Secret Santa 2014 input wanted

[elfbarbie07]

I agree that maybe no tiers, but I think say a $25 minimum, and then those who pick from their stash or want to spend more can do so. I definitely think a wishlist/survey would be good. I would like to participate this year and I will need ideas without having to literally stalk them (though I don't mind doing a little stalking /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />).

 

[meaganola]

Could we maybe brainstorm questions now so the survey can be kind of carved in stone up front?  It was really hard to chase down all of the questions to answer, and a lot of people didn't post answers, but I've done similar swaps where we had a list of specific questions to answer that went with our signup information, and it really helped out.  And I mean beyond favorite brands/colors/products/sub boxes, since it would be more fun to send, say, a nail polish/nail wraps/eye shadow/magnet/cupcake sprinkles/coffee mug/etc. based on someone's favorite tv show/movie, but we would to *know* that someone is a Whovian/Browncoat/etc. so we could order the proper stuff from whatever company.  (Why, yes, I'm shifting into hardcore fandom mode right now.  Why do you ask?)

 

[Last Contrast]

That's a good idea. I didn't really want to put in a really prescriptive list as I was international and had no idea what country my Santee might be from (and if I got a Aussie person then no chance could we afford anything from MAC/Urban Decay/Lime Crime/Sugarpill! as it tends to be 2x-3x as expensive here). I find it a bit easier to answer a what would you rather than formalating my own somehow. I also missed a lot of questions here and there as the thread moved verrrrry quickly at times and was hard to keep up with it.

Also I'm kind of anti-tiers in the sense that I always think of things like secret santa as very open .... sort of sending good karma out into the internet. Tiers make it seem more transactional.

 

[tweakabell]

I'm not sure how to make it any clearer that the tiers have nothing to do with wanting to receive more expensive things. I'm not sure how having a $50 SS is any different than having a Nails Santa.

There were women who felt bad that the gifts they sent out were not worthy even though they followed the rules and did what was expected of them. You can tell them not to feel bad all you want but that's not going to stop them from feeling bad about what they sent. I know because while I spent at least $65 on my gift I still saw that Naked 3 palette and went "Well, the gift I sent is crap". I'm a rule follower and found the $25 limit stressful, even though I ended up ignoring it. I did not have any sort of "stash" to hunt through last year, not everyone does.

Off the tier thing because it's irking me and I don't know why (probably just too early in the morning and no sleep yet). If I participate again this year I hope we can get our Santees sooner, my money would have gone farther with some of the sales and not feeling like I had to order everything in 2 weeks to ensure it got to my house in time to pack it.

I do think everyone needs a survey or wishlist because the thread was moving so fast, I couldn't keep up with all the questions being asked at once and gave up trying to answer them all. We also had people who didn't seem to have wishlists/much info. So just a standard survey for everyone to fill out would be nice, all the better due before the names are assigned so you aren't waiting for your person to answer them after it's already in shopping time.

I loved the separate Elf thread idea because the day I ended up needing one, the list was at least 7 pages back and didn't have everyone on it, I ended up just messaging someone I thought was an elf and confirming.

I think that's all my rambling except Thank You to Zadi for all the work you did last year. You made organizing it look easy lol

 

[JC327]

Quote: Originally Posted by meaganola /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Could we maybe brainstorm questions now so the survey can be kind of carved in stone up front?  It was really hard to chase down all of the questions to answer, and a lot of people didn't post answers, but I've done similar swaps where we had a list of specific questions to answer that went with our signup information, and it really helped out.  And I mean beyond favorite brands/colors/products/sub boxes, since it would be more fun to send, say, a nail polish/nail wraps/eye shadow/magnet/cupcake sprinkles/coffee mug/etc. based on someone's favorite tv show/movie, but we would to *know* that someone is a Whovian/Browncoat/etc. so we could order the proper stuff from whatever company.  (Why, yes, I'm shifting into hardcore fandom mode right now.  Why do you ask?)
That's a great idea!

 

[Jac13]

Hi Everyone!!! I had to disappear for a bit due to demanding schedule. I love the Secret Santa nail and makeup. I do think it would be great for the person to quickly acknowledge and the tier group sounds great. I think many ladies like a higher end gift. I spent over the limit on both and could have spent more but stopped myself. I was fortune to have awesome Santas. I hate to say this but a couple- not many- gifts looked like they were under the limit and although the person may say oh I will accept whatever. We all want to receive a gift we love. That's part of the fun. I love the idea of an Easter bunny theme since I love Easter. Other than that... I am looking forward to this year exchanges.

