2005 Ultimate Disney Forum Secret Santa - Sign up by Nov. 11
Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 3:33 pm
Near the end of the last two years, a number of regular UltimateDisney.com forum members participated in a fun holiday gift exchange widely referred to as "Secret Santa." The wait for 2005 can now end, with the posting of this, the official 2005 UltimateDisney.com Forum Secret Santa thread! Things worked quite well the first year and almost perfectly last year, so I don't think there's too much that needs to be changed. Nonetheless, here is all the information you should need to decide if this is something in which you'd like to participate. Should any questions arise, feel free to post them right here.
The UltimateDisney.com Forum Secret Santa is a way for regular forum members to exchange a couple of gifts with one another. Each person who participates is assigned a forum member that they will get a present for, and they too are assigned to a forum member. The assignments are random, and people are encouraged to spend about $20 on their gift(s). This is not a strict 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 range which should allow all who enjoy being part of this community to participate if they are interested.
I'll start a wish list thread once we know who's participating for sure. There, you'll be able to post a list of interests/favorites or things you'd like to get. Alternatively, you can post a link to the DVDs or CDs you have for people to get an idea for something they think you might like.
Gift certificates are acceptable, but discouraged. It's much more fun if you put thought and pick out something for your assigned recipient. If you do decide to go the gift certificate route, or order online and have it shipped to your recipient's address, a personal touch (like sending a card, in addition) would probably be a very good idea.
If you are interested in participating, send an e-mail to santa@ultimatedisney.com with
1) your full name and address
2) your forum name
3) what holiday you celebrate
The deadline to sign up is Friday, November 11. The random assignments will occur sometime that later that week, and you should know who you'll be getting a gift for by Monday, November 14 at the very latest. As has been the case the past two years, I'll be coordinating the assignments entirely by myself and no one else will know any of the random matchups. There is no trading of assignments permitted; if you are assigned someone you don't know much about, then this is the perfect way to get to know your fellow UD Forum poster better!
Regular forum members are encouraged to participate, no matter what part of the world you're from. Last year, we had a couple of Antarcticans! No, but seriously, plenty of Europeans partook and I hope we can get even more international representation this year. If you're a minor ( under 18 ), you're welcome to join in the fun, but you'll have to get your parents' permission to participate.
We'll try to set December 9th (<i>Narnia</i> Day in the US) as the deadline to get gifts shipped out. While most who are participating are located in America, there will likely be some from Europe, maybe even Australia, or Zimbabwe. Obviously, shipping internationally will take longer and of course, it's always better to err on the side of "too early" than "too late." If you get assigned someone from afar, you should aim to mail out ahead of the deadline if possible.
As usual, this Secret Santa is open to regular forum members. Are you one of those? If you're reading this, there's a good chance you are. It will be up to the disgression of myself and other moderators to determine if you can participate in this. While that may sound a bit fascist, it's really not. The only reason anyone might be denied entry is to ensure that everyone has a good time. Anyone who has posted with some regularity and has joined the forum earlier than say, this September, should be fine to partake. If you've only joined in the past couple of months, or have only posted a handful of times, then you probably want to get to know the forum and its members better before doing something like this anyway. The first year of doing this, we had one deadbeat who thought it would be like totally cool to get a present at a PO Box and like totally not send anything out himself, coming up with lots of excuses. He go bye-bye! We had no problems whatsoever last year and I don't expect any this year. If your idea of holiday fun is cheating someone out of a present and not giving something to the person you're assigned, you can be sure that you will no longer be a part of this forum. In the unlikely event that you get stiffed, let me know, and I'll make sure you don't come away empty-handed.
I've tried to cover all the bases and hope I haven't scared interested parties away. Ask anyone who participated in this either year and most are bound to tell you it's a lot of fun. Once again, if you have any questions, posting them here is a good idea, as opposed to say PMing the site admin.
