Advent Calendar Swap

I read about an Advent calendar swap today in one of my subscription forums.

Have you guys ever heard of this? It didn’t sound too bad. It’s similar to our yarn swap.
Maybe we could do something like that sometime.

Here’s how I understood it: an Advent calendar has 24 little doors. I think there were 10 participants. Each participant is assigned a number from the calendar by drawing lots (e.g., 6), and that participant then has to put together 24 little packages labeled with the number 6. The next person does the same for number 13, and so on.
All the little packages are then sent to the “organizer” (who, in our case, was Ina), and this organizer distributes all the Advent packages (so each participant basically receives 24 different packages in their Advent package).
And to make sure no one gets their own package, the organizer also made 24 packages, which they then swap out. So they also have 24 different ones. If you know what I mean.

However, the participants did meet up to admire them. Otherwise, the organizer would have to send 10 packages back, which probably wouldn’t be the point of the whole thing.

Maybe someone has another idea or variation.

My friend took part in something like this once. She made 24 little jars of jam.

I think there were supposed to be 24 participants, and everyone gets a number. That way, you end up with 24 Advent calendars.

It’s a shame we’re all so scattered. I’d be all for it. But handling it here on CP wouldn’t be quite so easy. It would definitely take quite a bit of time to organize, collect, and ship everything. And Christmas isn’t far off, and December 1st is even closer. 

Yes, there have to be 24 participants, otherwise not every door will be assigned.
In principle, I think it’s a pretty good idea, but as Petra already wrote, it does require quite a long lead time.

I know, I just wanted to share the idea with you.

How could we do a “Secret Santa” here in the forum? So that we actually have participants. They’re put into a “pot” with a number (e.g., 24 participants). One person acts as the judge.

So the participants are listed in the order they sign up. The slips are labeled with each person’s name, rolled up, and marked on the outside with a number (each number between 1 and 24), then placed in the drawing pot. The judge then draws, for example, the slip with the number 3.
So the first participant on the list is assigned number 3. Only the first participant receives an email with the name of the person for whom they’re to make a Secret Santa gift, and they send this gift personally to their Secret Santa partner (if they have the address).
The recipient doesn’t open their Secret Santa gift until December 24. Pictures will be posted in the forum afterward.

Or a craft swap or one with crocheted figures. I just don’t know how that would work.

Those are great ideas. But I think that to organize something like this really well, you’d have to start planning by August at the latest.

That’s right, Ursulapetra. I agree with you there.

But that’s how we used to do Secret Santa at school. All the names went into a pot, everyone picked one, and then gave a gift to that person. That’s probably the simplest way. And since everyone sends their Secret Santa gift directly themselves, it also saves on postage, which, after all, takes time.

I’d be all for a Secret Santa—the Secret Santa gift sent abroad could be designed so that it can be mailed as a letter.

I think Secret Santa is a great idea in principle. It’s also much easier to organize than an Advent calendar, if only because it works with fewer than 24 people.
There are a few things to keep in mind, though, to make sure it goes smoothly.
The following has proven effective in the Secret Santa events I’ve participated in so far:

• There needs to be an organizer who collects the participants’ addresses via private message, draws names however they choose, and then sends each recipient’s address to their respective Secret Santa via private message as well.
  
• There must be clear rules regarding the latest date by which Secret Santa packages must be mailed and when they may be opened. Additionally, sufficient preparation time must be allowed.
  
• A reasonable framework must be defined regarding what and how much can go into the package. Example: In the soap-making forums I frequent, Secret Santa packages always include a card, a bar of soap, a small gift worth about 10€, and a little something to snack on—essentially four items. As I said, this is just an example, but we’d need to clarify how this should work here.
  
• Since very few of us here probably know each other personally, we’d need “Secret Santa profiles” that would have to be posted somewhere here. For example: Trying to make me happy with an itchy wool hat in pink or piglet pink would be doomed to failure. I can only tolerate wool to a limited extent, I don’t wear hats, and I have an aversion to pink and hot pink... ;-)
  

Perhaps someone from the moderation team should also weigh in on whether such activities are even welcome here?

True, there are so many factors to consider. Besides, it would all be a bit last-minute for this time around.
Maybe next year.

@needle-mistress
No one from CP's moderator team will comment on this, because CP can't have anything to do with it. It's about collecting and sharing sensitive personal data. A company can't just do that. So it would be a purely private activity that would also have to be organized privately.

For years, I organized the yarn exchange circle that Andrea mentioned above. You have to know that there is quite a lot of work involved. You have to start in good time and invest time and effort. Maybe Andrea would like to do that next year?

Best regards, Ina