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Official 2020 Secret Santa Extravaganza Thread!

Official 2020 Secret Santa Extravaganza Thread!

Old Sep 8, 2020, 10:00 am
  #1  
Flyertalk Evangelist and Moderator: Coupon Connection and Travel Products
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Milton, GA USA
Programs: Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum Elite, Hyatt Discoverist, Radisson Elite
Posts: 19,027
Official 2020 Secret Santa Extravaganza Thread!

Official 2020 Secret Santa Thread!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: DEADLINE CHANGED TO NOVEMBER 21, 2020

IT IS THAT TIME OF THE YEAR FLYERTALKERS!


In spite of the current world COVID-19 crisis, I want to continue this tradition as this project is a labor of love for me to this wonderful community!

Greetings from y
our Flyertalk Secret Santa coordinator William (wharvey).

I am stepping forward for YEAR 18 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 2020 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 2020. (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 2020 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 2020. (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 FIFTEE
N 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 18TH 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. JustinaMichelleG, Lion20, Catchflightsnotfeelings, Justabusinessstudent, 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
Santas 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 21st, 2020 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 2020. For example, it should say "wharvey Secret Santa 2020 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):
Your phone number:


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 helpfulhints... (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 28th 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

Last edited by wharvey; Nov 13, 2020 at 9:38 am
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Old Sep 8, 2020, 10:01 am
  #2  
Flyertalk Evangelist and Moderator: Coupon Connection and Travel Products
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Milton, GA USA
Programs: Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum Elite, Hyatt Discoverist, Radisson Elite
Posts: 19,027
Following is the list of members who have met the requirements to participate in Secret Santa as of the date and time at the bottom of this post.

Alwaysflystar
AnttivBH22
Bcranger
Bigx0
Bravada04
Canforce
Cdtraveler
CPH-Flyer
Cren
Cubsfan312
Dapperdave22
Dark Blue
Diburning
Dovster
Fleet7
Flyingchuck
Flyingcow
Fralcole
Gsegall
Holmedown
Hwgeeks
In2ishn
Jamesteroh
Jaxfan11
Jetset09
John C Wisconsin
Joshua362
Jsds
Kauppias
Kipper
Lakoten
Lisabeth
LSUSwim
Luitje
Marcia3641
Mdbe
Metoo
Mjbdiamond
Mloradites
Moremilesplease
Mrdplus
Nancypants
Navi_jen
Nephoi
Npturner
Nwncl
Offerendum
Ohlradio
Phil_Errupt
Ramcm7
Redhead
Runner123
Samaryatim
Samosa
Steveman518
Tcl
Tdnpf
Tiga31328
Token385
TokyoFoodie
Try2keepup
Worldwidedreamer
Wrp96






Updated: Dec 4, 2020 at 9:48 am USA Eastern Time

Last edited by wharvey; Dec 4, 2020 at 7:48 am
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Old Sep 8, 2020, 10:01 am
  #3  
Flyertalk Evangelist and Moderator: Coupon Connection and Travel Products
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Milton, GA USA
Programs: Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum Elite, Hyatt Discoverist, Radisson Elite
Posts: 19,027
Santa Update Post:

Update Oct 18, 2020 @ 3:00 PM Eastern US Time

The first round of assignments will be private messaged to you within the next two hours.On a personal note, many of you actually included me as a Secret Santa assignment you wanted this year (this seems to happen every year). Again, coordinating this event is my gift to the community. I am again not participating due to not being employed at the current time. I also end out having to financially fulfill some commitments that go unresolved. Due to those anticipated financial outlays, I have chosen to not send and receive any personal gifts. In addition, with our recent move (still do not have furniture due to some construction work) and having a medical director husband on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis here in Georgia, our lives are pretty hectic. I do appreciate the requests. Now, if anyone knows of any great deals on a 17 touch screen laptop, send that my way! That would be a great gift as I hope to get one by Black Friday!

