Yes, yes, I know. I'm singing Christmas carols in November and should be shot. However, I want to give people a couple of solid weeks to work on their gifts, and the consensus was that I should therefore post this as soon as possible. I'll make sure to bump it at the start of December, so if you can't face the thought of Christmas just yet, stroll on by.
What is TCS Secret Santa?
You know when you work in an office, and because you are skinflints, rather than buy a present for everyone in the office, you pull a name out of a hat and buy a thing for just that person? And then at the office Christmas party you're given some lavender bath salts someone else got in Secret Santa the previous year and that still have a tombola ticket on them from 1997? It's like that...but AWESOME.
How do I play?
Sign up here. A couple of weeks before Christmas, I will assign each Secret Santa a giftee. The gifts will need to be with me by the deadline of Christmas Eve. I will then distribute all the gifts to their recipients on Christmas Day. To make this easier, it would be ideal if those who sign up would also PM me their email address. If anyone would prefer not to do so, we'll sort out some kind of workaround.
Does this mean I can send a forum-mate severed animal genitals in the post?
No...and why would you ask that? You people make me sick. These will be virtual gifts. Stories, poems, drawings, Photoshop, songs or readings on Soundcloud - you know the drill. Use your imagination. There will be no real-world addresses involved, and the only person who'll have your email address is me.
Will I know who made my gift?
That sort of defeats the object of Secret Santa. Personally I think it's more fun if it's left a mystery, but if anyone really wants to know the identity of their Santa, I'll disclose it if said Santa gives permission.
What if my arms fall off and I can't make a gift after all?
Just let me know as soon as possible. And I'm sorry to hear about your arms.
What if my Santa's arms fall off and I don't get a present?!
Obviously people shouldn't sign up unless they think they're going to be able to follow through, but I will personally make sure that everyone receives a gift. If anyone else would like to volunteer to be on standby to fill in any gaps, that would be appreciated.
Any other rules I should know about?
I would ask everyone who receives a gift to post and acknowledge it. When I played this game on PWoT, a number of people didn't, which left a rather sour taste in my mouth. If you can thank your Great Aunt Mildred for the orange and puce hand-knitted jumper, you can thank your fellow TCSer for their carefully crafted ode to your penis.
Please sign up below, or let me know if there are any questions!