Secret Santa 2016 Official Thread!
 

Official 2016 Secret Santa Thread!
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IT IS THAT TIME OF THE YEAR FLYERTALKERS!

I debated on whether to do this again.... but several messages from some of you convinced me to hit my head up against the wall and do this again!

Greetings from your Flyertalk Secret Santa coordinator William (wharvey).

A few of you already messaged me about this annual experience!

Santa is still hoping for a new job in the Athens area, so if you want to make him real happy…. Hire him! I can even travel or telecommute! :)

I am stepping forward for YEAR 14 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, 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 2016 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 2016. (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. If you do not have a particular charity in mind, please consider a Flyertalk sanctioned charity, such as Kiva. Please do not use your Secret Santa gift as your donation.

Below are the rules for the 2016 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 2016. (and yes, you should replace “your FT handle” with your ACTUAL handle) :p 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!

CONTINUED FROM LAST ELEVEN 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 fourteenth 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 and Neuroid are on Santa’s bad boy 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 the ""Who We Are" thread and introduce yourself to the Flyertalk Community and give your Santa some clues.

6. Deadline to participate is November 11th, 2016 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 2016. For example, it should say "wharvey Secret Santa 2016" 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: Specific FTer(s) you have been assigned in the past:

j. 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? From a particular airline, hotel, specific travel product?) Please provide real hints/clues to people about yourself. Also be as specific as possible.

k. 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 11th 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!

To read threads from previous years:

2015 Official Secret Santa Thread

2014 Official Secret Santa Thread

2013 Official Secret Santa Thread

2012 Official Secret Santa Thread

2011 Official Secret Santa Thread

2010 Official Secret Santa Thread

2009 Official Secret Santa Thread

2008 Official Secret Santa Thread

2007 Official Secret Santa Thread

2006 Official Secret Santa Thread

2005 Official Secret Santa Thread

2004 Official Secret Santa Thread

2003 Official Secret Santa Thread


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!

William

This post is where I will list all the members who are choosing to participate in Secret Santa.

If you are on this list, it means I received a Private Message from you that met the requirements.

This list reflects all Private Messages I have received that met the requirements as of the edit date at the bottom of this post. If you sent me a PM and are not on this list, it means you did not complete the submission properly. I am not sending personal messages out to correct, please read the instructions and resubmit. Most errors are in how the title of the PM is titled. Your handle should be FIRST... and it should be your FT handle, not wharvey! The number beside your handle is the number of gifts you committed to send. If this is your first time participating, you can only participate one time!

