Hoping for a Christmas miracle

Christmas greetings.

I hope you're having the Christmas you want this year. I'm happy to say that I am and, yes, that involves cards.

I made a switch in thinking and decided to try to complete the 2019 Topps Holiday set for the holidays. I know I said I probably wouldn't try to do that. After buying two boxes back in November and coming 32 cards short, I figured it'd be too difficult. The boxes were disappearing off shelves at a rapid rate and me entering Walmart in December is highly unlikely. There's no way.

Well, I found myself in Walmart in December.

It was at 2 a.m., though, the only time I feel safe in a Walmart at this time of year. It was about a week ago. I was getting a few last-minute Christmas purchases done and stopped by the card aisle and, what to my wondering eyes should appear but about seven boxes of 2019 Topps Holiday!

It felt like a Christmas miracle!

What the heck, let's grab a box and see if I can finish off this set. No need for more than one, right? I can get 32 cards I need from a 200-card set in a 100-card box. (This is foreshadowing).

So I started opening the packs. But before I do that here, this is the list of cards I needed in the Holiday set before buying that box:

5 - Taylor Clarke RC
12 - Nick Anderson RC
15 - Edwin Diaz
34 - Austin Meadows
45 - Byron Buxton
49 - Spencer Turnbull RC
61 - Orlando Arcia
72 - Christian Yelich
80 - Scott Kingery
86 - Jeff McNeil RC
87 - Albert Pujols
90 - Hyun-Jin Ryu
99 - Will Smith RC
103 - Yasiel Puig
110 - Anthony Rendon
114 - Thairo Estrada RC
117 - Amed Rosario
119 - Lorenzo Cain
126 - Fernando Tatis Jr. RC
128 - Khris Davis
133 - Jose Berrios
138 - Nicky Lopez RC
163 - Hunter Dozier
169 - Jon Duplantier RC
170 - Yoan Moncada
173 - Trent Thornton RC
176 - Freddie Freeman
177 - Luke Voit
178 - Austin Allen RC
180 - Noah Syndergaard
190 - Corbin Martin RC

Geez, Topps, ENOUGH ROOKIE CARDS IN THIS SET??????

Now that I see the list written out, it seems like a lot of wants to finish off a set, but what the heck, it's Christmas. Maybe I'll get another Christmas miracle here.

Let's start unwrapping:

PACK ONE

Nothing.

Ten cards of dupes. OK, that's not a good start. But we'll press forward.


PACK TWO

Three needs crossed off. OK, that's better. I'm down to needing 29 cards now with eight packs to go.


PACK THREE

OK!! Much better!!

Five cards I needed, including the last two Dodgers I needed for the set! Down to 24 cards. Seven packs to go. This is a pretty good pace.


PACK FOUR

Wow. That pack was almost entirely filled with needs. I crossed off seven cards from the list, so now I'm down to needing 17 with six packs to go. That's less than three needs per pack! We can do this!


PACK FIVE

Yowza!

That pack had NINE cards I needed. Half of the players I don't know who the heck they are, but that's not important, we're tryin' to complete a set on Christmas! This brings me down to needing just eight cards with five packs remaining! Less than two needs per pack! Will this be the best Christmas ever????


PACK SIX

Four more needed cards! Down to just four more wants with four packs to go! Momentum!


PACK SEVEN

Oof. All right, the pace slowed quite a bit there. I pulled just one card I needed so I still need three cards to complete the set, but I did get my promised relic card. It figures it's this guy. It will be going toward a Red Sox fan as I'm currently stockpiling cards for him.

Onward.


PACK EIGHT

The only card of note in the pack. It's one of the metallic parallels and it's about as Christmas-y a card that I've ever seen. A red team against a green team with all those Christmas decorations? Wow. I think I've overloaded on Christmas sweets with this card.

But everything else was a dupe. I still need three cards with two packs left.


PACK NINE

Bleh.

I know I'm supposed to be happy, I've pulled my 1-per-7 packs variation card. I'm a bit spoiled though as this was the only variation in the box and I pulled two variations each in my previous two boxes.

Plus it's a Rockie, and who cares? I'M TRYIN' TO COMPLETE A SET HERE! Ya think one variation is a trade-off for a pack full of dupes???

Set collectors get no respect.

OK, we're down to the last pack. I really need that Christmas miracle now. I've got to get all three needs in the final pack.

What do you got for me Santa? Do I hear sleigh bells????

PACK TEN

Ovaltine???

A crummy metallic parallel?

Son of a bitch.

I should've gotten that second box.

So still three cards short, I scrambled to Walmart after a work shift on Saturday night and, there, at 2:30 in the morning, I waltzed passed the card aisle again for that second box, that Christmas miracle.

But the spot where those seven Holiday boxes sat a few days before was empty. There were none to be found.

*sigh*

Yet ...

An envelope in the mail.

I went to the mailbox yesterday and pulled out a festive bit of paper from Matt of Diamond Jesters, just in time for the joyous occasion.

Well, Merry Christmas to you Matt!

I opened the folded-over cardboard greeting just a bit and I noticed the familiar 2019 Topps Holiday design peaking out a little!

Could it be?

...

...

...

OK, I guess that wasn't very realistic. How could Matt know I suddenly planned to try to complete the set, let alone know which final three cards were needs?

Instead, he sent me the very appropriate metallic parallels of two Dodgers from the set (good luck, Blue Jays, with that four-year contract).

So, these are the three cards I still need from the set:


72 - Christian Yelich
126 - Fernando Tatis Jr. (of course)
173 - Trent Thornton

If you happen to have any of those three, I'll take them. Also, I suppose I need some more of the Dodgers since I have to go and be a team collector, too, and collect two of each of them. So anyone who is not Kershaw or Muncy, I guess, because I have two of those guys already.

I'll even take them after the holiday. I'll even show them off -- *gasp* -- if it's two weeks from now and everyone's yanked all their decorations down in a desperate bid to celebrate that very festive season of January.

Enjoy the holiday.

A Merry Christmas and Season Greetings and Happy New Year to you all.

I hope it's card-filled.

Even if you don't complete the set.