Last night we attended a fundraiser for the town's baseball league, and part of the activities involved a silent auction. For those that have never seen one of these, various gift baskets are donated (in this case each team was responsible for finding a donor), and then they're put on display with a list of what's in them, their actual value, and then a sheet of paper where you write down your name and what you bid on it. At the end of the night all the sheets are collected and the winning bids are posted.
UPDATE : I just remembered that sometimes my Dad reads the blog. If so, Hi Dad! Don't tell Ma what she's getting. :)