Secret Santa?

Juicesir

So I was roaming around some other subforums, and it seems to me that what the cool kids are doing these days is preparing for Secret Santa stuff. I, having organized one of these things previously, I thought I might pose it to our lovely group of pinheads to see what y'all thought of us doing one! ^_^

I had two general ideas when it came to this. The first was that we could just do a simple Secret Santa, send whatever you want to someone else type deal. But the second idea was more tailored to our specific brain squirrel. Chiefly, that I thought that instead of sending just simple gifts to each other, we could send pins.

It could be any pin you want! And as many as you want! And it could include all sorts of other pin paraphernalia, like cool locking backs, scarves to put pins on, or black boxes for people you know are looking for them! Just as a way to show our love of each other in our rabid collection of all things lanyard related and shiny.

So what do you guys think? Please post with your preference as to normal Secret Santa or pin variety, and possible names we could do to make ours seem cool (Pinmas? Old Saint Pin Exchange? idk).

Shadowscars22

I think this can be cool... I think I'd like that. Pin Secret Santa though, definitely, as we're all linked through that addiction...

Perhaps at least one pin, then if you want to add something, follow your heart? Maybe something from your region (Montreal Maple candy anyone?), or anything else pin related?

Juicesir

I like that idea. One pin at the minimum, doesn't have to be anything special (but spoilers: it totally can be )!

grgemonkey

I can digitise this for you if you want

We can just do it so you click a button on the trading site and it randomly matches you with another waiting Pal, then I can just generate you a nice big list if you want do it partially old school or we can just keep the whole thing digital and you can just manage it on the site

Juicesir

grgemonkey wrote: »

I can digitise this for you if you want

We can just do it so you click a button on the trading site and it randomly matches you with another waiting Pal, then I can just generate you a nice big list if you want do it partially old school or we can just keep the whole thing digital and you can just manage it on the site

That would be so sweet! Please and thank you?

grgemonkey

No probs, I'll try to setup registration before PAX Aus, shouldn't be too hard.

But any further work will need to wait till after PAX hehe, I got to PARTAAAAYYYYY

Ayefkay

I like the pin idea. Though i think a general ground rule should be no sending of 'Fodder pins' like Lookouts, Core, Twisp and Catsby, Sketch or Acq Inc.

Juicesir

I dunno man, I could always use more fodder pins, but I get what you mean.

What does everyone else think about fodder pins?

Ayefkay

Just a suggestion, i just feel it might be unfair if people recieved fodders after sending a more valuable pin, but thats the roll of the dice i guess.

pureval

The funny thing is I have actually been working on organizing one of these for us. @juicesir get in touch with me and we can talk.

TheAggroCraig

I'm all for something like this, but I know the forums as a whole does the "Secret Bobcats" thing, so I'm hoping something like this is cool for our little community (I mean we're a small/tight crowd here yo).

Maybe there could be different secret santa tiers? Random pin could be one tier, while another could possibly be to grab something off of the other's wishlist?

Or a tier where we do something non-pin... or something that's not a pin but something related...

Idk, it might not be a bad idea to do something simple this year (since we're getting close to December as is), and then plan something bigger for years later.

Juicesir

Lol, leave it to pin traders to suggest different tiers of a Secret Santa group. XD

Ayefkay

I like that tiers or 'wishlist' idea. Also, call me n00b but im a little hazy on the rules...

Do you get paired with a person and both people give gifts to eachother, or do you just get a random name to give to someone?
And do you reveal your name at any point? at the end? never? Is it a 'secret' until the very end or do you just never know who gave you a gift?

TheAggroCraig

Ayefkay wrote: »

I like that tiers or 'wishlist' idea. Also, call me n00b but im a little hazy on the rules...

Do you get paired with a person and both people give gifts to eachother, or do you just get a random name to give to someone?
And do you reveal your name at any point? at the end? never? Is it a 'secret' until the very end or do you just never know who gave you a gift?

The point of secret santa is to not know who is giving you your gift, so with 5 people, it could be:

A gives to B
B gives to D
C gives to A
D gives to E
E gives to C

and at the end you can reveal yourself or not.

And sorry about tiers, it's hard without a dollar value to throw out there... we could also set a limit/pin rarity maybe to have as a max? Or a minimum? Just typing as the thoughts come.

zerzhul

TheAggroCraig wrote: »

I'm all for something like this, but I know the forums as a whole does the "Secret Bobcats" thing, so I'm hoping something like this is cool for our little community (I mean we're a small/tight crowd here yo).

Maybe there could be different secret santa tiers? Random pin could be one tier, while another could possibly be to grab something off of the other's wishlist?

