Hello!
The first Brickset Secret Santa was held last year with great success, and as such it is happening again this year, so welcome to the 2014 Brickset Secret Santa thread!
Just in case anyone is not sure what a Secret Santa is, here is a quick definition for you courtesy of the OED:
A system whereby each participant is randomly assigned another participant for whom to buy a Christmas present at an agreed cost, so that each member buys one present and receives one present.The rules of the Brickset Secret Santa are as follows:- The guide price for the cost of a gift is £15 or $20 (USD and CAD).
- Wish lists are welcome, so please send that with your initial message if you would like to include one, or simply make your Brickset 'wanted list' public.
- MOCs are also welcome as long as the total part value roughly corresponds with the guide prices given above.
- Please either wrap the gift before packaging it or indicate on the box that the contents are not wrapped.
- Please ensure that your gift is sent in time for Christmas, final posting dates for each country are available online.
To be a part of it is very simple:- Sign up to be included by sending a PM with your username and mailing address to the organiser in your country.
- Your Brickset ID will then be entered into a draw.
- On the 21st of November names will be drawn.
- Within a day or two of the draw, everyone who entered will be PMed with the name and address of the person they have been assigned to buy a gift for.
- Purchase a gift, adhering to the cost guidelines.
- Send the gift, keeping in mind that it should arrive in time for Christmas.
- If all goes according to plan, everybody will receive their gift before Christmas!
The closing date for signing up to the 2014 Brickset Secret Santa is midnight on the 20th of November.For the sake of simplicity we have decided to divide the exchange into two, in the UK and North America. This should keep postage costs to a minimum as I am told even posting across the border between the US and Canada is fairly inexpensive.
If you are in another country and wish to take part, you are welcome to contact either one of the organisers given below, and we will try to add you to one of the two main participant lists.
So, if you would like to join in, simply send a message with your shipping address and wanted list (or a link to your wanted list on the main Brickset site) to the relevant contact in your area:
North America -
@rancorbait United Kingdom -
@CapnRex101 You can check
last year's thread to get some inspiration by looking over some of the gifts given in 2013 (pages 4-7). As you can see there is a lot of fun to be had, so hopefully we can exceed the worldwide total of 51 participants set last year!
If anyone has any problems, please contact us.
Comments
Sooooo... PM sent!
:oD
PM sent @CapnRex101
:oP
;oP
;oP
....
:o)
Is the guide price the total cost to you or the value of the set(s)? There are plenty of bargain hunters here who could stretch £15/$20 a long way!
The guide price is the total cost to you (excluding postage). If you can grab a $100 set for $20, that would be great! Everyone has an equal chance of getting such a good deal so that is fair game.
Can we open our gifts before Christmas?
This is up to you. Gifts can be opened any time, although we appreciate seeing photos of what you received on this thread whenever you open it!
Do we reveal who Santa was at the end?
This is also up to you. If you want to reveal who you purchased for, you are welcome to.
Where can I post my wanted list?
You can either include that in a PM to one of the organisers or simply make your wanted list public on the main Brickset website (like this).
What if my recipient has not provided a wanted list?
This usually means they want a surprise, so perhaps it would be best to try to find something as wacky as possible!
What if I cannot get anything on my recipient's wanted list?
In this case it is also a good idea to try to buy something unusual, or even build a MOC for them if you have the time!
Maybe something Christmas or Super Hero themed.
Has anyone ever unknowingly purchased something from a Bricklink store as a Secret Santa gift for the store owner, without realising until they read the store owners address?
Though, that said, I'm not sure that many members here have stores.
Than they will either take it away with them or just leave it outside the door. They very rarely take it to the neighbours for you to pick up, which'd be the sensible thing...
So I can say I would like to know the approx date of my parcel...it may spoil the surprise a bit, but at it'd still be a better surprise than finding it under the soggy doormat a week later. :P
[Edit] - D'oh, but of course, I'll be back in Reading by then. Never mind...;-)
:-P
I will make the draw tomorrow morning and assignments will be going out after that. If you have not received instructions by Sunday, contact me by way of a reminder :o)