Katie Holland - Secret behind Santa: It's all in the detail

IT WAS the third time that day I'd got a little teary and it was only 10am. (What can I say, Christmas makes me emotional.)

But this time, I reckon I had just cause. I'd received my Twitter Secret Santa present. For those that missed the explanation a few weeks back, it's when 2600 or so New Zealand Twitter users signed up to play a large-scale version of Secret Santa - being assigned a stranger to stalk online and buy a gift for.

Last week, mine arrived. I don't tweet a lot, so I hadn't given too much away about what I'd like, or so I thought.

The fancy red box with the words "A Day to Remember' was intriguing. Inside was The Times newspaper from May 6, 1994 and a certificate of authenticity, with the words "Channel Tunnel opened 6 May 1994. Memories of trips to Paris and Sundays relaxing in an English Pub reading the paper".

It took me a minute to realise the significance. In a column a couple of months ago I mentioned how, at times, I missed weekends in Paris, and English pubs - which I'd enjoyed during my years in London. And I mentioned the Chunnel and what a genius invention it was.

So wow wee. I was blown away by the effort and thoughtfulness that went into my gift - and clearly someone went well above the suggested $10 budget.

Of course, I tweeted a picture and my thanks, but to this day I am none the wiser as to which lovely stranger turned my day around.

That night, reading all the tweets and seeing the pictures of people with their gifts, genuinely was a little emotional. People went to such incredible lengths and put so much thought into gifts, with many remarking they too had been reduced to tears. I wasn't the only sap.

There were homemade gluten-free cook books, personalised calendars recording meaningful days and events, and one Santa not only sent their recipient a present, but gifts for her husband and children as well.

Then there was a lovely tearjerker, which I won't even attempt to describe, but check out napierinframe.co.nz/why-i-believe-in-secret-santa/ for one of my favourites of the year.

All this gift perfection had me paranoid my recipient might not be so delighted. I found I was checking her Twitter feed every 10 minutes. Nothing. Finally, at 10 to midnight, she tweeted a photo of my parcel with the words "got home to find a very interesting looking parcel from my #nzsecretsanta". So I waited with bated breath for her to unwrap it and declare what she thought. Nothing.

First thing in the morning, I checked again, and still nothing. Having resigned myself to being the worst Secret Santa in New Zealand, she finally tweeted that afternoon. And she loved it. Phew.

Social media gets a bad wrap sometimes - for its cyber bullying, mindless timewasting, endless cat and baby photo posts and encouraging anti-social tendencies.

But Twitter Secret Santa was a heartwarming example of social media used for good. Of those that registered to take part, organisers say there were only about 200 "Bad Santas" who didn't send a gift. Even that has a silver lining. Presents intended for them were instead rerouted to the Christchurch City Mission. NZ Post did an amazing job of running it, kudos due.

What it also showed was that the most appreciated gifts were generally not the most expensive or flashy (although the lady who got a bottle of Moet was understandably appreciative), but the ones where people had taken the time to find out about the person they were buying for. Homemade, personalised and quirky - they were the best ones.

It's made me rethink my approach to present buying.