Last edited by wharvey; Oct 18, 2020 at 1:03 pm
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Old Sep 8, 2020, 10:43 am
  #4  
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Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Either at the shooting range or anywhere good beer can be found...
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Sooo excited!!!! Am I first again this year?
Redhead, CDTraveler and tcl like this.

Last edited by kipper; Sep 8, 2020 at 11:04 am
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Old Sep 8, 2020, 11:16 am
  #5  
 
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Central Wisconsin, USA
Posts: 189
Thanks Wharvey for taking this on yet again. I think we all may need this more then ever for 2020.

Last edited by john c wisconsin; Sep 8, 2020 at 11:44 am Reason: typo
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Old Sep 8, 2020, 11:36 am
  #6  
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: OH
Programs: AA Lifetime Plat, Marriot Lifetime Gold
Posts: 9,516
I'm in again. Yay for bringing joy to a tough year! Thank you again Wharvey
TokyoFoodie likes this.
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Old Sep 8, 2020, 12:55 pm
  #7  
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: PUF
Programs: FB Platinum
Posts: 192
Weeeeeeeee!!! I’m in this year again, more than ever

Thanks a million, Wharvey, once again.
Redhead and TokyoFoodie like this.
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Old Sep 9, 2020, 8:21 pm
  #8  
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: NT Australia
Programs: QF WP
Posts: 4,145
Im in this year- missed the deadline last year

wrote in my PM unfortunately the nature of remote Australia means that getting mail in and out is a slow process- appreciate an early assignment and understanding. I promise something will arrive eventually!!!
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Old Sep 10, 2020, 9:45 am
  #9  
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: YEG, YVR
Programs: AC 50K
Posts: 99
This is a sweet idea.
I expect gifts related to travel are welcomed more.
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Old Sep 13, 2020, 12:21 pm
  #10  
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Canada
Posts: 1,497
Signed up again! It would be great to get hooked up earlier as wharvey had said to get a head start for a change.
Bravada04 is online now  
Old Sep 14, 2020, 7:40 am
  #11  
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Yiron, Israel
Programs: Bates Motel Plat
Posts: 68,882
Question: Can I get the rules changed for me?

I do not wish to receive a gift for two reasons -- thanks to Corona, and the lack of shipping to Israel, prices of mailing things out have skyrocketed (both Israel-USA and USA-Israel) and, secondly, mail between the two countries has become tremendously unreliable.

Can I instead just be a lazy Santa who sends his gift via Amazon and does not receive one?
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Old Sep 14, 2020, 3:33 pm
  #12  
 
Join Date: Oct 2001
Programs: LTP, PP
Posts: 8,688
Why not make a request under "I" above that you prefer your recipient purchase something from Amazon Israel for ease of everything? That might work.
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Old Sep 14, 2020, 8:32 pm
  #13  
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Posts: 68,882
Originally Posted by joshua362
Why not make a request under "I" above that you prefer your recipient purchase something from Amazon Israel for ease of everything? That might work.
It would not be from Amazon Israel (which has very few choices) but Amazon.com in the US.
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Old Sep 15, 2020, 9:27 am
  #14  
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Originally Posted by Dovster
Question: Can I get the rules changed for me?

I do not wish to receive a gift for two reasons -- thanks to Corona, and the lack of shipping to Israel, prices of mailing things out have skyrocketed (both Israel-USA and USA-Israel) and, secondly, mail between the two countries has become tremendously unreliable.

Can I instead just be a lazy Santa who sends his gift via Amazon and does not receive one?
wharvey would probably love a backup Santa because each year, it seems some space and don't send a present.
kipper is offline  
Old Sep 16, 2020, 7:22 pm
  #15  
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: YEG
Programs: AC
Posts: 813
In it for my sixth year.

Sadly my gift did not arrive last year but hoping for better luck this time around.

Can't wait to start shopping.
canforce is offline  

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