In 2003, we had 12 people. In 2004, we had 22. I may install a cap on how many people can join, but I'm hopeful we can make this even bigger and better than last year. Once again, if you are definitely interested in participating:
E-mail santa@ultimatedisney.com with
1) your full name and address
2) your forum name
3) what holiday you celebrate
<center>
Yay! Secret Santa! Yay! 
</center>
The UltimateDisney.com Forum Secret Santa is a way for regular forum members to exchange a couple of gifts with one another. Each person who participates is assigned a forum member that they will get a present for, and they too are assigned to a forum member. The assignments are random, and people are encouraged to spend about $20 on their gift(s). This is not a strict 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 range which should allow all who enjoy being part of this community to participate if they are interested.
I'll start a wish list thread once we know who's participating for sure. There, you'll be able to post a list of interests/favorites or things you'd like to get. Alternatively, you can post a link to the DVDs or CDs you have for people to get an idea for something they think you might like.
Gift certificates are acceptable, but discouraged. It's much more fun if you put thought and pick out something for your assigned recipient. If you do decide to go the gift certificate route, or order online and have it shipped to your recipient's address, a personal touch (like sending a card, in addition) would probably be a very good idea.
If you are interested in participating, send an e-mail to santa@ultimatedisney.com with
1) your full name and address
2) your forum name
3) what holiday you celebrate
The deadline to sign up is Friday, November 11. The random assignments will occur sometime that later that week, and you should know who you'll be getting a gift for by Monday, November 14 at the very latest. As has been the case the past two years, I'll be coordinating the assignments entirely by myself and no one else will know any of the random matchups. There is no trading of assignments permitted; if you are assigned someone you don't know much about, then this is the perfect way to get to know your fellow UD Forum poster better!
Regular forum members are encouraged to participate, no matter what part of the world you're from. Last year, we had a couple of Antarcticans! No, but seriously, plenty of Europeans partook and I hope we can get even more international representation this year. If you're a minor ( under 18 ), you're welcome to join in the fun, but you'll have to get your parents' permission to participate.
We'll try to set December 9th (<i>Narnia</i> Day in the US) as the deadline to get gifts shipped out. While most who are participating are located in America, there will likely be some from Europe, maybe even Australia, or Zimbabwe. Obviously, shipping internationally will take longer and of course, it's always better to err on the side of "too early" than "too late." If you get assigned someone from afar, you should aim to mail out ahead of the deadline if possible.
As usual, this Secret Santa is open to regular forum members. Are you one of those? If you're reading this, there's a good chance you are. It will be up to the disgression of myself and other moderators to determine if you can participate in this. While that may sound a bit fascist, it's really not. The only reason anyone might be denied entry is to ensure that everyone has a good time. Anyone who has posted with some regularity and has joined the forum earlier than say, this September, should be fine to partake. If you've only joined in the past couple of months, or have only posted a handful of times, then you probably want to get to know the forum and its members better before doing something like this anyway. The first year of doing this, we had one deadbeat who thought it would be like totally cool to get a present at a PO Box and like totally not send anything out himself, coming up with lots of excuses. He go bye-bye! We had no problems whatsoever last year and I don't expect any this year. If your idea of holiday fun is cheating someone out of a present and not giving something to the person you're assigned, you can be sure that you will no longer be a part of this forum. In the unlikely event that you get stiffed, let me know, and I'll make sure you don't come away empty-handed.
I've tried to cover all the bases and hope I haven't scared interested parties away. Ask anyone who participated in this either year and most are bound to tell you it's a lot of fun. Once again, if you have any questions, posting them here is a good idea, as opposed to say PMing the site admin.
In 2003, we had 12 people. In 2004, we had 22. I may install a cap on how many people can join, but I'm hopeful we can make this even bigger and better than last year. Once again, if you are definitely interested in participating:
E-mail santa@ultimatedisney.com with
1) your full name and address
2) your forum name
3) what holiday you celebrate
<center>
Yay! Secret Santa! Yay! </center>
giving away who she was. BTW Costco didn't have Gargoyles Season One.
i love secret santa 
You don't get to unwrap! 
