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.