 

[roxymama]

Subbing because I'd love to do Secret Santa this year and this will keep me in the loop of how it all works. Yay shopping and making people happy!

 

[DeSha]

I agree with many of the suggestions offered so far. Specifically, I am not a fan of the tier giving. The dollar minimum seems like a perfect resolution.

 

[tulosai]

I am late to the party but I've thought about it A LOT and am also against the idea of tiers. It seems kind of against the spirit of the whole thing to me, and as others have said it makes it hard to account for people who shop their stash, use points, etc. Say someone uses their birchbox points worth $20, free sephora $15 and has some new items in their stash worth $20. They also spend $25 on other stuff. This person spent $25 but their gift is worth $80.  How do you account for that?

I also think it would be sad to split people based on money. I think for almost all of us it's more fun to give than to receive anyway on this.

 

[SOSRedAlertSOS]

The tier thing isn't to divide people depending on their worth, it was simply and idea because last year, I can remember in particular a few members feeling really bad that the gifts they sent were exactly $25 worth of makeup or whatnot. My suggestion on the tiers was only said because some people felt really insecure about what they had bought their SS after seeing some of the reveals that were obviously way over the $25 limit.

I am not trying to take away the fun, it was just a suggestion and I am sorry so many people thought that I was trying to make it about money. When in all honesty, I was trying to make it about people feeling comfortable rather then feel shame. Because it's the thought that counts and nobody should feel ashamed of what they purchased their SS.

 

[Dashery]

Hmmm. I don't if this is a good idea or not, but maybe it's a compromise to the whole tier thing. We don't want to restrict how much a santa can spoil their santee, but no santa wants to feel like her gift was sub-par.

Maybe any santas who don't have a stash to pull from or are worried the gift they receive will be "too lavish" in a sense, can just make a quick note in their wishlist or something. You know. Just something asking their Santa not to go too overboard or get crazy lavish. The santa could always ignore it of course, but at least the thought is then out there. And it kind of fits with the wishlist. After all, one of your wishes may be for your Santa to not "spoil you" too much.

I don't know. Just a thought, I guess.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[sstich79]

Chiming in because I'm curious... seeing all the midsummer fairy talk made me want to play, so I guess I need to stay tuned and figure out how things work for this year's Secret Santa!

 

[Kristine Walker]

 I'm against spending tiers. I think the $25 minimum worked fine last year.

 

[onelilspark]

I'm fairly new, but I love the idea of a Secret Santa!  I'm excited!!

 

[jennm149]

I have to say, I think that KellyKaye and Tweakabell have a point. 

I wouldn't want anyone to feel that they couldn't participate in the fun because they see some of the more generous gifts people gave last year, and know they don't have the resources to reciprocate. 

What if, instead of "tiers" -- and people publicly declaring themselves in them -- there two options: one with a spending "range" (say, a minimum of $X and a maximum of $2X) and one with a minimum but no maximum.  Everyone would choose an option in the email they send with their address and everyone would be matched to someone who selects the same option, behind the scenes by whoever is assigning the Santas.  No one would ever have to know who picked what, people who want to be able to spend with abandon can continue to do so and no one has to feel that their gift isn't enough.  And we can all "oooh" and "aaah" over everything.  As KellyKaye said, it's not about the money -- it's about making sure that no one feels that they didn't do enough when they've done all that they can.

And -- as a corollary -- for folks in the "range" group, any "free" money (e.g., BB points) should count toward the maximum.  I'm guilty of having stocked up on points, gift cards I've been given, etc., preparing for the Midsummer gifting, and I realized today that I could spend an insane amount of money without spending a penny out of pocket.  Somehow, should that be considered, especially for people who don't have stashes to raid, stuff to trade, points at Ulta, etc?  IDK, but again, I'd hate to see people sitting out because they feel they can't do as much as others.

 

[tacehtpuekam]

Honestly, I think worrying about the spending limits is kind of pointless. Mainly because...there is no way to really know how much someone actually spent.

Like, for this round I already have an entire Popsugar box full of stuff just from my own personal stash of samples and things I bought but never used. And then I just placed a Birchbox order with all points. So I have a decent amount of stuff already and haven't actually spent a dime. Some people are probably going to look at that and think I went way over budget, but I didn't. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  

I know there were people last year feeling uncomfortable with their gifts, thinking they weren't going to be good enough (me included). But did we see how happy everyone was with their gifts?! I don't think I saw a single reveal post last year that wasn't one of us raving/gushing about the great & incredibly thoughtful gifts we got. I've never received a more wonderful gift in my life and never stopped for a second to think about how much it cost. 

