2011 Forum Secret Santa - Sign up by November 12!
Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2011 7:10 pm
2011 Forum Secret Santa - Sign up by November 12!
Since 2003, Secret Santa has been a great way for active DVDizzy.com/UltimateDisney.com forum members to exchange gifts with one another. Each person who participates is assigned a forum member that they will get a present for, and each person is likewise assigned to a (usually) different forum member who will get a present for them. The assignments are random, and people are encouraged to spend around $20 on their gift(s). This is not a firm guideline, and with the possibility of having to ship something internationally, you may find yourself spending a little more than that. But it's a reasonable amount which should allow all active members of this community to participate if interested.
I'm initiating one minor change this year. Anyone placing an order online to ship directly to your assigned recipient's address is required to also send an actual card or note in the mail. Such a personal touch has always been strongly encouraged in the past, but it is now mandatory. I have no problem with online orders going straight to your recipient. It saves money, it saves effort, and I'm all for minimizing your time at the post office this season. But the human contact is a huge part of what makes this special and without it, everyone might as well just buy an item off their wish list for themselves. In addition, gift certificates are strongly discouraged.
If you are interested in participating in this year's Secret Santa, send an e-mail to santa@ultimatedisney.com with
1) your full name and mailing address
2) your forum name
3) what holiday you celebrate
The deadline to sign up is Saturday, November 12. If I don't have your e-mail by the end of that day (Pacific Time), you won't be able to participate. The random assignments will occur sometime shortly thereafter, and you should know who you'll be getting a gift for by Friday, November 18 at the latest. As has always been the case, I'll be coordinating the assignments entirely by myself and no one else will know any of the random matchups. There is to be no trading of assignments; if you are assigned someone you don't know much about, then this is the perfect way to get to know your fellow forum poster better!
Regular forum members are encouraged to participate, no matter what part of the world they may live. Every year, we get at least a few Europeans participating without problems. If you're a minor (under 18 years of age), you're welcome to join in the fun, but you must have a parent's permission to participate. An active forum member is one who posts on a regular basis, has successfully participated in Secret Santa in the past, or has long been in good standing here. To manage this smoothly and efficiently, we can only have a limited number of participants. If you've just recently registered or have only posted a handful of times, you'll definitely want to get to know the forum and its members much better before doing this anyway.
It almost goes without saying that anyone who signs up for Secret Santa and doesn't deliver a present to their assigned recipient will be banned from the forum. It happened a couple of times in the past and those members were and still are banned, but we've been lucky enough to not have this be an issue in many years.
Those who have participated in Secret Santa in past years will tell you it's a lot of fun and perhaps the most fun thing about being a forum member here. If you have any questions, you are encouraged to post them here. If you wish to participate, please don't hesitate in signing up.
Once we know who's participating for sure, I'll start a wish list thread. There, you'll be able to post a list of interests/favorites or specific things you'd like to get. Alternatively, you can post a link to lists of the DVDs, Blu-rays, or CDs you have for people to get an idea for something they think you might like.
Since 2003, Secret Santa has been a great way for active DVDizzy.com/UltimateDisney.com forum members to exchange gifts with one another. Each person who participates is assigned a forum member that they will get a present for, and each person is likewise assigned to a (usually) different forum member who will get a present for them. The assignments are random, and people are encouraged to spend around $20 on their gift(s). This is not a firm guideline, and with the possibility of having to ship something internationally, you may find yourself spending a little more than that. But it's a reasonable amount which should allow all active members of this community to participate if interested.
I'm initiating one minor change this year. Anyone placing an order online to ship directly to your assigned recipient's address is required to also send an actual card or note in the mail. Such a personal touch has always been strongly encouraged in the past, but it is now mandatory. I have no problem with online orders going straight to your recipient. It saves money, it saves effort, and I'm all for minimizing your time at the post office this season. But the human contact is a huge part of what makes this special and without it, everyone might as well just buy an item off their wish list for themselves. In addition, gift certificates are strongly discouraged.
If you are interested in participating in this year's Secret Santa, send an e-mail to santa@ultimatedisney.com with
1) your full name and mailing address
2) your forum name
3) what holiday you celebrate
The deadline to sign up is Saturday, November 12. If I don't have your e-mail by the end of that day (Pacific Time), you won't be able to participate. The random assignments will occur sometime shortly thereafter, and you should know who you'll be getting a gift for by Friday, November 18 at the latest. As has always been the case, I'll be coordinating the assignments entirely by myself and no one else will know any of the random matchups. There is to be no trading of assignments; if you are assigned someone you don't know much about, then this is the perfect way to get to know your fellow forum poster better!
Regular forum members are encouraged to participate, no matter what part of the world they may live. Every year, we get at least a few Europeans participating without problems. If you're a minor (under 18 years of age), you're welcome to join in the fun, but you must have a parent's permission to participate. An active forum member is one who posts on a regular basis, has successfully participated in Secret Santa in the past, or has long been in good standing here. To manage this smoothly and efficiently, we can only have a limited number of participants. If you've just recently registered or have only posted a handful of times, you'll definitely want to get to know the forum and its members much better before doing this anyway.
It almost goes without saying that anyone who signs up for Secret Santa and doesn't deliver a present to their assigned recipient will be banned from the forum. It happened a couple of times in the past and those members were and still are banned, but we've been lucky enough to not have this be an issue in many years.
Those who have participated in Secret Santa in past years will tell you it's a lot of fun and perhaps the most fun thing about being a forum member here. If you have any questions, you are encouraged to post them here. If you wish to participate, please don't hesitate in signing up.
Once we know who's participating for sure, I'll start a wish list thread. There, you'll be able to post a list of interests/favorites or specific things you'd like to get. Alternatively, you can post a link to lists of the DVDs, Blu-rays, or CDs you have for people to get an idea for something they think you might like.