Or a tier where we do something non-pin... or something that's not a pin but something related...

Idk, it might not be a bad idea to do something simple this year (since we're getting close to December as is), and then plan something bigger for years later.

Bobcats are def not the forums as a whole. That's just for the pax sections. There's loads of other sections of the forums, and many of them do their own secret santa

TheAggroCraig

zerzhul wrote: »

TheAggroCraig wrote: »

I'm all for something like this, but I know the forums as a whole does the "Secret Bobcats" thing, so I'm hoping something like this is cool for our little community (I mean we're a small/tight crowd here yo).

Maybe there could be different secret santa tiers? Random pin could be one tier, while another could possibly be to grab something off of the other's wishlist?

Or a tier where we do something non-pin... or something that's not a pin but something related...

Idk, it might not be a bad idea to do something simple this year (since we're getting close to December as is), and then plan something bigger for years later.

Bobcats are def not the forums as a whole. That's just for the pax sections. There's loads of other sections of the forums, and many of them do their own secret santa

Oh, my mistake. Admittedly I only touch the PAX/Pinny Arcade sections so I just assumed. Thanks for the clarification, now I hope we get something going here :biggrin:

zerzhul

I had talked to pureval about it previously.

I personally think that one set of rules that fit everyone is best, even if that's a lowest common denominator. It puts a lot of pressure on the organizers to handle multiple groups and multiple sets of rules, even with a small group.

Kamelon

I really like the idea. Other than receiving fodder, the first issue that comes to mind is what to get for the hardcore pin pals who are only after particularly rare pins. Having a casual or enthusiast paired up with them could be tricky. Also, just by luck of the draw you could end up with someone who only wants pins you don't have any easy way to get. So... yeah, those are my thoughts, but maybe I'm overstating the issue? I like the idea of pin-related presents too, which could be good for the hardcore collectors.

For a name, how about Pin Noël. As in, "Pin Christmas" and a play on Père Noël.

Juicesir

Lol, I like Pin Noel. ^_^

I think (and I know this will be controversial lol so just stay with me) but if you're honestly in this for just trying to fill out your collection, that sort of goes against the spirit you know? Maybe a casual doesn't have very man pins, and actually really loves the Twisp and Catsby set, and pays for it and has it all shipped to you cus you mentioned you liked those comics once. You could have all the pins in the world, but it's the thought that counts. ^_^ It isn't about how good the pin is, or how many you get. Just that someone gave you one, and shared the joy of this weird little hobby of ours.

I'm sorry, I know it's not Christmas yet, I just have the cheer in me.

Ayefkay

I dont think the goal is to specifically give a pin someone doesnt have. Just a small gift to show appreciation and if that happens to be one the person doesnt have then even better, but i think giving a throwaway fodder pin is a little tacky, and doesnt quite match the spirit of the act.

Drayven_Darko

Thoughts:
- Random pin, but nothing currently available on the online store.
- Everyone involved should have a pinnypals account so that when you get assigned your giftee you can see if you have spares of anything they need.
- There should be a thread (not unlike the bobcats thread) where the people that sign up can express their needs/fondness for pin related items such as shadow boxes, locking backs, those little blue cards the pins are attached to when you get them... etc.

Kamelon

Juicesir wrote: »

Lol, I like Pin Noel. ^_^

Yay! Me too

Juicesir wrote: »

I think (and I know this will be controversial lol so just stay with me) but if you're honestly in this for just trying to fill out your collection, that sort of goes against the spirit you know? Maybe a casual doesn't have very man pins, and actually really loves the Twisp and Catsby set, and pays for it and has it all shipped to you cus you mentioned you liked those comics once. You could have all the pins in the world, but it's the thought that counts. ^_^ It isn't about how good the pin is, or how many you get. Just that someone gave you one, and shared the joy of this weird little hobby of ours.

I'm sorry, I know it's not Christmas yet, I just have the cheer in me.

No, that's cool. I like how you explained it. It's the thought that counts! I'm totally on the same page, just wary of whether everyone would grok that or not (especially newcomers to the forum). I think maybe we just make that clear, that it's not for obtaining new and exotic pins necessarily, but for sharing the spirit of Pinny Arcade and Pin Noel (or whatever we call it). Just set expectations from the start, you know?

Coupled with @Drayven_Darko's idea about the thread of people expressing pin needs/fondess, that'll give their partner a good idea of what to get them. I've seen the bobcat ones and it looks like it really helps.

It's a good idea all round. Looking forward to it!

Shadowscars22

I'm not sure how we can prevent people from giving fodder - I mean, for one, I'm sure some people aren't very rich and can't afford big expensive gifts, and second, even if I received a fodder pin, I'd be so damn sure to keep it as it will have a special meaning to me.

