Secret Santa Gift Exchange and Holiday Card Exchange
Yep, that's right -- it's that time again! Time to share the joy and warmth of the holidays with the Secret Santa Gift Exchange and Holiday Card Exchange! :D I don't know how many people even visit this site any more but this is an event that has been popular in the past and I'm not about to let the tradition die! This community deserves a Mega-awesome holiday and we're going to make it one! :D But before I get to the rules etc. I need to call attention to one very important rule first:
Only sign up to participate if you intend and are able to send something in return. Let me put this another way as well: If you plan to receive something, send something. It is VERY unfair to everyone else if you sign up to participate, receive gifts and/or cards, but send out nothing. Now I understand that sometimes Life doesn't play out as we might wish; we may sign up fully intending to participate but then emergencies come up or paychecks fall through or any of a hundred different things that might force us to change our plans arise and that's fine -- BUT if something like this happens, please let me know BEFORE the e-mails go out, ESPECIALLY if you're participating in the Gift Exchange. It's only fair to ALL involved that if they spend their time and money (a luxury many of us may not have) to send out a gift to someone that they should have the joy of receiving one as well. If you sign up to participate, please hold up your end of the deal and send something out -- or at least let me know before the participation deadline (Saturday, December 1) that you can no longer participate so I can make sure everyone gets paired off with someone and no one gets left out. Let's make this fair and fun for all! :D Thank you.
OK, now, on to the fun! Everyone is welcome to participate regardless of country! I don't want to restrict this to the U.S. only; everyone is welcome to spread some holiday cheer! So don't let your location hinder you -- we'll have participants from all over the globe! Participation is simple! (As both the Secret Santa gift exchange and holiday card exchange require physical addresses to which stuff can be mailed, please get permission from your parents to participate if necessary. Thank you!) Here's how it works:
Send a PM or e-mail (megamind[AT]nycap.rr.com) to me with your name, an e-mail address I can use to send the final list to, your address, and whether you want to participate in the Secret Santa gift exchange, the card exchange, or both. If participating in the Secret Santa gift exchange, please also include a few suggestions for gift types you might like. It's that easy! I will accept entries for both until Saturday, December 1 at midnight Eastern Standard Time (I'm choosing this date so that participants in both events will have a few weeks in which to send out their cards/gifts so they will arrive at their destinations before Christmas Day, December 25 :D). On Sunday, December 2, I will send an e-mail to you with the information you'll need depending on which event you will be participating in!
The rules for the card exchange are simple: Everyone who participates in the card exchange will receive the addresses of everyone else participating, this way you can send cards to only a few on the list, or everyone! :D
The rules for the Secret Santa gift exchange are slightly more complex: There will be a $10.00 price limit on the gifts; this way no one person gets something super-expensive while others get less extravagant gifts. If anyone thinks the price cap should be raised or lowered, we can discuss it. I just want to try to make it fair for all involved. :) Homemade gifts are acceptable too if you get the itch to make something! (All I ask is that if it's Megamind related, like artwork, please scan it/take a photo of it and post it to the comm after your recipient receives it in case they are unable to do so; this way the rest of us can share in the goodness! :P Please keep any artwork rated G though, in case the recipient is too young or simply not into smut. :P) The key here is to have fun! The recipients will have no idea who their Secret Santa is until they receive your package in the mail! That said, here's how the names will be paired for the Secret Santa gift exchange: On December 2, after I've gathered all the participating names together, I will throw them all in a hat and draw names at random. First name drawn will give a gift to the second name drawn, second name drawn will give a gift to the third name drawn and so forth, with the final name drawn giving a gift to the first. This way everyone gets one gift and no one knows who's getting who what! ;D However, if you could send me a few suggestions for things you might like along with your interest in participating I can forward those ideas to your Secret Santa so they'll be able to better personalize their shopping for you! <3
And there you have it! This should be easy enough to organize, and loads of fun to participate in! I, myself, will be participating in both the Secret Santa gift exchange and the card exchange! Let the fun begin! :D Happy Holidays, Everyone! <3
Only sign up to participate if you intend and are able to send something in return. Let me put this another way as well: If you plan to receive something, send something. It is VERY unfair to everyone else if you sign up to participate, receive gifts and/or cards, but send out nothing. Now I understand that sometimes Life doesn't play out as we might wish; we may sign up fully intending to participate but then emergencies come up or paychecks fall through or any of a hundred different things that might force us to change our plans arise and that's fine -- BUT if something like this happens, please let me know BEFORE the e-mails go out, ESPECIALLY if you're participating in the Gift Exchange. It's only fair to ALL involved that if they spend their time and money (a luxury many of us may not have) to send out a gift to someone that they should have the joy of receiving one as well. If you sign up to participate, please hold up your end of the deal and send something out -- or at least let me know before the participation deadline (Saturday, December 1) that you can no longer participate so I can make sure everyone gets paired off with someone and no one gets left out. Let's make this fair and fun for all! :D Thank you.
OK, now, on to the fun! Everyone is welcome to participate regardless of country! I don't want to restrict this to the U.S. only; everyone is welcome to spread some holiday cheer! So don't let your location hinder you -- we'll have participants from all over the globe! Participation is simple! (As both the Secret Santa gift exchange and holiday card exchange require physical addresses to which stuff can be mailed, please get permission from your parents to participate if necessary. Thank you!) Here's how it works:
Send a PM or e-mail (megamind[AT]nycap.rr.com) to me with your name, an e-mail address I can use to send the final list to, your address, and whether you want to participate in the Secret Santa gift exchange, the card exchange, or both. If participating in the Secret Santa gift exchange, please also include a few suggestions for gift types you might like. It's that easy! I will accept entries for both until Saturday, December 1 at midnight Eastern Standard Time (I'm choosing this date so that participants in both events will have a few weeks in which to send out their cards/gifts so they will arrive at their destinations before Christmas Day, December 25 :D). On Sunday, December 2, I will send an e-mail to you with the information you'll need depending on which event you will be participating in!
The rules for the card exchange are simple: Everyone who participates in the card exchange will receive the addresses of everyone else participating, this way you can send cards to only a few on the list, or everyone! :D
The rules for the Secret Santa gift exchange are slightly more complex: There will be a $10.00 price limit on the gifts; this way no one person gets something super-expensive while others get less extravagant gifts. If anyone thinks the price cap should be raised or lowered, we can discuss it. I just want to try to make it fair for all involved. :) Homemade gifts are acceptable too if you get the itch to make something! (All I ask is that if it's Megamind related, like artwork, please scan it/take a photo of it and post it to the comm after your recipient receives it in case they are unable to do so; this way the rest of us can share in the goodness! :P Please keep any artwork rated G though, in case the recipient is too young or simply not into smut. :P) The key here is to have fun! The recipients will have no idea who their Secret Santa is until they receive your package in the mail! That said, here's how the names will be paired for the Secret Santa gift exchange: On December 2, after I've gathered all the participating names together, I will throw them all in a hat and draw names at random. First name drawn will give a gift to the second name drawn, second name drawn will give a gift to the third name drawn and so forth, with the final name drawn giving a gift to the first. This way everyone gets one gift and no one knows who's getting who what! ;D However, if you could send me a few suggestions for things you might like along with your interest in participating I can forward those ideas to your Secret Santa so they'll be able to better personalize their shopping for you! <3
And there you have it! This should be easy enough to organize, and loads of fun to participate in! I, myself, will be participating in both the Secret Santa gift exchange and the card exchange! Let the fun begin! :D Happy Holidays, Everyone! <3