the (totally unofficial) LJ Idol summer gift exchange
What is it? A small postal gift exchange, done Secret Santa style! You sign up here, I match you with another person, and you send and receive goodies in the mail.
Why? Because getting nice stuff in the mail is a pleasant experience. Because sending surprise gifts to other people is fun. Because it's a fun way to build connections in the community. And because I want to.
Who can play? I've named it the totally unofficial LJ Idol summer gift exchange, but that "totally unoffocial" part also means that pretty much anyone can sign up and play. I'm going to be somewhat arbitrary and say that you should be a member of therealljidol to play, this time. There will be other iterations of this (presuming it doesn't lead to terrrrrible things, angst, and woe). I've run gift exchanges before, and I'll do so again. It's fun. But for now, be something to do with LJ Idol, and you're in.
What kind of gifts in the mail? Inexpensive ones! Again, being completely arbitrary, I'm setting the limit for gifts at $10. You can definitely spend less than that. You can make stuff yourself. You can send used books. You can send mixed CDs. You can send almost anything which you think your recipient will really like, so long as the cost is under $10.
How will this work? It's pretty easy. You sign up and give me a couple pertinent bits of information about yourself. I'll make a big list of all the participants at the bottom of this post and keep it updated. Once sign-ups are over, I send an email to you with the user name, mailing address, and any other relevant details about the person you're assigned to make happy with mailed goodies. You acquire and mail goodies, and receive goodies from another person, in a timely fashion. Tada!
Who will know my mailing address? Me, and the person I match you up with. And you, presumably. I mean, maybe you block it out to keep the information on the whereabouts of your secret lair safe and unknowable, but I think that would cause logistical difficulties. And I promise I won't send ninjas to your lair. I mean, unless you're matched with me for getting gifts, in which case, mwahahahaha and all that.
Can I participate if I live somewhere outside the U.S.? Sure. Just keep in mind that a) most of the participants are probably going to be in the states, and b) shipping costs will be higher for folks, both to and from your location. It'll also take a bit longer to get your stuff to you.
How long will sign-ups be open? Sign-ups will be closed next Tuesday, July 1st. Everyone who has signed up will receive the name and address of their intended gift recipient by next Wednesday, July 2nd. So you've got a bit to dither if you're not sure about any of this.
How long will I have to get my stuff in the mail? Your things should be in the mail by August 2nd. You'll have a full month to acquire and send off your loot.
How will you be choosing who gets matched with whom? It'll be random, but narrowed down by some criteria (like, if you're not in the U.S., I'm only going to be matching you with people who are cool with mailing stuff overseas). And if there's an uneven number of people or the math otherwise doesn't work out, I'll take up the slack.
I have other questions! Also, opinions! This is what comments are for. Also, updating this page as I figure out more stuff I need to say. Whee? I'll try to be responsive to questions and concerns.
Sounds awesome. How do I sign up? That's simple. Send an email to lrig.rorrim at gmail.com with the subject line "Summer Gift Exchange Sign-up" and containing the following information:
1. Your full mailing address
2. Your preferred email address
3. Your user name (just in case it's not obvious to me from your email)
4. Whether you're able to mail stuff outside the U.S.
5. Any details about yourself that wouldn't be easily gleaned from your profile page (if you really don't want baked goods because you're diabetic, any allergies, strong preferences for or against a certain kind of gift, favorite color, whatever you want your gift giver to know)
~~~
Participants:
lrig_rorrim
kickthehobbit
roina_arwen
kajel
rswndrlst
reckless_blues
eska818
n3m3sis43
x_disturbed_x
beeker121
LaBelleIzzy
banyangirl1832
tai823
adoptedwriter
~~~
note: You should get an email from me within a day (usually much quicker, but there will be some traveling this week) to let you know I got your sign-up, and then you'll appear on the list here. If you don't get that email, feel free to poke me here in comments to make sure I haven't missed it or sorted it into the wrong place somehow.
Why? Because getting nice stuff in the mail is a pleasant experience. Because sending surprise gifts to other people is fun. Because it's a fun way to build connections in the community. And because I want to.
Who can play? I've named it the totally unofficial LJ Idol summer gift exchange, but that "totally unoffocial" part also means that pretty much anyone can sign up and play. I'm going to be somewhat arbitrary and say that you should be a member of therealljidol to play, this time. There will be other iterations of this (presuming it doesn't lead to terrrrrible things, angst, and woe). I've run gift exchanges before, and I'll do so again. It's fun. But for now, be something to do with LJ Idol, and you're in.
What kind of gifts in the mail? Inexpensive ones! Again, being completely arbitrary, I'm setting the limit for gifts at $10. You can definitely spend less than that. You can make stuff yourself. You can send used books. You can send mixed CDs. You can send almost anything which you think your recipient will really like, so long as the cost is under $10.
How will this work? It's pretty easy. You sign up and give me a couple pertinent bits of information about yourself. I'll make a big list of all the participants at the bottom of this post and keep it updated. Once sign-ups are over, I send an email to you with the user name, mailing address, and any other relevant details about the person you're assigned to make happy with mailed goodies. You acquire and mail goodies, and receive goodies from another person, in a timely fashion. Tada!
Who will know my mailing address? Me, and the person I match you up with. And you, presumably. I mean, maybe you block it out to keep the information on the whereabouts of your secret lair safe and unknowable, but I think that would cause logistical difficulties. And I promise I won't send ninjas to your lair. I mean, unless you're matched with me for getting gifts, in which case, mwahahahaha and all that.
Can I participate if I live somewhere outside the U.S.? Sure. Just keep in mind that a) most of the participants are probably going to be in the states, and b) shipping costs will be higher for folks, both to and from your location. It'll also take a bit longer to get your stuff to you.
How long will sign-ups be open? Sign-ups will be closed next Tuesday, July 1st. Everyone who has signed up will receive the name and address of their intended gift recipient by next Wednesday, July 2nd. So you've got a bit to dither if you're not sure about any of this.
How long will I have to get my stuff in the mail? Your things should be in the mail by August 2nd. You'll have a full month to acquire and send off your loot.
How will you be choosing who gets matched with whom? It'll be random, but narrowed down by some criteria (like, if you're not in the U.S., I'm only going to be matching you with people who are cool with mailing stuff overseas). And if there's an uneven number of people or the math otherwise doesn't work out, I'll take up the slack.
I have other questions! Also, opinions! This is what comments are for. Also, updating this page as I figure out more stuff I need to say. Whee? I'll try to be responsive to questions and concerns.
Sounds awesome. How do I sign up? That's simple. Send an email to lrig.rorrim at gmail.com with the subject line "Summer Gift Exchange Sign-up" and containing the following information:
1. Your full mailing address
2. Your preferred email address
3. Your user name (just in case it's not obvious to me from your email)
4. Whether you're able to mail stuff outside the U.S.
5. Any details about yourself that wouldn't be easily gleaned from your profile page (if you really don't want baked goods because you're diabetic, any allergies, strong preferences for or against a certain kind of gift, favorite color, whatever you want your gift giver to know)
~~~
Participants:
lrig_rorrim
kickthehobbit
roina_arwen
kajel
rswndrlst
reckless_blues
eska818
n3m3sis43
x_disturbed_x
beeker121
LaBelleIzzy
banyangirl1832
tai823
adoptedwriter
~~~
note: You should get an email from me within a day (usually much quicker, but there will be some traveling this week) to let you know I got your sign-up, and then you'll appear on the list here. If you don't get that email, feel free to poke me here in comments to make sure I haven't missed it or sorted it into the wrong place somehow.