Team Gift Swap

[Former_Member]

Hello Everyone!

How are you? I am so sorry that I am being not a good captain and cannot find more time to have more team activities. I want to thank wonderful Juliette from MonsterOrphanage.etsy.com who makes all those bombs and keep our blitzes alive. And also Virginija from YarnBallStories.etsy.com and Zanda from ZanziBach.etsy.com and everyone else who is keeping our team on the go.

So I was thinking that maybe it is time to make something fun. What would you think about gift swap? Please let me know in the comments if you would like to participate and plese share your ideas and experiences. I do not want to set rules alone.

Hope you will like the idea!

Cheers :)))

[Former_Member]

I would like to participate :)

[LesMiniboux]

(sorry, post in the wrong thread)

[MonsterOrphanage]

Hi Maryia, my pleasure, 'teams' are supposed to be about everyone helping out aren't they? 😉

Anyway, I think a team gift swap is a lovely idea! How would it work? Is there a budget range? Or gift whatever we fancy?

[Former_Member]

I think gift swap sounds great, especially because Christmas time is coming :))

[Former_Member]

Oh I am so glad that you like the idea!!!!

@ Juliette: I do not know about the budget, but I think this should be something handmade and maybe we could set a theme - like for example "autumn" or "Christmas". What do you think?

[Former_Member]

what a great idea, I would love to participate!

I love the idea of handmade things... a handmade secret santa? :)

[Former_Member]

I'd love to partecipate!

[nerasaDesign]

Hi all, I'd love to participate too ;)

[BarvitoPosito]

Hi, I would love to participate too! I have never done this online, so I'm no big help for setting the rules. Only did this person to person, which was pretty easy:)

[Former_Member]

Hi!! What a lovely ideia!! And how we can make the swap?

[Former_Member]

@Ana: Maybe we should really make it a "secret Santa" style. So everyone who wants to participate will e-mail me their addreses and I will choose randomly (with the help of a hat :))) who will send gifts to whom and e-mail the addreses of recipients. So the participants will know whom they should send the gift, but they will not know from whom they are going to recieve one.

What do you think?

[MonsterOrphanage]

Great thinking. I'm happy to do it that way.

Though we may have to put a limit on size/ weight of things? I'm thinking if anyone JUST makes larger items, it would cost them quite a lot in shipping?

Not a problem for me, most of my stuff is pretty lightweight, but others may be different?

[MonsterOrphanage]

Ooh plus I think Christmas is a great theme. I know many of us will be getting very busy soon, so having a Christmas theme gives us enough time to make something appropriate.

And maybe set a cut-off date for participation? Say pull names out of a hat and let everyone know by mid/ end of October?

And should we make something from our normal range, or more appropriate for gifting to an adult? I just mean that making a baby bib, for example, may not be appreciated by someone without a baby?! Though it can always be re-gifted to family and friends.

Again, I think I'm ok here as I make bags, cushions etc and who (even adults) doesn't like a cuddly toy?! 😉 But for others it may be tricky?

Sorry, SO many questions.....

[MonsterOrphanage]

Sorry, keep thinking this through...

Maybe, when we join up, we could say whether we have kids and what ages, gender they are. I suspect most of us do - making kids products tends to go hand in hand with having some of the little monsters ourselves!

[Former_Member]

What a greet Idea about team Swap! :) The theme "secret Santa" is perfect! I'd love to participate.
Also, i agree with Juliette, we schould disscuss some rules.

[nerasaDesign]

HI again,

I think it should be something we make and it is not important if we have kids or not :)

for example I don't have kids, but I really don't mind getting girl's skirt or something for a child, because our team is just about kids, I think I would find were to use it or regift it :)

I think we just need to agree on price with shipping and that's it :)

Any more ideas?

[Former_Member]

Ok, I will sum up:

1. We make it a "secret Santa" way.
2. The "gifts" should be related to Christmas.
3. The submission is open till the 15th of October.

I think that things we will send to each other should not be neccessary what we sell in our shops. Important is that it is handmade by you. And of course that should not be big - just a small parcel. I think the shipping costs are quite different in different countries, but we wil be shipping only within Europe, so I think they will not vary so much.


Any other ideas / comments? :)

[sewHappinessStore]

That's exciting I would love to participate too! So please count me in!!! I love that it's going to be Christmas-y, I mean you can't go wrong with a Christmas gift right?

[MonsterOrphanage]

All sounds perfect. I'm so excited! I guess it makes sense to message you directly with our emails Maryia.

I always send my customers photos of their item being made, either during the process as a little teaser, or at the end so they have a record of it. It's just because that's the kind of thing I love to see when I buy handmade. It's like seeing proof!

So I intend to do that for this secret Santa too. And maybe load up pictures onto our European Kids Facebook page before it's posted as a little tease? It would be lovely to see others' items being made too xx

[MillieandUbu]

yes!!! I would love to participate!!

[Former_Member]

I have an experience from another team. They did it this way:
Everyone who participate sent a list with things what they don't need or maybe is allergic to.
If you don't mind we can add some comment to non-needed things to person who will choose who will secret Santa to whom. For example: no needed anything for girls or anything for boys or not needed anything between 0 - 5 years, or allergic to specific scents (I'm not sure is there anyone who make anything with scents :), or I'm allergic to green color.

[Former_Member]

This is a good idea Ilze! Thank you!

[MillieandUbu]

that sounds nice! So you will be sure not to offer something the personn absolutely won't like.

[Former_Member]

That looks good for me! So if we have no further suggestions I will start an official submission thread.