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Thursday, Dec 13, 2012 6:34 PM UTC

What did senators give each other at Al Franken’s Secret Santa?

Lawmakers reached across the aisle to give each other presents

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Topics: Al Franken, Christmas, U.S. Senate, Minnesota, Bipartisanship,

What did senators give each other at Al Franken's Secret Santa? (Credit: Facebook/Sen.Franken)

Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., organized a Secret Santa gift exchange again this year, and in a rare display of bipartisanship, the senators all apparently agreed to give each other weird stuff. Among the gifts:  A mahnomin porridge kit, a book “1,001 Gardens you Should See Before You Die,” and peanuts.

To be fair, there was a $10 spending limit.

NBC News reports that the senators exchanged gifts on the Senate floor Tuesday. From NBC, here are some of the highlights.

  • Sen. Franken received a VHS copy of the movie “Tunnel Vision” and a DVD of  “Harvard Beats Yale 29-29″ from Wyoming Republican Sen. John Barasso.
  • Franken, in turn, gave Arkansas Republican Sen. John Boozman a mahnomin porridge kit from Hell’s Kitchen, a popular restaurant in Minneapolis. Sen. Franken serves that breakfast porridge at his weekly breakfast with constituents.
  • Florida Republican Marco Rubio gave Godiva chocolates to Delaware Democrat Chris Coons.
  • North Carolina Democrat Kay Hagan gave her state’s famed peanuts to fellow Democrat Bob Casey of Pennsylvania.
  • New Hampshire Republican Kelly Ayotte gave Hagan a book, “1,001 Gardens you Should See Before You Die.”
  • Wyoming’s Mike Enzi, R-Wis., gave Virginia Democrat Mark Warner a George Washington University T-shirt and a book on bicycling.  Aides say Enzi “refrained from getting him a book on freestyle BMX tricks because of the safety issues Sen. Enzi works on.”
  • Johanns received a shirt for his undergraduate alma mater, St. Mary’s University, from Minnesota Democrat Amy Klobuchar.
  • Portman gave Louisiana’s Mary Landrieu a Cincinnati favorite, Graeter’s Buckeye Blitz ice cream.
  • Arkansas Republican John Boozman gave Georgia’s Saxby Chambliss Mason jar wine glasses.

Jillian Rayfield is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on politics. Follow her on Twitter at @jillrayfield or email her at jrayfield@salon.com. More Jillian Rayfield.

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