25 bloggers participated in Pass the Crown this time around and there were some pretty sweet gifts in the rotation. Everything from iPad Minis to cameras, guitars, Kindle Fires, watches, it was a pretty strong set of gifts this holiday season.

The first time we participated in Pass the Crown, we scored a Crown Royal Happy Hour and it was a really fun event. Good times with good booze and good people. So when it came time for us to open our purple bag this year (or choose to steal a previously opened gift), we knew what decision had to be made.

This was the purple gift bag that we had to ponder this time around:

We decided to pass. And instead, we targeted another Crown Royal Happy Hour as the gift that we want to steal. Having experienced a kick ass sponsored happy hour and having tried XR on multiple occasions, there was really one choice. So we liberated the Crown Royal XR Happy Hour from the poor fellas over at The Roosevelts (who ended up with two pairs of TOM sunglasses). We scored a bottle of XR for ourselves and one for you, our lucky readers.

The happy hour was a hit. With the Oscars on in the background, MANjr friends and colleagues enjoyed sips of the good stuff at Q’s on Wilshire. Not surprisingly, the XR went quick. That’s what happens when you invite too many Australians. If you haven’t tried this batch of Crown Royal XR yet, get on that. It’s really silky smooth stuff, not too spicy, not too stiff. Just full of subtle aromas and palate-pleasing sweetness.

Thanks again to Crown Royal for setting us up with such a great event. During the gift exchange, Crown sent out a purple gift bag of goodies to our troops for every tweet that included the hashtag #PassTheCrown. Over 1400 gift bags were sent out as part of the Crown Royal Heroes Project. So all good fun for a good cause. Can’t wait to swipe another happy hour next time around!

Because of all the retweets and Twitter mentions, Crown Royal was able to send out 1400 gift bags to our troops as part of the Crown Royal Heroes Project. Among the gift bags that went out, was this one right here which was put together at the Cowboys/Saints game by Playboy playmate Kylie Johnson:

We were able to hang on to the Crown Royal XR Happy Hour that we jacked from The Roosevelts. So stay tuned for details about the next MANjr/Crown Royal event.

Thanks to everyone who got going on the retweets and helped make the second annual Pass the Crown program another fun experience.

Big day today, MANjr fans. Today is our turn to make a move in the second annual Pass the Crown blogger gift battle! So it’s decision time and we got till 4 PM Eastern to make the call. We swipe another gift from one of the 25 participating bloggers or do we open up our embroidered purple bag to see what’s inside?

The gift that’s on the table comes with a hint:

But what does it all mean? Is it NASCAR-related? We know how much fun it can be posting up at a NASCAR event with the good folks from Crown! Indy was a blast. But we also know how much fun a Crown Royal happy hours can be for everyone in attendance. Tough call!

And then you got stuff like iPad Minis, Kindle Fires, Samsung Digital Cameras, Sonos Play 3, and a bunch of other cool gear that we can pilfer from other people. Help us decide what to do! Drop us an email below with your thoughts or hit us up on Twitter @MANjr. Check #PassTheCrown to follow all the gift war action. And this year, whenever the hashtag #PassTheCrown appears on Twitter, Crwon Royal will send out a gift bag to a soldier. Click retweet and support the troops!

Oh, one last thing. Whatever we end up with, we’ll be giving away the same gift to one lucky reader. So chime in if you want to sway our decision!

We’ve been selected by Crown Royal to participate in an online gift receiving/stealing contest with a bunch of other cool sites. Other sites have received cool stuff like iPads and Kindle Fires and Crown parties with friends.

We are up next and we need to decide if we should open our gift or steal someone else’s.

Our hint: Thought 2011 went fast? You ain’t seen nothing yet

That’s the message that appears on our custom embroidered purple Crown Royal bag. Whatever gift we end up with will also go to a lucky reader!

So what should we do? Hijack someone else’s gift or see what’s inside our bag?

You can follow all the action on Twitter by checking out #PassTheCrown.