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entranceooc2018-11-24 10:29 pm
vitaelamorte) wrote in entranceooc2018-11-24 10:29 pm
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+ OOC Secret Santa Sign-Ups! +
How will this work? Well, you comment to this post with this form:
Sign-ups will close December 2nd, and soon after all participants will be sent their secret partner by e-mail. Once you have your partner, you need to come up with a present for them by December 25th. You'll then send that gift to your partner by E-mail and they will have very happy holidays because of you. Hooray!
Here's a little mini-FAQ for you (but there will also be a FAQ thread like we do for the events):
What can I send as Secret Santa presents? Do I have to spend money? CAN I spend money? This is ultimately split into two categories - monetary gifts and creative gifts. We live in a magical age where a large majority of websites offer internet gift cards that can be sent digitally, and only require a name and email address. But you absolutely do NOT have to give anything that costs money. Gifts of art, fic, icons, or any other creative things are more than welcome! For monetary gifts though, we heavily suggest that you keep it between $10-$15.
- Dreamwidth Tokens: Or other paid services on DW. Things like paid accounts or icons are more than welcome.
- Amazon.com: An easy gift card option with a wide variety of products available!
- And a WHOLE bunch of other places: Seriously, a lot of stores with online shops have E-Gift cards available. Etsy, Lush Cosmetics, Modcloth, Teavana, Threadless, and countless other sites have E-Gift Cards.
- Donations: An increasing number of charities allow online "In Honor" donations that do not require a street address, so if there's a charity that means a lot to you, put it in the Notes section of your sign-up form and maybe your Secret Santa will make a donation in your name.
- Fanart: Draw some art for your gift-ee! Maybe of their character, or a thread they did, or even just of something you know they enjoy!
- Fanfiction: Same thing; different medium! Write your gift-ee a fanfic you think they might enjoy! Maybe about their characters, or their time in Wonderland, or even just a canon you know they love.
- Fanmixes: For the more musically inclined, there's always making a fanmix. You can do it the old fashioned way and E-mail them it as a .zip or .rar file, or you can use a site like 8Tracks to make your mix! (Here's the one I did for Entranceway in general). Great topics include their characters, plots, or even just a mix for how awesome you think they are.
- Icons: Is your gift-ee an iconaholic? Or could they just use some more? Then go ahead and bust our your Photoshop and make them some more!
- Custom Layout: Try making your gift-ee a new layout for their journals, if you're good at that sort of thing! Just make sure you tell them how to install it.
- Anything else you can come up with: Seriously, if you've got a good idea then go for it!
Is it okay if I don't/can't do a monetary gift? Absolutely! No matter what you send someone, it's going to be valuable because you put in time and effort, and thought about what kind of present they would enjoy. Please don't feel pressure to bust out your credit card - times are hard and not everyone even has ways of buying things online.
Is it okay if I don't/can't do a creative gift? Absolutely! Sometimes inspiration just doesn't come. Besides, it's a busy season and no one's going to judge you if you don't have time to draw the next Mona Lisa. It's the thought that counts, and gift cards can be just as meaningful as anything else.
But I really wanted to sent my Secret Santa a present in the mail! Please don't, unless it's 100% okay with your giftee (in other words, you'd have to reveal yourself and ask them, and if they say no then no). This is why we're not asking anyone for their real addresses - it's a little too invasive on the mod end of things, and I know I personally don't feel comfortable distributing people's addresses to random players. Not that I distrust any of you, but it doesn't feel right, so we're playing entirely with E-mail here.
Tell me more about the donation option! First of all, you should only do this option if your giftee has listed a charity to give to, and it is the giftee's responsibility to find out whether their charity of choice is feasible or not. Ideally for this, you want a charity or organization where a donation can be gifted with just an email address. There are a lot of organizations that either require an address or do not have an email option though, and if there is one that you really want supported on your behalf, it is up to you to make it clear to your Secret Santa how you would like that arranged in the Notes section of your form.
Is it okay if I don't/can't make a donation? Is it okay if I don't give a charity to donate to? Of course it's okay! You're giving someone a gift here, and it's entirely okay for you to pick what you want to give. There's no need for guilt whatsoever. There's all kinds of reasons someone might not include a charity too. A lot of them do still require addresses, or maybe your charity of choice isn't feasible for an online donation for some other reason. On the flip side, there are also plenty of reasons a donation might be difficult for someone to give as a gift. It's just another option.
Uh, I live outside the United States and I'm not sure Gift certificates would even work for me? Then say so in on your form somewhere! You don't have to get specific, but not every site ships everywhere, so your Secret Santa should know ahead of time if the internet doesn't ship to your evil lair on a deserted island in the Pacific Ocean. Then they'll know they should probably do DW tokens, a creative gift, or something they KNOW FOR CERTAIN you'll actually be able to enjoy.
What if I can't do Secret Santa anymore? Tell one of the mods (preferably me since I'm organizing it, but any of the others will make sure the message gets to me) so that we can do something about it. We don't want to leave anyone stranded without a Secret Santa! If we have people who need to drop out of Secret Santa, then we will post a call for Pinch Hitters to step in and save the day. We won't tell your giftee who you were or why you needed to drop out; we'll just assign a Pinch Hitter to them.
It's 11:59PM on December 25th and I'm TOTALLY ALMOST DONE REALLY but it's going to be late. Help? Fess up to your giftee so that THEY know something's coming for them soon.
I didn't get anything - does my Secret Santa just hate me? :( NO, I'M SURE THAT'S NOT IT. If you haven't gotten anything by the 26th or 27th, come talk to me and I'll try to figure out what happened for you.
I missed sign-ups! Can I still play? We're keeping sign-ups open until December 2nd, but if you miss the deadline, come talk to me. If there's enough interest, I might be able to match up late-comers. If not, then you can volunteer to be a Pinch Hitter! If someone drops out of Secret Santa then we'll give you a shout and you can step in. We can't guarantee that there will be a need for Pinch Hitters, but if there is then we'll put out a call for them. ♥
Does my gift have to show up EXACTLY on December 25th? Nope! You can give your gift and reveal yourself any time between December 18th and December 25th. Try not to give them out earlier than that please, unless requested by your giftee. This is mostly to make sure people have enough time to get gifts together, but we won't stop anyone from giving out their gifts for Hanukkah instead if you want to! And again, if you're going to be late, let your giftee know.
Do I have to play? Not at all! It's just a fun little thing we do every year that we thought we'd do again. There's no pressure whatsoever.
Any other questions can go in the FAQ thread and I'll answer them as soon as possible. And remember, have fun and spread lots of holiday cheer! ♥
EDIT: Sign-ups are NOW CLOSED ♥
~ Koji