Cliche but it really is the thought that counts. 

I think the bottom line is that people should spend what they're comfortable spending and no one should ever expect a gift worth more than $25. 

ETA: for the record, I'm not trying to tell people 'Don't feel insecure!' Believe me, I know that's not always possible! 

 

[tacehtpuekam]

I get what you're saying about the 50 posts minimum. Another one could be that they have to be a member of MUT for at least three months before sign ups (which will again be in November) which means.... A July 1 deadline.

If sign ups begin November 1 again, it might help if there is a one week sign up time and then three weeks to shop before the shipping time period begins in December. With all the postal delays around the holidays, I had a couple of things that I ordered for my santee literally take weeks to arrive. I ended up having to ship at the very end of the two week shipping period in December, and then my package that I sent with 2 day priority shipping took over a week to arrive in my santee's town. It was really frustrating, and an extra week to shop in November might help out.

In other news, have either of these items been re-addressed in regards to the timeline?

 

[NotTheMama]

Honestly, I think worrying about the spending limits is kind of pointless. Mainly because...there is no way to really know how much someone actually spent.

Like, for this round I already have an entire Popsugar box full of stuff just from my own personal stash of samples and things I bought but never used. And then I just placed a Birchbox order with all points. So I have a decent amount of stuff already and haven't actually spent a dime. Some people are probably going to look at that and think I went way over budget, but I didn't. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  

I know there were people last year feeling uncomfortable with their gifts, thinking they weren't going to be good enough (me included). But did we see how happy everyone was with their gifts?! I don't think I saw a single reveal post last year that wasn't one of us raving/gushing about the great & incredibly thoughtful gifts we got. I've never received a more wonderful gift in my life and never stopped for a second to think about how much it cost. 

Cliche but it really is the thought that counts. 

I think the bottom line is that people should spend what they're comfortable spending and no one should ever expect a gift worth more than $25. 

ETA: for the record, I'm not trying to tell people 'Don't feel insecure!' Believe me, I know that's not always possible! 

This. 

I don't think we will ever stop the "uncomfortable" feeling of "is my gift enough?" simply because we all care.  I, as I'm sure everyone else as well, wanted my Santee to feel like this was the best gift ever and that I put everything together with her in mind.  Will she like this polish?  This color?  This candy?  This wrapping paper?  I had a blast and I did go over the limit, but I also got some great deals, shopped from my stash, and didn't care one bit about the extra money I spent, I just wanted her to love everything.

I loved everything that I got, and like someone said, I didn't see anybody that didn't rave about their gift, whether it was closer to the limit or obviously over the limit.  If we pick this apart and make tons of rules and limits and groups, it won't be as much fun.  I understand that this wasn't intended to be about the money, but about the feelings of inadequacy, but even with tiers, or groups, I think we will still have those feelings. 

I just hope that we continue the Nails Secret Santa for this year...I only participated in that one and we had an amazing group of ladies and it was SO much fun.  I loved every minute of it, so I wish to keep that part.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[meaganola]

I just hope that we continue the Nails Secret Santa for this year...I only participated in that one and we had an amazing group of ladies and it was SO much fun.  I loved every minute of it, so I wish to keep that part.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I already stated my opinion on the other part of this post (short version: totally agree.  I honestly *hope* my Santa only spent the limit even though I know the value of what was sent was far over it!), but I wanted to chime in on this part.  Yes yes yes!  It's not so much that I want a *separate* Nails Secret Santa.  It's more that I want another one *in addition to* Original.  It could be exclusively eyeliner, bath products, tea, cat toys, or office supplies for all I care (just not hot sauce or gardening supplies /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> ).  

Really, this is what it boils down to:  I just want a reason to go buy things for people.  I already have my brother's Christmas present (Kickstarter + comic cons = you get your shopping done at weird times), and everyone else but my dad gets the same things year after year (but figuring out what to get Dad is a doozy), so I look to forums to give me my fun shopping-for-other-people experiences.  If I could sign up for multiple slots on the original Secret Santa, I would, but since it's one per person, I'll just go with hoping for two separate ones.

 

[zadidoll]

Secret Santa Nails 2014 will most likely make a return.