Secret Santa on MeFi

December 28, 2003 5:18 AM

I was contemplating tranquileye's previous post, and thinking that it's a fun idea to give something to and get something from somebody you don't know at all, but even more fun if you know at least a little something about them; wouldn't it be great to have a MeFi "Secret Santa" next year? And if so, how would we go about that? more...
posted by taz (staff) to Bugs at 5:18 AM (38 comments total)

Oh my! Delete this: it was meant for AskMe!
posted by taz at 5:19 AM on December 28, 2003

If you wonder how this happened, I am accustomed to viewing AskMe from the MetaTalk Category list, and ended up posting from there. Wrong.
posted by taz at 5:30 AM on December 28, 2003

This is not an AskMe-type question, so you posted it in the correct section.

I won't comment on how little I think of your idea though.
posted by mischief at 6:02 AM on December 28, 2003

mischief, I admit it; posting here was not really a mistake, but a way of finding out, in circular way, how much or how little you think of it, since I know that this is one place where you will always bow to share your opinion.

Really, though, this is exactly the reason that I definitely wanted to post on AskMe, and not on MetaTalk.
posted by taz at 6:16 AM on December 28, 2003

The MefiSwap, but with stuff!!
It could be interesting, but you know the swap is seemingly on extended hiatus and that is primarily done sitting at your computer listening to music, something I am pretty sure most of us spend a little time a day doing. I wonder about most people's resolve to go out and buy a present for someone and have it sent (as evidenced by Tranquil Eye's dilemma). It could end up just a bunch of people sending Despair Calendars and Think Geek Atari joysticks to each other?

Does anyone else miss the MefiSwap like I do?
posted by spartacusroosevelt at 7:51 AM on December 28, 2003

What if it was more of a secret swap or a regifting?

Also, Feds Uncover Secret Santa Ring (onion) : >
posted by amberglow at 8:19 AM on December 28, 2003

Personally, I'm a sucker for secret Santas and such. But you know that ;-)
posted by Shane at 8:58 AM on December 28, 2003

i'd go in for that.

btw, shane wtf happened to your wishlist...? zoran and i were looking for it last week but the amazon search came up with nothing. you should link to it on your blog.
posted by t r a c y at 9:43 AM on December 28, 2003

Step 1 for setting up a Secret Santa, post this on MetaTalk around Thanksgiving instead of three days after Christmas...

Of course you could have a Boxing Rebellion the day after Christmas, where you give to others the gifts you got the day before that you don't want.
posted by kindall at 9:45 AM on December 28, 2003

Okay; I see this is something for MetaTalk rather than AskMe, then. But I would never have posted it here, except by accident, and I wish it would be deleted. DELETE! DELETE!
posted by taz at 9:59 AM on December 28, 2003

nah , dont delete it , if anyone knows the whereabouts of a trip to iceland please let us know ...............................
posted by sgt.serenity at 10:14 AM on December 28, 2003

if anyone knows the whereabouts of a trip to iceland please let us know
That was cancelled--the person collecting the money is now on a fabulous, all-expenses-paid (by us) trip around the world, with hookers and blow included. ; >
posted by amberglow at 10:23 AM on December 28, 2003

Okay, okay - this should be MeTa and not MeAsk; but I never would have posted this here. I completely withdraw the question, and I wish this would be deleted.
posted by taz at 10:31 AM on December 28, 2003

Let me get this straight: Do you want this post deleted, taz?
posted by hama7 at 10:54 AM on December 28, 2003

Yes! Thank you, hama7! Basically, I think I would prefer to see this post deleted.
posted by taz at 10:57 AM on December 28, 2003

aw, taz...it's not a bad idea, just a little early.

I also think kindall's idea of a "regifting" secret santa has merit ;-)
posted by madamjujujive at 11:00 AM on December 28, 2003

we don't have to wait til the next holiday season--we can make it a Mefi Jan/Feb tradition or something (I know I need presents when it's gray and cold out)
posted by amberglow at 11:00 AM on December 28, 2003

okay, as long a we're here: this was the rest of question:

I haven't participated in the CD Swaps, for example, because I'm not so much into putting together theme schemes, but mostly because I'm really lazy; however, I could definitely muster the energy to send a "secret santa" gift to one of you awful people. Is there some way to create a space where people sign up (with email and mailing addresses) and then all the names are shuffled and paired after a certain cut-off point? And then everybody gets emailed the pertinent info? Without someone spending an inordinate amount of time dealing with it (at a really awkward time to be dealing with anything "extracurricular")? I would be delighted to help facilitate this if enough people think it's a groovy idea, but I don't have the programming skills to set it up on my own.
posted by taz at 11:17 AM on December 28, 2003

the person collecting the money is now on a fabulous, all-expenses-paid (by us) trip around the world, with hookers and blow included. ; >
well thats alright then : )
posted by sgt.serenity at 11:40 AM on December 28, 2003

Sounds like fun.

Real gift or white elephant? And there probably needs to be a price cap.

I also think it would be cool to do it Jan/Feb-or any time other than Christmas. We could call it the Great Pony Exchange.
posted by konolia at 12:33 PM on December 28, 2003

The Great Pony Exchange is good...how about 0-10 bucks value and it can be either a real gift or white elephant or something created and a deadline of the end of Feb? I'll help, but don't know how to program what we need.
posted by amberglow at 12:36 PM on December 28, 2003

I have a 1965 J.C. Penny fruitcake, still in the tin for "regifting"

wait, that could be classified as a WMD.

