I'd like to opt in for the Holiday PC for my younger brother.
He's been working on scraping together $500 (hopefully, that's his goal) when he comes to visit this Christmas. He's using parts from my old build and he really wants something more in line for a gaming PC as to what I have. Right now he's got:
- Antec 300 case
- Phenom II x4 820 (she's OC'ed to about 3.2)
- 4GB DDR3
- 1TB WD Black Caviar (possibly the best thing in his current build - which is sad)
- 600W or 650W Corsair CX series PSU
- GTX 280 (my old GTX 285 that didn't work, so it got flashed with a 280 BIOS and he's been rocking it for the past 4 years)
It would blow his mind to get something that crushes his current build. If he doesn't win it - we'll visit MicroCenter and get him a new MB, CPU, RAM and SSD - he can use one of my GTX 570s for a much improved gaming experience over the GTX 280 he's got.
I would be in for myself on these gifts:
Gift 1- Thermaltake Suppressor F31 Mid-Tower PC case donated by @sneekypeet
Gift 5- Blu-Ray drive (OEM/bare drive) donated by @RealNeil
I don't have a Holiday story to share - nothing really eventful has happened to me on the Holidays.
The family and I had to put one of our dogs down on my birthday this year (weekend before Halloween; does that count as a Holiday???). Bailey was the wife's shadow (literally followed her everywhere around the house and when I got her off the bed at night, she laid on the floor right next to the wife's side). I think Bailey knew she owed mom her life since she picked her up at a rescue shelter 9 years ago - she was about 35 pounds (about half her true, natural weight of 65 pounds) - you could see her ribs.
Fast forward about 3 years when the daughter was born: She would protect the kids when they were born - especially the first child. You had to be given Bailey's approval to hold the baby. If she didn't know you and you approached the baby, she'd growl and maneuver herself between you and the baby. Once you did get her blessing, she sat right next to you as you held the baby and followed you around the house. If you got too close to the front door with the baby in your arms, she'd position herself between you and the door.
Bailey was our protector and always put the kids first - even if they played too rough and pulled her fur too hard. She took it like a champ and looked over them as her own.
Sadly, we missed the signs of cancer (she dropped 10 pounds over the last year, she was a healthy 65lbs at her last checkup a year ago and only 55.7lbs when she passed. Gradual weight loss isn't easily noticeable on huskey/shepard mix. So much fur) - dogs are so damn good at hiding pain - and by the time the warning signs came out, it was too late. She had a ruptured spleen and massive internal bleeding, surgery would have been costly and transporting her to the emergency vet clinic, she probably wouldn't have made the trip and if she did, she probably wouldn't have survived the surgery. It was a crappy day for us.
Sorry....it's not some heartwarming story, but it's the closest thing I've got that's significant that's happened to me close to a Holiday (if you count Halloween or my bday as a Holiday).
Now I've mad myself sad, so here's a little pick-me-up to lighten the mood. Here are two of my favorite pictures of her and the kids when they were little:
Bailey with the daughter (about 14 months) - daughter is just getting over pneumonia
Bailey with son (about 14-16 months) - just hanging out and having a good time
and I can't wait to see the finished Kreij Holiday 2015 PC 
