 or more. We still want to do this fun thing this year, but the world has changed. And not just because Doren isn't in it. Please post your parcels as soon as possible as the situation is changing everyday. The USA cut off date is the second week in November, but i know from my own experience that things are taking two weeks to two months longer than usual. USA internal post is better but i can't find a sensible date from them. Wisely it seems they're not promising anything. Please post as early as possible, if someone has a parcel on their doorstep for two months and has itchy fingers, it's much better than someone getting nothing until March. IT is important that everyone posts their packages well before any deadlines, especially this year. Everything is in flux, so better safe than sorry. Please do yourself and your partner the courtesy of posting in plenty of time. Doren and I argued about whether to post pictures when the gifts arrived or only on Christmas Day or after. I say whenever you wish, but one of the rules is that photos of the gifts you have received must be posted on this thread. It's all about sharing, folks. A few handy tips we have learned from past exchanges that may help the shipping transactions run more smoothly and avoid unnecessary holdups. 1. Make sure your items are cleared of dirt and dust as best as you can. Most foreign customs departments frown upon having alien dirt entering their country. 2. Check the box on your customs form as "Gift". This portrays a better indication that the contents are not being brought in for commercial resale. 3. In the past, when writing the description on the customs declaration, it has been found that something very simple like "Geological specimens for educational purposes" or "Study grade fossils for educational purposes - No commercial value." You don't want your gift to incure taxes if the tax office thinks they are going to be sold on. 4. For the contents value box on the form, make sure you give it a low valuation (Doren always wrote $10), no matter how high the actual value of the contents maybe. ($30 ahem ) Many customs department will charge the recipient an additional charge based on the supposed value of the packages' contents as declared on the form when entering the country. As it's a gift, we don't want our people to have to pay to get it released from customs! 5. Do Not put zero ($0) on the valuation section, either. This automatically raises a red flag to customs. Nobody sends a parcel though expensive postal services(especially in a plague) that is worth nothing.! 6. Please, please, please, package your items with lots of packaging material. The parcel may seem well packaged when sitting upright on your coffee table, but they get tossed around, jumbled, beaten with baseball bats, have heavier parcels placed on top, get turned upside down etc. You can never have too much padding, especially when you parcel is travelling halfway around the world. There is nothing sadder and more frustrating to anxiously await a package and then to find that the sender did not take the time to ensure everything was packed tightly and your gift is broken. If you can feel the slightest movement in your box, assume it will break. Pad every item individually and the spaces that surround them. HAVE FUN ! ! ! ! But, okay it must be said. This exchange is built on trust. All participants are putting their decent items that they have either found, purchased or been gifted on the line in the hope that the other players have done the same. We cannot control what members do, so please play fair. Do not send a box of trash rocks. We all want items that we would be glad to have in our collections and your gift should reflect that. Remember that this is for the 25th December Holiday! A major part of this exchange, indeed , a compulsory part is to post pictures of the gifts that you receive. What annoyed Doren even more than people posting late was people not posting what they'd been sent. Please photograph what you get when you receive it, before the specimens disappear into you collections. Share with us. We want to see what Santa sent you. That's half the fun! If you don't feel the rules and deadlines are suitable for you, then please refrain from signing up for this event. We have had shed loads of fun with these events in the past and hope to keep it that way. LET THE FOLLIES BEGIN ! ! !

Happy holidays everybody!!!! finally after Christmas day, I went to look for fossils. I have to wait some hours (ice on the road), but it was worth It. The fossilfield was covered of sun light, so the rocks has covered with ice (¿Do you remember Jack Nicholson in The Shining? something like that), so I took carefully the specimens to home. Not too much time looking for, but at least I found some interesting plants. I hope you like it

Hi guys, I thought it would be an interesting idea to show everyone your fossil Christmas presents it doesn’t have to be stunning or even your favourite, show as many as you like! I’m sure everyone wants to see them on this day of giving, anyway, merry Christmas to you all and I’ll post some of mine later in the day

So my family and I have been spending time about 2-3 hours away from were we live and have found a neat store that sells art, minerals and fossils. I pointed out a few fossils I liked (pretty much all of them) not thinking anything about it and to my surprise I got some for Christmas! I know 2 aren’t fossils but it’s the biggest sand dollar I’ve ever seen and a neat shell of some kind. Next time I go I’ll have to get the information about where they were found and all of that. But I’m happy to add to my small collection!

