Yeah I was wondering if we're gonna even have a Secret Santa this year. I've hadn't seen BubblyWums around here at all since my return and I remember she was setting it up like last October.

So...I was thinking that maybe I or one of us to start the event for this year or shall we wait and see if Jen will come around to start it?

Actually I made uo my mind that this year I shall start on Secret Santa 2011. Just allow me a little time to organize the rules and guidelines. Also can someone be kind to link me to the old Secret Santa 2010 blog so I can go by it?

Hey all! As you know, I had brought up the idea of having a Secret Santa for this season and with the one who used to host the event being away, I had taken up responsibility to host it.

Please sumbit your infomation to alexa.wallace@maine.edu.

What is Secret Santa?
"Secret Santa is a holiday tradition in which members of a group are randomly assigned other members to whom they anonymously give a gift. It offers a way for many people to give and receive a gift at low cost to those involved."


How do I participate?
Sign ups are currently avaliable from November, 12th to December 1st. After the sign ups, you will all have about a month until December 31st to send your gifts to your designated person.

In order to sign up to be part of Secret Santa, simply leave a comment below with the following form filled out:

Name: The name you want to be called/your nickname.
Email: Your main email address to be contacted by.
Accepting mailed gifts: Yes/No, and by mailed I mean snail mail

If you are accepting mailed gifts, please email your address to alexa.wallace@maine.edu before 12/1. PLEASE include your TEF username or I won't know who you are!

On top of signing up, it is encourage that you create a wish list. In your wish list, you can include what your deer(s) looks like, things you would like to receive, things that you like in general so that if your Secret Santa does not know you very well (which is a possibility considering the size of our community), they can still give you an appropriate gift. You can write a wish list in a separate diary entry and link it to me in the comments, or write a small wish list in the comments below.

When does it start and end?
Secret Santa will officially start November,12th. This is when I will send out names to everyone, and this will give you plenty of time to complete your gift. For obvious reasons, please keep who you have a secret until Christmas day. It is advised that you finish your gift by the 21st of December but with the lateness on the start of this event, I shall allow a time period after the holiday up to December,31st to finish and give. If you are mailing the gift, make sure you have calculated how much time you will need for shipping in order for it to arrive by Christmas.

Start: November 12
Finish: December 31

How do I send my gift?

If your gift does NOT need to be mailed, you may send it as a note, email it, and/or upload it to the community website if it is art.

If your gift must be mailed, please email me at alexa.wallace@maine.edu and I will give you your persons address. DO NOT make gifts that need to be mailed if the person is not giving out their address. To check if the person you are giving a gift to is accepting mailed gifts, check in the comments below.

When you do send your gift, please send me an email/message letting me know that you have sent your gift, so I can keep track of who has not given their gift.

Remember, you have made a commitment, and realize that failing to send a gift will disqualify you from any future events, if you do not have a legitimate reason. Everyone must send a gift in order to receive one.

In Conclusion...

1. Sign up.
1a. Make a wish list.
2. Get your Secret Santa.
3. Make/purchase your gift.
4. Send your gift on Christmas day (or before then).
5. Let me know you have sent your gift.
6. Receive your gift!

I shall start to make separate lists of mailed and non mailed gifts once I have enough

Ok...now everyone, feel free to make your lists and sigh up and lets make this event really showing everyone's holiday spirit