LaMarry Christmas! Greetings from the Card Blogs

Just when I thought I was caught up on card packages, I received an incredible six trade packages in the mail just this past week.  Folks who enjoy this hobby sure are generous.  Let's see some of the goods!

First off, I received one of the most creative cards I've ever received from Gavin of Baseball Card Breakdown.  In fact, it's not just a card but an ornament!  '87 Topps Lamar Hoyt has been transformed into Santa Claus, complete with white cloth beard and "Ho Ho Hoyt" caption.  Here's a look at LaMarr hanging (came complete with hole punched at the top and string) on our Christmas tree.  Hilarious stuff Gavin!

LaMarr made his cross-country journey to my collection accompanied by a generous batch of new Red Sox cards.  This Garciaparra, from the AvantCard subset of 2001 Fleer Showcase, has a raised frame around what looks like a canvas style painting.  Never seen one of these before.

How about a game-used bat relic of dirt dog Trot Nixon from the 2004 Donruss World Series set.  A Nixon relic from the year the Sox won the World Series and broke the infamous curse is very cool.  Plus it's serial numbered to /100 copies.

A nice shiny new Pedro from Topps Gold Label.  This is a "Class 1" card, for what it's worth.  Looks awesome in hand, even better than in the scan.

This one is also really cool looking in person, though you wouldn't know it from the wretched treatment it received from my scanner.  Guess you'll just have to take my word for it.

I have precious few Stadium Club Chrome cards, much appreciated!

With my recent obsession with minor league releases, I am very surprised I didn't already have a copy of this 2010 Pro Debut Lars Anderson, but I did not.

Ditto for this one.

This one really got me smiling.  A Sportflics card of the great Oil Can Boyd.  I didn't even know there was a Sportflics card of Boyd out there.  Fantastic stuff.

Gavin even made a contribution to my 1959 Topps set courtesy of this holiday package.  Harvey Kuenn has already taken his place among his comrades in the set binder.  What a great mix of cards, thank you Gavin!

Next up is the well-known Captain Canuck!  Brian and I may not trade very frequently (largely thanks to the ridiculous cost of shipping between the US and Canada), but I've known him longer than almost anyone else I trade with.  I recently shipped a PWE his way, and in return he sent a very thoughtful Christmas card.

Of course, it was stuffed with hockey cards.  Would you expect anything less?  A few of these Topps Super Skills cards from the mid-'90s were inside...

...including Geoff Sanderson, who's a brand new addition to my Whalers collection!

Times two!  This is actually my first '96-97 Summit card of any kind.  Very high end feel to these, with thick, sturdy card stock.

Same with these Pacific Vanguard cards.  Definitely high quality, they feel almost heavy in hand.

I got four Bruins, which I have a feeling may be an entire team set as the checklist for this one is relatively small.

Thanks for the great new additions to my hockey collection Brian, any package that increases my Whalers collection is an appreciated one.

Next up we've got a thoughtful package from Frankie at My Life in the Sports Card Hobby.  Frankie's one of the younger bloggers I've encountered, but man does he have an impressive collection building already!  A while back he put out a call for anyone who wanted some free cards, so of course I shamelessly commented.  In return, I got a solid trio of cards, starting off with this Bowman Mookie Betts.  I had the Blue and Purple parallels of this card, but not the base version until now.  Perfect!

Whoa!  I was impressed enough with the Betts, but Frankie really stepped it up here.  The Sweet Spot Signatures cards are so impressive, and this one featuring short term Red Sox player Carl Crawford is no exception.  I was really blown away by Frankie's generosity at this point, and then I saw the final card...

Wow!!!  My first card from Panini's 2013 America's Pastime set is certainly a nice one.  This beautiful on-card auto of Mike Greenwell is the gold version, numbered to just /25!  I love the retro looking design too, this is without a doubt the best non-licensed autograph in my Red Sox collection.

Frankie, thank you so much, I will see what I can dig up to repay your generosity.

Last package for tonight is a PWE that showed up in the mailbox from Jeff at Wish They Still Came with Bubble Gum.  He'd warned me that some 2015-16 Upper Deck was headed my way, and he delivered with a pair of Bruins.

Marchand has been on an absolute tear this year.  I can't recall him ever playing this well for this long a stretch at any point in his career previously.  He's been a big part of the Bruins' season so far.

Jeff threw some great baseball cards in the envelope as well.  For starters, he finished off my 1990 Topps Ames All-Stars team set...

...with Jim Rice and Dwight Evans.

An awesome 1977-78 O-Pee-Chee glossy insert of Wayne Cashman, complete with rounded corners.

A pair of new Red Sox cards from the Pacific Legends release from 1988.

Always a pleasure to add a new Lou Boudreau card to my Red Sox collection.

Last, but certainly not least we've got a hand cut Hostess Dewey from the late '70s.  I wonder which snack food box this one came from the bottom of?  Thanks for the cards Jeff!

Gentlemen, thank you all for your killer packages.  I hope you and your families are enjoying a wonderful holiday season!