Do your members do card/gift exchanges at Christmas?

If a community is tight-knit, friendly, and creative, the members might want to do some kind of card or gift exchange around the holidays. If this has happened on your forum, how did you manage it? Did you appoint someone to handle all the organizing or do it yourself?

 

Yes we do that on my site I normally organise it.

 

Yep, we did it in our first year, and it was great! We had about 20 members sign up (out of a crowd of less than 100 active members) and it was a complete success! Only one member didn't follow through, so I had to cover the costs, but this member was banned because they intentionally scammed their recipient.

Other than that though, the members LOVED it and they all look forward to doing it again.
Since I'm so OCD, I couldn't allow anybody else to handle it so I put myself through all the organizing and pairing trouble. LOL

I set up a SSGE (Secret Santa Gift Exchange) page with a form: Secret Santa Gift Exchange Sign-Up and Information - Lineolated Parakeet Forum
Upon submission, a thread was then created in a SSGE forum where only myself and the SSGE participant can see their thread. In each thread is where I answered any questions, and ultimately posted the details of their assigned recipient.

My forum is about Lineolated Parakeets, so the exchange was meant to be of bird-related toys and gifts - not human-stuff . Although, many of the members did include personal cards, gift cards, candy-boxes, etc.

Overall, it was an awesome experience and I look forward to setting it up again this year.

 

I have never done this, but it sounds like an absolutely fantastic idea - I think I'll give this a try.

I'd be the same way. :lol:

 

I checked the form out and it looks quite spiffy, seems like something I may want to try once Setsou Design or Bird is the Word grows bigger.

Pretty cool!

 

We've done a Secret Santa every year and someone different has organized it. Basically a thread is started announcing it and who to send a PM to with your address. When the end of signup occurs, that person then sends a name/address via PM out to each person. We then have a thread where users will post their interests and then another big Thank You thread is started when the first person gets their gift.

 

In order to do something Christmassy without everyone having to fork over their personal information, this is what I did: we had a Secret Santa Avatar Exchange - you draw a name, and make a Christmas avatar for that person, which they 'wear' through the holidays.

Valentine's Day: same routine (draw someone's name) but instead of making an avatar, you tell that person something you really like about them.

 

That's a neat idea, Velocity! Especially if it was done on a graphics-related forum.

Were your members hesitant to share their addresses? Mine didn't seem to mind, but they just didn't want anybody other than myself and the recipient to see it.

 

They weren't - I am. I've been posting on some board or another for nearly a decade now, and I've seen it all, including just how very wrong things can go when people have a falling-out and they know each others' physical addresses.

 

Ah, I could only imagine. I guess it depends on your crowd. My members are mostly older and retired, and therefore mature, so things like that aren't of concern.

 

Oh you think so, eh? The internet is a great big maturity-leveler.

Another aspect of making the avatars though - they're free. It's one less thing you have to budget in during Christmas.

 

That avatar exchange is a nifty idea. Thanks Velocity.

 

My pleasure.