Thanks,

Santa

================================================== =================

3furballs - 1
Annexation - 3
Annielee - 1
Atomiclush - 1
Beautifuleva - 2
Bravada04 - 1
Bxian - 3
Canforce - 2
Catman - 1
CDTraveler - 2
Chink400 - 1
Ckidder331 - 5
Compubit - 3
CPH-Flyer - 2
DeepUnderground - 1
Devildawg1960 - 5
Dibby - 2
Diburning - 2
Dogdogcatcat - 1
Dogmatick - 1
Durberville - 3
Eliteweb - 4
Financialhippie - 1
Flyiboy - 2
Flyingcow - 3
Fnaime23 - 2
Fralcole - 1
Ginoa724 - 1
Glamette - 2
Grbflyer - 2
Gregor - 1
Gsegall - 3
Hockeymom93 - 2
Horizontal - 1
Jameslon - 5
Jamesteroh - 3
Jcrew7384 - 1
Jerjeffr - 1
Jetset09 - 1
Jinxy - 2
Jondabomb - 1
Kauppias - 3
Kevinflyaway - 2
Kipper - 3
Kolican - 1
Laguna1 - 1
Lakee911 - 1
Linzbh - 1
Lksf - 1
Lisabeth - 4
Malexander131 - 3
Mappingchick- 1
Marcia3641 - 2
Marcoua - 4
Mario02423 - 1
Mdovenmuehler - 2
Middle_Kingdom - 1
Miffsc - 3
Miko2a - 2
Milz02315 - 2
MissChele - 1
Missydarlin - 2
MrdPlus - 5
Nclaxx - 1
Nomadic.Relief - 2
Nwncl - 1
Nzqjyb - 1
Ohlradio - 2
Oliver2002 - 1
Onfo - 1
Onthewaytoadventure - 2
Pbjag - 2
Poohbear808 - 1
Poptarts - 1
Raheeezy - 1
Redhead - 5
RedwoodA320 - 1
Ricecakes - 1
Richard Chen - 1
Rockinron - 2
Runner123 - 1
Sahiljain22 - 1
Samosa - 2
SandraTravels - 3
Santina91 - 3
Scghost0 - 1
SDQBound - 1
Shutterbugguy - 1
Sperkins921 - 1
SteveHK - 4
Steveman518 - 3
Strawbearlyjamms - 1
TangoThree - 1
Tblack15 - 1
Tcl - 2
Thatguyatthebar - 1
Thehowieee - 2
Thetravelplaybook - 1
Thomas Sivapatham - 1
Tingadingling - 1
Token385- 1
TokyoFoodie - 5
Tpa-flyer - 1
Tzvilez - 4
Utpharmdoc - 3
Whherron - 1
Writergirllinds - 1
Yunicorner - 1
Yvrorange - 5
Zoui21 - 1

Hold for future Santa announcements!

Sept 30 - updated list of participants. Santa will be leaving for his delayed honeymoon trip next week.... so do not expect many updates until after October 25th.

Oct 26 - list of participants updated; let me know if your name should be listed. Sandra icons will be forthcoming.

Nov 11 - Santa assignments sent out

yes! the one and only!

ETA: I'm once again willing to help maintain the wiki, though of course it is unofficial

Good morning Boss (Santa). I'll wake up my sleeping Rip Van Winkle Elves and have them start preparing the Workshop. ;)

If you're new to Secret Santa, I'm here to assist anyone that has additional questions for their Santee. It's more fun when I ask additional questions, and this way you can remain Anonymous.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have something to do; and the Elves won't be happy when I wake them up. :D

HE53

If only the minimum was less than $50.. Well, gotta make sure everyone get's truly special gifts :D

I'm in! :D

Ricecakes, Secret Santa 2016, I am interested in joining, a newbie
 

[Personal information deleted by Moderator]

No longer needed.

I was wondering when this was going to get started again! Can't wait!

I'm in this year again as well!

Wishing you luck with a job in Athens! Does this make you an official Dawg now? ;)

Threw my hat in the ring again!

First time participating and certainly excited! Any tips from the veterans?

Question: last year a "lurker" was one of my gift recipients and they skipped out on their santa duties for sending their gift to whoever was supposed to be their recipient. This was quite disappointing not only to the other giftee but also to me as I put quite a bit of thought into my gift, only to realize later that I gave it to someone who didn't deserve it. Should've sent coal.

Should we consider having a minimum post count or some other mechanism to avoid this happening?

PM sent. This is my 5th year! Yay!

Don't think post count is a good metric for this... I'm a reader on FT, not a frequent poster, and I've avidly participated twice in SS. It's a highlight of my year!

I think there is this discussion every year. I don't think there should be a minimum post count, as it not only adds to wharvey's workload (checking post counts) but that isn't always a great metric.

I take this time to thank wharvey for organizing again, wow, what a commitment, know you must do it out of fun and happiness!

I also take this time to thank last year's gifter, my son loves the AF 77W & I loved Joe Sutter's book, they were awesome.

Pm sent, 2nd year :)

I have a suggestion for future years. Put in a link to the current thread in the prior years thread. i.e. put a link to this thread in the 2015 Secret Santa thread saying that the 2016 thread is open and next year when the 2017 thread starts put a link in this thread. That way secret santa participants from the prior year will know when the current year thread opens.

