OFFICIAL 2019 Secret Santa Extravaganza Thread!
 

Official 2019 Secret Santa Thread!
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IT IS THAT TIME OF THE YEAR FLYERTALKERS!

Perhaps it is appropriate that I am posting this on USA Labor Day… as this project is a labor of love for me to this wonderful community!

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

I am stepping forward for YEAR 17 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 2019 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 : <insert your FT handle> Secret Santa 2019. (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 2019 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: <insert your FT handle> Secret Santa 2019. (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! Please keep any receipts proving you met the minimum so we do not have an issue.

CONTINUED FROM LAST FOURTEEN 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 17th year of running Secret Santa. While my memory and files are good, know that it is probable 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, Shayflyer1, Merestarks, Nclaxx18, RunningandFlying, Sabrina Henson, SwissCircle and YVRorange 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 23rd, 2019 at 5 pm Georgia USA time. If you wish to participate, you MUST send a PRIVATE MESSAGE to me through the FT system. Subject Line: <insert your FT handle> Secret Santa 2019. 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 November/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 and Age (if you are willing to disclose):

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 23rd 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

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

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

Anson.tzy - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Astarr - 3 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Bcranger - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
B00mer89 - 3 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Bravada04 - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Canforce - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
CatchFlightsnotFeelings - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Cdtraveler - 2 Assignment sent via PM on 11/24/2019
Chubbypanda123 - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/24/2019
Ckidder331 - 5 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Cloudgazer - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Cmbastien7 - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/24/2019
Countzero - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
CPH - Flyer - 3 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
CraigerC - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Cren - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Cubsfan312 - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Daniel Solis - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Deds1 - 2 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Dee1843 - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/24/2019
Diburning - 3 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
DP1586 - 3 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Echen1024 Assignment sent via PM on 11/24/2019
Fluffymitten - 2 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Flyerinn - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/24/2019
Flyingcow - 4 Assignment sent via PM on 11/24/2019
Fralcole - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/24/2019
Grbflyer - 2 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Gsegall - 5 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
HenrySu1220 - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
HigherFlyerT - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Hipquest - 2 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Hwgeeks - 2 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
In2ishn - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Jamesteroh - 4 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Jetset09 - 2 Assignment sent via PM on 11/24/2019
Joel Thomas - 2 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
John C Wisconsin - 3 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Joshua362 - 5 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Jsds - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Justabusinessstudent - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/24/2019
JustinaMichelleG - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Kauppias - 3 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Kevinflyaway - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Kipper - 4 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Lilly7 - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Lion20 Assignment sent via PM on 11/24/2019
Lisabeth - 3 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Loquascious - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
LSUSwim - 2 Assignment sent via PM on 11/24/2019
Mdbe - 5 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Mileage Lover - 2 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Missydarlin - 2 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Mjbdiamond - 3 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Mloradites - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Monsieurcumulus - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 12/03/2019
Moremilesplease - 4 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Mrdplus - 3 Assignment sent via PM on 11/24/2019
Navi_Jen - 3 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Nephoi - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Nextwhitedeath - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/24/2019
Npturner - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/24/2019
Nwncl - 2 Assignment sent via PM on 11/24/2019
Obunewbie17 - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Offerendum - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
OhlRadio - 2 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Pandasopink - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/24/2019
Pianoman109876 - 2 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
RanChin - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Redhead - 5 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Samaryatim - 4 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Samosa - 3 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Sandratravels - 4 Assignment sent via PM on 11/24/2019
Scubabe - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Shoople - 2 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
SmithDB - 3 Assignment sent via PM on 12/03/2019
SteveHK - 2 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Steveman518 - 3 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Tdnpf - 2 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Timmy83 - 2 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Token385 - 3 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Tokyofoodie - 3 Assignment sent via PM on 11/24/2019
TSMNC - 2 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Wanderlizzie - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Weather - 4 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Worldwidedreamer - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Wxman13 - 2 Assignment sent via PM on 11/05/2019
Zoefish - 1 Assignment sent via PM on 11/24/2019

This list was updated with all proper submissions as of 12/03/2019 at 02:08 am eastern US Timezone

HOLD for Secret Santa Updates:

I continue to receive entries that do not follow the instructions. Failure to provide proper information will mean you are not eligible for Secret Santa.

Looks like its year 3 or 4 for me :D hopefully as fun as allways :)

In again.

:) Beer and dog treats are always appreciated! Thank you! :D

HeadElf53 is here to help.

Last time I did not get my present or the replacement either...

But is about the giving! I enjoyed it. Especially when the receiver posts online!

I hear you! Last two years I received 1-2 naughty santas 😁😁 but some good ones too 👍👍 it happens its just bad luck I guess. But overall this whole thing is alot of fun for me and my kids who help :)

Looking forward to it! Last year I participated but didn't have a lot of time to follow up all the fun in the thread, hopefully this year I will be more active.

Pm'ed. I hope it is another fun year of nice gifts....

Second year for me. Last year was fun. After the initial panic of trying to interpret the information I received about my giftee I like to think I did ok (their post on receipt of the parcel was very generous!).

You can always ask the Head Elf or other members to PM your giftee for more information. I've received questions, have asked questions of others for others, and have asked others to ask my recipient for additional information.