As usual, the most successful part of this project was my two-day lead-up to it, where I delved into topics like drug use and Victorian underwear.
The project itself was a mixed success. The students were exposed to primary sources and definitely enjoyed the project, but clearly, some students put more effort into it than others. Some students, for instance, were confused about which person they were actually shopping for, which could have been clarified by looking at their photographs. Other students however, put a lot of thought into their gifts and used the information they had about their people to buy surprising and delightful gifts that their people would have loved.
Overall, I'm not unhappy about how this project turned out this year.