(pictures available upon request)
posted by clavdivs at 12:44 PM on December 28, 2003

Did someone mention hookers and blow?
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:15 PM on December 28, 2003

yes , we got y6 hookers and blow for matts xmas.
posted by sgt.serenity at 5:11 PM on December 28, 2003

"if anyone knows the whereabouts of a trip to iceland please let us know"

Still no word on whether Matt will be showing up at the San Diego meetup tonight or not. I'm assuming he will, and I'll be giving him the trip tonight. Otherwise I'll mail it to him.

I'll post pictures and comments in MetaTalk tonight after I get back.
posted by y6y6y6 at 5:53 PM on December 28, 2003

I'd be up for a gift exchange.
posted by drezdn at 6:45 PM on December 28, 2003

oh thats good , nice one y6.
posted by sgt.serenity at 8:54 PM on December 28, 2003

How bout someone figure out when MeFi's birthday is and everyone exchange gifts then? Just a thought....
posted by batgrlHG at 11:34 PM on December 28, 2003

I would go in on it if only to feel like someone at MeFi loved me.
posted by oflinkey at 11:41 PM on December 28, 2003

batgrlHG, that's a great idea! The first post was July 14, 1999, so I suppose that's a good birthday date...
posted by taz at 12:23 AM on December 29, 2003

Only because he didn't like the movie, though.
posted by dg at 1:08 AM on December 29, 2003

For what it's worth, I think the idea is a good one taz, and you presented it well. I hope somebody can volunteer to help you with the setup.
posted by hama7 at 3:15 PM on December 29, 2003

I really like the idea of a post-Christmas regift exchange. My family is really, really eerily great at giving me things I don't want/need/wouldn't bury my dog in.

For example, if we did this now, one of you lovlies would get a Gizmo Electric Cheese Grater. And who (besides me, obviously) wouldn't just love to replace their old fashioned cheese grater that is easy to use, clean, and store, that's light and portable, with one that requires batteries???* Or some one might be lucky enough to get a religious themed woven throw/blanket thing. Because Jesus keeps everybody warm.

Sign me up. My family's refusal to view me as an individual with her own asthetic and religious values is your gain.

*"Grate cheese at the table!" the package says, as if prior to this, the entire world was crippled by heavy, counter-top mounted cheese graters and thus forced to hike for MILES from the dinner table to the counter where they would flail their hunks of cheese exhaustedly against the grater, and receive nothing but blisters and bloody knuckles in return. For fuck's sake...
posted by jennyb at 12:32 PM on December 30, 2003

Oh! OH! Last year, I got THREE blenders! Three years ago I got EIGHT, yes, EIGHT turtlenecks!!! I would have killed or died for a MeFi regift swap! I could have seven mefites on my regift list and still been happy. Or I could have sent a blender/turtleneck care package to one extra-lucky Metafilter member.

And all I ever ask for is socks, and I never get them, so all of you sock-rich mefites could regift those Gold Toes right this way. We'd all be so happy...

Taz, you're a genius.
posted by jennyb at 12:35 PM on December 30, 2003

I know what you mean, jennyb - the marketing and photos for these electrical kitchen gadgets are silly. And I've gotten several such things in the past that, shall we say, were liberated from my keeping and went off to live happier lives in other kitchens. But expect to see more of such hooha as the aging population in the country gets larger and marketers of such gizmos see a bunch of folk that need help opening jars, etc. (Heck, in a few years I'll probably buy one of those cheese graters...)

Meanwhile is the gift exchange going to be like a White Elephant Party? We have those in the south - I have no idea if it's a regional thing or not. After New Years people get together, everyone brings a gift that they've been given in the past (though some people go out and shop for something specifically tacky or perhaps something nice, depending on their sense of humor). Prizes are sometimes given to those who bring the most awful gift. Gifts are numbered, everyone draws a number out of a big bowl, and gets their own gift. The rest of the party is spent eating, drinking, and haggling with each other to attempt to re-exhange gifts. Some people get rather manic over this re-exchange part. The "I must have that mechanical chimp that plays the accordion or I will die!" kind of folk.
posted by batgrlHG at 2:14 PM on December 30, 2003

interesting article about ebay and other places trying to take advantage of the whole "regifting" and unwanted gift thing.

batgrlHG: that sounds fun (and i'd never heard of it), but how could we do it virtually? I think a regular secret santa would be more doable.
posted by amberglow at 2:19 PM on December 30, 2003

Three blenders, eight turtlenecks and a gizmo cheese grater? Jennyb, that's just a party waiting to happen. You're lucky with the cheese grater, though; when I was a kid we had to grate our cheese on a big rock, then wash it off down at the river before we could make a quiche.
posted by taz at 5:24 PM on December 30, 2003

"that sounds fun (and i'd never heard of it), but how could we do it virtually? I think a regular secret santa would be more doable."

Regular secret santa probably would be easier.
Unless someone wants to get all number happy and program something - everyone would have to have their own number, each gift would have a separate number, and then both sets would have to be mixed and yet somehow insure that each person would not receive their own gift.
Which sounds like a math problem to me. Ack.
But I think everyone should post photos of their gifts - that'd be fun.

White Elephant Parties probably are risky - I mean, as a host I could see the potential for bickering, especially if there's alcohol, and if there's one gift everyone wants. It's only in the re-exchanging/trading/bartering of gifts that trouble usually starts. Of course for some that'd be the prime entertainment. But the key is that no one should know who brought what gift - so no one's feelings get hurt.
posted by batgrlHG at 8:17 PM on December 30, 2003