Official 2018 Secret Santa Thread!
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IT IS THAT TIME OF THE YEAR FLYERTALKERS!
Greetings from your Flyertalk Secret Santa coordinator William (wharvey).
I am stepping forward for YEAR 16 of this event for the Flyertalk community. Hard to believe this tradition has continued for so long. I hope the community appreciates this experience. While I no longer personally participate in FT Secret Santa gift exchanges, this is my small way to return something to this tremendous community! I appreciate hearing about the gifts exchanges and the friendships established as a result of this event.
This is the official thread for the 2018 Secret Santa Extravaganza. Any questions or comments should be limited to this thread or private messaged to me and no other threads should be started.
Any private messages sent to me should have a subject of : <your FT handle> Secret Santa 2018. (and yes, you should replace “your FT handle” with your ACTUAL handle; that was an issue for some the last few years!) 
I hope many of you choose to participate in this years’ event. I would love to have lots of new faces joining in the festivities. Take the challenge to "recruit" one new FTer to join in the festivities this year! After you sign up, you will get the Santa icon in your profile to show that you are part of the festivities! Feel free to link your Signature to this thread!
While you are thinking about what to get for your FT "friend", consider also purchasing a gift for a child or making a donation to your favorite charity.
Please do not use your Secret Santa gift as your donation.
Below are the rules for the 2018 Secret Santa event:
1. Any questions on the Secret Santa process should be directed to me via this thread or via private message (please do not use email). Subject should always be: <your FT handle> Secret Santa 2018. (and yes, you should replace “your FT handle” with your ACTUAL handle)
I plan to respond through the PM system so make sure you have enabled that feature if you want to participate. I also recommend that you set up automatic email notification of messages.
2.
The expected minimum on your gift purchase is $50 USD and does NOT include shipping, tracking and packaging costs. Of course, I am sure no one will mind gifts of higher value or certain paper from airlines and hotels that are "priceless". I expect your gift to meet the $50 USD minimum. I do not enjoy dealing with members who get “cheated”. Again, this minimum is exclusive of shipping and packaging costs. Also, plan to send something personal to people; NOT donations on their behalf to a charity organization. This should be a minimum of $50 out-of-pocket; NOT a $50 item you got on clearance for $10! Please keep any receipts proving you met the minimum so we do not have an issue.
CONTINUED FROM LAST THIRTEEN SEASONS: If you are interested, you may volunteer to be a Secret Santa for up to five different Flyertalkers. If you sign up for one, two or five... it means you will also have one, two or five FTers with your name... UNDERSTAND, there is no guarantee for you to be assigned more than one person. Santa reserves final decision rights on this plan!! I also reserve the right to limit participation based on FT tenure or problems in years past. You may not receive all assignments at the same time. Be patient! Exception: Due to some problems in the past... if this is your first time participating, you can only sign up for one Santa.
This is my sixteenth year of running Secret Santa. While my memory and files are good, know that it is possible you may get someone again that you had before… I try to cross check… but too many people are involved to be 100% perfect. Feel free to tell me that info if you remember...
CONTINUED BY POPULAR DEMAND: Ever wished you got a specific person as your Secret person to gift? Now is your chance. Again this year, you can "request" particular individuals you would like to get assigned to you for your gift buying. No guarantee... but I will do my best.
3. Secret Santas have the option of remaining anonymous. I will not disclose names nor addresses of anyone who participates to anyone other than their Secret Santa. I expect that any information you receive from me will not be shared with anyone else.
4. The coordinator assumes no responsibility for delivery or non-delivery of gifts. I want this to be fun and hope that everyone who participates will have fun and get into the holiday spirit. Understand, however, that failure to deliver will result in your being denied participation in future years. I highly recommend that you "track" your gifts so we do not have issues of people saying they do not receive gifts you say you shipped.
EnglishSmoke, Bayhouse, Egoods, Iantolee, JEDP, Chang Hung, Babybuns29, AntinSeattle, HSXAgent, DEVIS, MarySunshine, Tfmpa, Jim_USAIR, Icorproadie, Adam100, Tokyotraveler, Mrstaralliance, Phoenixdude, Woodyth, fsfsfsfs, USA18DCA, Neuroid, Marcoua, RedwoodA320, Shayflyer11 and Merestarks are on Santa’s bad FTer list for failing to deliver gifts in the past even though they received gifts… so they will not be allowed to participate this year. In addition, delivering gifts more than 6 months after the holiday does not count as delivering. This has happened in the past, even to me. Everyone has a right to expect a gift during the holiday season.
If you cannot commit to this, do not participate. I also highly recommend that you include a delivery verification mechanism when you ship, that takes care of a lot of problems we have had in the past.
5. You must be registered on Flyertalk.com at the time you send your private message. IF you are a lurker, you must register on Flyertalk.com before becoming a Secret Santa participant. You may also want to click and post in one of the "Who We Are" threads and introduce yourself to the Flyertalk Community and give your Santa some clues. In addition, you must have Private Messaging enabled, I do not plan to communicate via email.
6. Deadline to participate is
November 24th, 2018 at 5 pm Athens, Georgia USA time. If you wish to participate, you MUST send a PRIVATE MESSAGE to me through the FT system. Subject Line: <your FT handle> Secret Santa 2018. For example, it should say "wharvey Secret Santa 2018" where you replace "wharvey" with your FT handle. In this private message, you must provide the following information and PLEASE answer the questions in the order provided below as that will help me input the data into my tracking documents. In fact, please just copy the questions below into the private message window and answer the questions. I make no promises of anyone getting into the process if they miss this date and do not follow the process as detailed.
a. Your full name (first and last name):
b. Your FULL mailing address for your gift. This address should be one where you can receive a package in December.
c. Your email address (must be verifiable):
d. Your Flyertalk handle:
e. Is this your first time participating in Secret Santa?:
f. Your Gender:
g. Maximum number of times you wish to participate: (1, 2, 3, 4, 5):
h: Specific FTer (if any) you would like assigned to you:
i. Some facts about yourself that might help your Secret Santa shop for your gift. Please make sure they are helpful hints... (DO not be shy... is there something particular you would like to get? Also be as specific as possible.
j. A "Yes" or "No" as to whether or not you are willing to send a gift outside your country. If at all possible, please be willing to ship out of your own country... especially for USA residents.
AGAIN, please help Santa out by using the SUBJECT LINE as requested.
If I receive enough participants early on, I may go ahead and match up members so you can get a head start on your gift buying. I would then provide a second match-up after the November 9th deadline. Santa has to get his rest in before the mad rush of the holiday season!
Please be sure to read Santa updates throughout this thread!!! I also encourage you to have fun and post in this thread often... tell us what you have gotten in the past, the fun you are having buying, anything related to this holiday event!
I am glad to step forward again this year and be your Secret Santa coordinator and hope you find it to be another wonderful experience of this great Flyertalk community.
NOTE: Do make sure you check in on this thread often... Santa announcements often get made here... and I do not want you to miss any of the updates! I recommend you subscribe to this thread.
William