July 26th, 2018

Birth of the geeky gift basket

It was love at first geek. February 15th, 2016, Monday. It started like any other day. Work was crazy, but as a middle school teacher, that's pretty much the norm. On the way home, I stopped by Barnes n Noble. I enjoy breathing in that unique smell, a mix of cafe latte's and new books. After falling prey to Starbuck's trickery of smells, my cappuccino and I were drawn to a display of Harry Potter collectibles. I never considered myself a geek, not really, but if I could buy every Harry Potter and Doctor Who item they had, I would. As I considered weather or not to buy a truly beautiful, yet expensive, replica of Hermione's wand, I looked up and saw, him. I didn't know then that I was about to meet the love of my life, my future husband, but I liked his smile. His eyes were genuine when he smiled. I could tell he had a gentle, kind soul. And that he was... a true geek. With a Batman t-shirt, Marvel and DC pins that covered his backpack, and a Walking Dead comic in his hands, he smiled. Eight or ten nervous glances and what seemed like an hour later, he got up the nerve to say hello. It was love at first geek. 
Months went by. We fell in love with each other, and with each other's fandoms. I made him watch all 8 Harry Potter movies and binge several seasons of Doctor Who and he introduced me to the world of comics and Marvel. One day, we were searching for a gift for a friend, another geek. He had been having a tough year and we wanted to get him something special for his birthday, something that showed we cared, and that we knew he would love. At first, we thought of getting him a gift basket, then we thought, there is one thing you can get a geek that he will truly love, anything from his favorite fandom. Why not both? I searched online for fandom gift baskets and was disappointed at the little I found. I thought, we could make these so much better. And there began our journey. That moment, was the birth of the geeky gift basket, and, Fandom and Fantasy. 
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