I found out about this thread on another travel blog. If there would have been a link in the 2015 thread anyone subscribed to that thread last year would have known about the 2016 secret santa thread

I assumed people would have unsubscribed to that thread by now!

Thanks again for organizing and best of luck in your job search

THANK YOU for organizing this again. It's been one of my favourite parts of the holidays for many years now.

I'm in for 5 - including international :) PM sent


Welcome to the fun! Be as detailed and specific as possible in your description of interests, etc. Don't just say that you like to travel (we all do! It's Flyertalk after all) but give descriptions of your hobbies, etc. Also, don't be afraid to say if there is something you don't like or don't want.

For example, I say that I love to cook but that I don't want any new cookbooks since I have about 100 and we can't have anything with nuts due to my daughter's allergies.

Last year was great! PM has been sent! I hope this year will be just as fun!

I have had a great time with this in the past. My daughter looks forward to when the packages come in the mail. I have sent my PM. Let the gift hunting begin.

I'm in again! Year 6 or 7 for me? I've lost track! (and I've never gotten Kipper after doing the max gifts every year HA HA!)

A couple of tips to new people. DO ensure you post back into the thread when you've received a gift and what it is. Not only do we enjoy seeing what other people got, but also to let your SS know you received your gift. If you can post in this thread when you've signed up, you should also post when you receive.

I have just signed up for the 3rd year running.

I am looking forward to another fun round of Secret Santa.

:D

If you look at the list of people who did not fulfill their commitments, several had high post counts.

I do my best to screen who participates and tweak the process each year. I do not think people realize the extensive effort it takes for me to run the process. It truly is a labor of love! Even though I enjoyed receiving gifts, I do not even participate anymore. I end out sending gifts to those who get slighted as several of you do.

No process is perfect but I do my best.

Besides, isn't the fun of this giving to others, regardless of what happens afterward (akin to Pay it Forward)? The fact of the matter is, you're making someones day and when you get something from someone else it's a nice bonus (okay, an awesome bonus).

PM sent, this is my first time! Looking forward to it, and thank you for organizing!

Count me in as well! Was a great and wonderful experience last year!

If you'll have me I'm in again. Think I've taken part ever year. It's fun to shop for Secret Santa

I think many of your past recipients would be upset if you were not going to participate!

I'd like to participate but I'm currently residing abroad in Asia. Does anyone know how much international shipments generally cost and what kind of things are generally good/bad to ship internationally?

I'm trying to decide if signing up for 5 people and international shipping is a recipe for trouble...

It depends a lot on the country you are shipping from. I send from Japan, and have to figure 30 to 40 USD for the shipment on top of the 50 USD for the gift. Depends on how heavy items.

Main things to think about are customs/import restrictions, restrictions on what can go in airmail, and finally making sure things don't break.

This. Last year, I had mostly international recipients. I ended up ordering from Amazon and having it shipped directly to them, when I normally will assemble everything and send a note.

Thanks for the info, CPH-Flyer!

I'll be shipping from Malaysia.

Making sure things don't break... hmmm yeah. No fragiles then.

There's also the concern of package theft which I encountered last year. Amazon covered the expenses and reshipped without fuss. So all was well.

However, I want to try shipping local gifts this time around because it's hopefully more appreciated/well-received. Hmmm, I'll need to think on it a bit more.

I like to find local things, or something a bit fun from when I travel. But it depends on the interests of the recipient.

Best point in avoiding breakage is a good box made for mailing stuff. Japan Post has some really good ones, check your local post office.

Count me in for a 4th year of fun! PM Sent

Do FT'ers ever request that their Santa reside in a certain country/state/city? Would that be overloading the OP too much to try to match up that kind of thing? (I've read discussions from years past and it seems to me that when SS sends items from their local sources the Santee is enormously pleased.)