Welcome to the sign up portion of this year's Secret Santa Gift Exchange 2018! Each year this event gets bigger and better with more players. OK, let's get down to it. The Secret Santa is a gift exchange in which you enter your name into a pool and get matched with another player to exchange gifts. We try to keep the gifts to around the $30 range so no one is sending an overly extravagant gift like a complete Sabortooth skull or too skimpy of a gift like a single broken clam shell. When making your selection for what to send, ask yourself " Would I want to receive this?" It is a Secret gift exchange. The catch of this gift exchange is you won't know who that person sending you the gift will be until you receive your package. Your name will in turn be picked for someone else to receive a package from you. No two players will be matched the same. It is crucial that the identity of who it is coming from be kept totally unknown. Sign up for entering this fun event will start today October 8th and run until the cut off for entry on Sunday, November 4th. Midnight Pacific Time. You will then be matched with your exchange partner and the names and addresses will be sent out November 6th. Please PM me with your full name and mailing address and whether you would like to trade with an international destination or keep it within the U.S. only. European players can indicate if they want to stay within the European region as well. *For packages going to an international destination, please send off your package within the week following your receiving the name and address information. We have found some packages take many weeks to arrive during this busy time of year, especially where customs offices are coming into play. It has been requested by many members that since this is a Secret Santa exchange, that everybody hold off on opening your packages and posting the contents on the Forum until Christmas to keep with the seasonal spirit of the event. A few handy tips learned from past exchanges that may help the shipping transaction run more smoothly and avoid unnecessary holdup. * -Make sure your items are cleaned of dirt and dust the best you can. Most customs officials frown upon letting foreign dirt come into the receiving country. * - Check the box on your customs form with "Gift". This portrays a better indication to the customs officials that the contents are not going to be for commercial resale. * - In the past when writing your contents description in customs forms it has been found to write something that is very simple is best. Such as: "Geological specimens for educational studies" or " Study grade fossils for educational purposes- No commercial value" *- For the contents value on the forms make sure you write a low price value ( I personally put $10). Many customs departments will charge the reciever an additional charge based on the declared value on the form when entering that country. It is a gift, we don't want the reciever to have to pay to get it released from customs. Please don't write a value of zero (0) on the form either. That automatically raises a red flag to customs. Nobody is going to spend money sending a package that is worth nothing! *- Please, please, please, package your items well with lots of packing material. The package may seem well packed on your dining room table, but they get bounced around, buried under other heavy packages, etc. when moving through different postal systems. Nobody likes being exited to open a package only to find everything broken from lack of padding. Just please pack them well. I think that should about do it. Remember to PM me your name and address information and whether you want international, domestic, or either one. For those international packages, kindly get them sent out within the next week of getting the shipping information for your exchange partner. Some of those destinations take a long time to arrive, so the sooner the better! Please refrain from opening your gifts until Christmas to keep it in the holiday spirit. Kindly post pictures of your recieved goodies when you do, others love to share in your joy. One last thing. This exchange is supposed to be secret so let's keep it that way. You might know who sent you the items when you get them, but don't "spill the beans" for the rest of us. Thank you for your cooperation. Now let's have some fun!

Merry Xmas everyone!!! To celebrate this long-awaited holiday, how about we showcase some fossils linked to it? It can be anything: a fossil that you got for Xmas, found on Xmas day, or a fossil that reminds you of something "Xmassy". Explain why! I'll start off: Orthosphinctes desmoides (?) Gräfenberg, Germany Grafenburg Formation, Kimmeridgian, Jurassic I got this gorgeous double-ammonite piece from my parents for Xmas yesterday! Also, although you can't see it very well on the picture, the ammonites have a nice dark green color thanks to the glauconite that they are made of (similar color to a Xmas tree)!

I sneaked one more trip under the wire for 2018. Last minute finds include 5 whole and 2 half Flexicalamene trilobites, Ordovician, St. Leon, Indiana. This popular site was hit hard recently as evidenced by the stampede of foot and knee pad prints. Last night’s rain wasn’t enough to really shuffle the deck, but a couple diligent hours allowed me to scratch out ample paydirt. No complaints.

It's now Christmas Day here in Morocco. So I just want to wish a happy Christmas to the family and friends of everyone on this most excellent forum. Merry Christmas to all those members I've come to know and love in the last year or so. Merry Christmas to those newcomers whom i'm already beginning to love and respect. Merry Christmas to our mod and admin team who do such a wonderful job. And a jolly merry Christmas to everyone else! Bless you each and every one.

After Christmas morning everyone was preoccupied with their new gifts, so I slipped out of the house for a couple of hours to visit the Cole Hill Road site in hopes of finding a nice Christmas dipleura. The site was covered in snow and I had to hack away a large amount of frozen overburden. Overall, the rock was fairly barren until the last slab I turned over. Underneath that slab was a complete, prone D. dekayi! Unfortunately it turned into a bit of a jigsaw puzzle upon extraction despite my best efforts and I believe a couple fragments of the pygidium were lost in the slush and mud. L --> R In situ, fossil with scale, the fossil in full view, Cole Hill Rd. site covered with snow- I was digging on the shelf between the two cliffs I'll post more pictures once the jigsaw puzzle is reassembled and the fossil is prepped.

May Santa bring that fossil you always wish for.

The Nerdiest Christmas Cards Ever May Be These Microscope Slides Composed of Shells The unusual holiday exchange, which lasted decades during the early 20th-century, hints at the drama between the two colleagues Smithsonian By Allison C. Meier, December 17, 2018 https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/two-scientists-exchanged-christmas-greetings-microscope-slides-180971049/ A century ago, two scientists exchanged fantastic microscope slides as Christmas cards https://boingboing.net/2018/12/17/a-century-ago-two-scientists.html Yours, Paul H.

The Nerdiest Christmas Cards Ever May Be These Microscope Slides Composed of Shells The unusual holiday exchange, which lasted decades during the early 20th-century, hints at the drama between the two colleagues Smithsonian By Allison C. Meier, December 17, 2018 https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/two-scientists-exchanged-christmas-greetings-microscope-slides-180971049/ A century ago, two scientists exchanged fantastic microscope slides as Christmas cards https://boingboing.net/2018/12/17/a-century-ago-two-scientists.html Merry Christmas everybody, Paul H.