Blacknwhitepit
Well-known member
Ladies and Gents, We are opening the Secret Santa a little early this year to commemorate something…. The something is what has been done at this very special site…. It is that five years ago, we began a tradition of giving to others that continues to this day. The Spirit of Christmas. I never thought that there would ever be a second or third Garage Journal Secret Santa….
Quite frankly I was a different person at that time…. To confess…. I was just back from Iraq from my 2nd tour of duty and wanted to believe in something again… let’s leave it at that…. No political…
But I wanted to remember the happiness that I felt when I opened that present under that tree when I was young and had NO IDEA what could be in that box… Secret Santa was started to believe in a goodness of man, a trust in others and something that was special….
How to be involved:
Secret Santa this year will only be for Senior members... Those who have over 100 posts....
There are two exceptions.
1. Alliance members in current good standing can join regardless of post count.
2. Those who are not senior members can participate by having five (5) senior members vouch for their character and belief that they are genuine in their fulfillment of their word and will send a genuine gift.
I would also like to clarify what the value of the gift should be..... There has never been a set monetary low or high limit.... What the gift should be is something that the member recipient should use, cherish and remember.... It is highly encouraged to read through your recipients posts and to try to figure out what he/she would use and enjoy.
Give what you can.... Give within your means.... If you have the means, then by all means...... I'll leave it at that....
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1. Post here that you are in
2. On the 30th of November at 8PM EST I will gather all the participants names and put them in a hat and draw random names. Secret Santas are not reciprocal, meaning the member you are Secret Santa for is not necessarily your Secret Santa (Completely random, but it may happen). That night, (or morning) I will PM you back with who you are the Secret Santa for.
3. You should try to have your Secret Santa Gift to your recipient by the 20th of December.
4. Mark your parcel in some way with Secret Santa so the member doesn't inadvertently open it. It is OK to include your name in a place so when the package is opened on Christmas, the person can know who it was from.
5. When you get your package, post a pic of it by the tree, upside down tree, menorah or what have you.
6. If you participate, you must be willing to ship to our overseas members.
7. When you get the name of your member, it may be helpful to review his posts and find his likes and dislikes. This can be exhausting and difficult, but it makes it part of the fun!
8. When Christmas day comes, we post what our Secret Santas got us.
9....
Make sure you PM me with your address!!! Cant do this without an address........!!!!!!!
I will periodically list members who are participating and put an asterisk next to their name if I have their info. If you don't have an asterisk by your name, then I don't have your contact info.
******** All I ask is that if you do commit to this, then please follow through. If for some reason you decide to back out, let me know as soon as possible and arrangements can be made so someone isn't left out. Every year we have people who cover for the one or two jerks who commit to the event and then disappear. ************
This is done with the spirit of giving in the holiday season, So I try to remember that we are doing pretty well considering the volume of members that do participate and have a great time, it is just a small few who make it difficult.
Quite frankly I was a different person at that time…. To confess…. I was just back from Iraq from my 2nd tour of duty and wanted to believe in something again… let’s leave it at that…. No political…
But I wanted to remember the happiness that I felt when I opened that present under that tree when I was young and had NO IDEA what could be in that box… Secret Santa was started to believe in a goodness of man, a trust in others and something that was special….
How to be involved:
Secret Santa this year will only be for Senior members... Those who have over 100 posts....
There are two exceptions.
1. Alliance members in current good standing can join regardless of post count.
2. Those who are not senior members can participate by having five (5) senior members vouch for their character and belief that they are genuine in their fulfillment of their word and will send a genuine gift.
I would also like to clarify what the value of the gift should be..... There has never been a set monetary low or high limit.... What the gift should be is something that the member recipient should use, cherish and remember.... It is highly encouraged to read through your recipients posts and to try to figure out what he/she would use and enjoy.
Give what you can.... Give within your means.... If you have the means, then by all means...... I'll leave it at that....
******************************************************************
1. Post here that you are in
2. On the 30th of November at 8PM EST I will gather all the participants names and put them in a hat and draw random names. Secret Santas are not reciprocal, meaning the member you are Secret Santa for is not necessarily your Secret Santa (Completely random, but it may happen). That night, (or morning) I will PM you back with who you are the Secret Santa for.
3. You should try to have your Secret Santa Gift to your recipient by the 20th of December.
4. Mark your parcel in some way with Secret Santa so the member doesn't inadvertently open it. It is OK to include your name in a place so when the package is opened on Christmas, the person can know who it was from.
5. When you get your package, post a pic of it by the tree, upside down tree, menorah or what have you.
6. If you participate, you must be willing to ship to our overseas members.
7. When you get the name of your member, it may be helpful to review his posts and find his likes and dislikes. This can be exhausting and difficult, but it makes it part of the fun!
8. When Christmas day comes, we post what our Secret Santas got us.
9....
Make sure you PM me with your address!!! Cant do this without an address........!!!!!!!
I will periodically list members who are participating and put an asterisk next to their name if I have their info. If you don't have an asterisk by your name, then I don't have your contact info.
******** All I ask is that if you do commit to this, then please follow through. If for some reason you decide to back out, let me know as soon as possible and arrangements can be made so someone isn't left out. Every year we have people who cover for the one or two jerks who commit to the event and then disappear. ************
This is done with the spirit of giving in the holiday season, So I try to remember that we are doing pretty well considering the volume of members that do participate and have a great time, it is just a small few who make it difficult.
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