A Secret Santa Idea

[maryq]

Hey everybody

Swakins shared this idea with me and I thought I'd pass it on.

On a swap she was in with another group--each particpant set up a hotmail e-mail account. probably with a screen name that really didn't give out who they really were. For example, if I was to set up a hotmail screen name, I'd use something like Nanaquilts or somethingn that wouldn't include anything about my real name. Then 2 secret partners could communicate with each other and still keep their identities a secret.

Sue, maybe you can fill in the blanks here for me.

It's just a thought and it might make for a little more mystery to the swap!

Anybody else got any ideas?

Marymargaret

[Tulpje]

*Smile*

LOL My *Smile* , or *T* would give me away. J/K

Sounds like a lot of fun.

When someone does tthat, maybe they beter put SecretSanta in the subject line, so it does not get deletted as 'spam'.

*T*

[maryq]

If anybody wants to do this... and sets up a hotmail address, I'd add it to the info I have on file and let partners know their screen names...

mary

[Kittyquilt9292]

Here comes the "questioner". Maybe (of course I am) I am dence or just confused. How do we know the email address of the person we're going to communicate with? Sounds interesting. Need more input! LOL carol/kittyquit

[Abbigail]

When we did this on a garden forum for Christmas we would open a account like hot mail with a totally different name such as Candy cane. Then you could send them e-greeting cards. You would have to give your real email address to someone to pass on with your info. That way you would get greetings every few days from your secret pal an not know who they are. It was alright unless you couldn't get a fast connection or if you couldn't come up with a name for hot mail. My 2 cents worth! ~Abbigail~

[swakins]

I used an account at ***** and have kept one for this purpose. It doesn't reflect my name in any way. I know there are other ways to set up free accounts, I think even AOL offers free e-mail. We were given our secret pal's (SP) e-mail as well as their real life address.
It gave me a chance to really get to know my SP and really give her stuff she really liked or wanted. I learned that my partner had kids and was home schooling, so for one gift I sent her phonics videos for her kids, something she really needed and would never have thought to mention as something she might have wanted. My SP learned that I had a son who collected rocks and fossils and she sent him fossils from a part of the country he had never been to.
Now this was a year long swap, so there was a lot more time to get to know each other, a lot more gifts, and I still keep in touch with this SP. We share kids photos, family events and have become real friends, even though we have never even spoken. Of course getting presents is fun, but this made it not about just getting stuff, but getting to know someone, making new friends. My SP and I couldn't be more different in life style, but we found we have so much in common it didn't matter.
Even the mail we got was sent from "SP", some folks even went to the trouble of having someone else forward their mail so they could keep where they were from a secret until the time to reveal.
It was also a way to keep in touch when mailings were sent, a way for me to let her know something was on the way, a chance for her to acknowledge what I sent so I could be sure it made it. Now some of this might be confusing, so I should mention that my sender had a partner who flaked on her, and my assigned recipient flaked and never sent to her partner nor acknowledged my gifts. So sleuth that I am, I figured out who was sending to me, and started sending her gifts to the address on the packages she sent to me. It was a real surprise for her to find out that her secret gifts were coming from the same person who she was sending to.
Now this doesn't join you at the hip, but if you want to it was a chance to get to know your recipient better and a chance to check up on your packages.
OHSue (who will not be sending her packages from OH)

[maryq]

Carol

I'll help communicate your "secret e-mail address" to the person that has you!

mary

[Abbigail]

I went out of state to mail mine as I was the only one from KY. on the forum!

Your secret pals should state if they want to receive e-cards or not. The way my old e-mail was on dail up and it would up load everything in order so if I got a big load like a photo or e-card my computer just had to be left on for ever for it to download these e-cards. Then I couldn't open them up anyway but had to delete them. So it should be up to everyone to want the e-cards or not. ~Abbigail~

[momof6quilts]

You can also set up a yahoo address for free or g-mail.

Just more thoughts.


Vic

[donnacrazylady]

Just checking...... I am someone's Secret Santa, but is that same person MY Secret Santa? Or is she/he a Secret Santa to someone else? So if I set up an email account then I would email the person I am giving to as a way to get more ideas of things to include in their package?
Donna