Perhaps, one pin minimum, and if it's a pin currently available for sale, add a little something personal to the gift? Could be handmade, can be bougth, whatever.

Shadowscars22

I'm not sure how we can prevent people from giving fodder - I mean, for one, I'm sure some people aren't very rich and can't afford big expensive gifts, and second, even if I received a fodder pin, I'd be so damn sure to keep it as it will have a special meaning to me.

Perhaps, one pin minimum, and if it's a pin currently available for sale, add a little something personal to the gift? Could be handmade, can be bougth, whatever.

fishfishmonkeyhat

I'd be happy with minimum 1 pin, anything after that is a bonus.

You can try to get them something off their pin wanted list, but otherwise they get what they get. A "fodder" pin still has value, even if it's just as a fodder pin.

Just don't go into it expecting too much. Plus shipping on one pin should be cheap so I like it. >_>

Hingo

I'm in.

zerzhul

I think tying it specifically to pins is a poor choice, but I won't veto it. The forum secret santas are opportunities for community building, getting to know each other. You already pin trade all the time, get to know something else about the people you share the hobby with?

edit: hmm... orrrrrrrr make it pins that aren't in pinny arcade? Try to find pins that go along with people's other likes that aren't pinny arcade pins that people will be competitive over.

PedroAsani

zerzhul wrote: »

I think tying it specifically to pins is a poor choice, but I won't veto it. The forum secret santas are opportunities for community building, getting to know each other. You already pin trade all the time, get to know something else about the people you share the hobby with?

edit: hmm... orrrrrrrr make it pins that aren't in pinny arcade? Try to find pins that go along with people's other likes that aren't pinny arcade pins that people will be competitive over.

I would actually say to make it Anything But Pins. Branch out a little.

Spy112

I think this is a great idea. I also don't mind the fodder pins as it can help people who have some incomplete sets from PAX after trading away some. People also have the ability to check what pins some people might be missing and can help complete the fodder set.

But I would be happy to go whichever way people like.

Evenstar

I love Secret Santa! I kind of agree with it being non-pinny (although you could certainly include bonus surprise pins, but don't make them the focus). I think pin-related things are great, and the idea of non-pinny pins has merit. Usually these things have a suggested value as a guide, should we implement that? You could always be like Jerry and ignore it Definitely have a place to post things that interest you so your potential Santa has inspiration!

zerzhul

As an example, for the pax sections, we do a suggested value of $20, but people are free to go above that if they want.

adambarg

Agreed with earlier callers; please don't make this official-pin-centric.

fishfishmonkeyhat

I'd like it pin-centric only for the reason I already do another online secret Santa, and with money being tight around Christmas the idea of being able to send a spare pin I already have and only having to worry about the cost of postage is appealing.

Happendy

Is there any way we could connect this to the bobcat gift exchange? Linking people like @fishfishmonkeyhat‌ who only want to give Pinnys as a gift to people like @Me who really really wants to receive Pinnys as a gift?

Sounds like a headache to implement.

zerzhul

Bobcats does not take special requests for linkages. Like I was saying above, one set of rules is best. Special requests makes it less of a random gift exchange and more a forced trading session.

Shadowscars22

Maybe when people register, they can indicate if they are open to receiving pins or not. As for the value, I'm hoping we can put a low minimum as many may not have 20$ plus shipping to spare on forums friends. I would like it if as many as possible could participate, so let's make this as inclusive as possible

Kamelon

If we're going for a pinless event I humbly suggest the name "Pinfast". Like fasting from pins. I just like that because then we can shout MERRY PINFAST!!!

...

Anyway, back to waiting for my plane to PAX.

pureval

We are finishing up the details as we speak. Pins will be welcome as gifts but not required.

Drowning Rabbit

Has there been consideration for simply using a site that has already been established for "Secret Santa" like Elfster or something? Also since it's a Pin sub-forum, I would think there would be more interest in a pin specific SS, but I guess most of the hardcore collectors would have the random pins that would likely be gifted.

TheAggroCraig

This is partly off topic but it still relates to the SS:

Would it be possible to put a "favorite pin" on our profile page @grgemonkey‌ ? Maybe something like that could help people buy a related gift to someone's favorite pin?

Just a thought.

And I wish there was a way to have less people shipping internationally, the last time I shipped something to Australia it cost me almost $30 to ship it, and it was double to get tracking.

grgemonkey

Interesting idea, I'll try to have something like that before the partner emails go out.

The randomiser is going to preference pairing people in the same country but obviously this isn't always possible, hence the warning