/ss/ - Christmas in October

Hi everyone! It's time for another week of Santa Stuff! In regards to e-mails, anybody over the 100 bracket that has yet to be properly confirmed will be confirmed soon (along with a few other e-mails below that range but don't worry about it!). It just needs a little bit of time. Also, Santa Elf will be helping with a lot of the e-mails, but I'll still be going by to read most of them especially the few who want cookies! You can kinda tell who answers the e-mail by how it looks. Other than that, here a few notices to repeat!

**Cards are being restricted to 5 maximum
**Cards now have a shipping type
**Grinching now has a price bracket
**Changes should be sent as a REPLY and NOT AS A NEW E-MAIL

Also, there's no group for getting grinched for cards, sorry! Someone new will be helping me with threads as well, so you'll maybe get a reply from them instead of me!

E-mail - [email protected]
Next two posts will be the FAQ and Application guide!

The deadline this year is OCTOBER 28TH, 12:00 A.M. PACIFIC STANDARD TIME!! Thanks!

**AND YES THE APPLICATION WAS CHANGED SLIGHTLY DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT.

Simply fill out the below form **(COPY/PASTE)** and send to * [email protected] *
The more specific you are, the better. (Yes, Name/Country/Address is purposely repeated for card wishlist.)

Name:
Country:
FULL Address (Please look up how to correctly do this or your gift will get lost):
Wishlist (Don’t be afraid to post links like MAL, or say you like a character or series. You can be as specific or as vague as you want here, this is ultimately to help the other Sup Forumsnon in selecting a gift for you. Please don't just put "Surprise me."):

Card Wishlist (This is what will be sent to everyone who gets assigned to send a card to you. Try to keep it relatively short; A favorite character or waifu/husbando, a couple of your favorite shows, etc.):

Ship Internationally/Nationally/Continentally? (I/N/C):
If we cannot do National/Continental Shipping, will you do International?:
Price Range (Select one, Delete others):
- $0/Cards
- $10-25
- $25-50
- $50-75
- $75-100
- $100-150
- $150+
Number of cards you want to send (Up to 5):
Ship cards Internationally/Nationally/Continentally? (I/N/C):

[Grinched]Will you send a gift to someone who doesn't receive one?:
What price bracket will you do it at?:

If you have specific instructions/needs/inquiries or general questions, please specify here:

=====END COPY/PASTE=====
[TO SEND MULTIPLE GIFTS PLEASE FOLLOW THIS FORMAT, IF SENDING ONE, DO NOT USE]
Example - "I want to send 3 gifts and cards. Two of them in $25-50. One in $50-75."
You would format it like this:

Price Range (Select one, Delete others):
- $0/Cards
- $25-50 - 2
- $50-75 - 1
Number of cards you want to send: 4

If you want multiple wishlists per price range, simply send a new e-mail with
ALL OF THE SAME INFORMATION, but a different price range selected, and a different wishlist.

And last but not least a short FAQ as always!
FAQ:
>Q: What is Secret S/a/nta?
A chance to give and receive gifts from other Sup Forumsnons locally, nationally, or even globally with a bit of X-mas spirit!
>Q: Who is hosting this event?
Your friendly hosts are SantaLoli and 2 new members (to be announced). SantaLoli ran it last year with santafaggot who retired!
>Q: How do I join?
You'll need to fill out the form as specific as possible when it's posted, sending it as an e-mail to us!
>Q: Deadline to join?
OCTOBER 28TH 12:00 AM PACIFIC STANDARD TIME!!! Why? Because we need to match which takes to at maximum 1 week, and then every user needs to
buy gifts, make cards and whatever else in order to ensure everything arrives on time!
>Q: Why should I trust this?
It's up to you! In the past we have had multiple successful Secret S/a/nta events hosted by us the past few years.
The average on people not receiving gifts is very very low. We even have the grinch protection program which lets
people send gifts to those who didn't receive anything at all, even after X-mas!
>Q: Can I give you guys stuff?
SantaLoli will accept stuff this year! Await a PO Box! Please don't think you owe us anything.
We do this solely because we want to, and for all of you, not for recognition. Thanks.

>I ALREADY JOINED, HOW DO I FIX SOMETHING?
A: If you need to make changes to your wishlist or address, or anything else:
please RE-SEND the application with the changes made as a REPLY to your first e-mail!
This means send the whole application! It's almost the same process as last year!
Let us know too what changes were made.

>October
what timezone is the northpole in anyway?

It's time.

Time to start penny pinching for the month so I can afford a higher gift bracket to brighten an user's holiday

I won't be participating this year but I'd just like to say thanks for the work you put in to make every user's Christmas special!

A bit late this weekend aren't we?

Don't know if I'll participate this year.

...

There's only 3 of them now unfortunately, and santafaggot retired RIP.

I can't wait to actually start making gifts, it's the best time of the year. Figuring out a way to suit each user's individual tastes the best.

I think it's fine since we don't need /ss/ threads up constantly throughout the weekend.

Last week's was early Sunday britbong time too, I figure they want to keep it to one thread per weekend to avoid the ire of mods.

Going to go ahead and post this again since I'm sure these questions will come up.

Unofficial Sup Forums Secret Santa Success Guide

Ready to spread some Christmas cheer with lonely anons around the world this winter?
First time participating in /ss/, can't draw, and/or don't know how this works?

Just keep the following best practices in mind and you'll be on your way to santa success!

1. Signing Up & Getting Assignments
>Keep your budget and time constrainsts in mind. 5 cards might sound like a good idea now, but making each card takes longer than you think. If you're a student and know you're going to be busy late November/early December with finals or you know money is going to be tight in a couple months, don't bite off more than you can chew

>Present bracket dollars are $USD (because fuck you Zimbabwe-user)

>Present brackets DO NOT INCLUDE SHIPPING. Did you sign up for poverty bracket and get an international assignement? Expect the shipping to cost more than the gift itself. Don't be a fag and include shipping as part of the bracket amount. If you have to be this stingy, just sign up for cards.

>Be specific with your wishlist. List favorite characters and not just a grocery list of titles you like. It's not unacceptable to list a specific item, but don't be a bitch if you don't end up getting it (this is about giving Sup Forums-related presents to other anons which includes accepting this element of surprise in the process)

>However, it is acceptable to list figures or goods you already have so your santa can avoid it

>While most anons would agree that homemade shit is great, acceptability might depend on the bracket so be sure to include whether it's okay or not. Generally, homemade gift in place of or with a card is 100% okay, homemade gift for lower/poverty brackets is generally acceptable (i.e. given how scarves and shit take time), but it's generally not okay in high end brackets to only send a homemade gift. It depends on the gift and the attitudes of the recipient, but be sure to specify.

>Get an assignment and you don't know any of the characters/shows listed? /ss/ is a great opportunity for you to go pick up new shows and get introduced to series you may not have thought of watching. That being said, if you get a fujo wishlist for example and you're just not into that, you could also ask santaloli for another assignment early on. Better to switch than to grinch just because you didn't know or didn't like someone's tastes.

>Missed signs up? Wait until next year, if we even have /ss/ next year. It's pretty much your fault for not browsing Sup Forums enough and not checking the archives. Don't bother posting in the /ss/ threads about how you missed sign ups either.

2. Making Cards
>Can't draw? No problem. Look through the card albums from previous years and you'll see that most user's can't draw for shit either. Even if it's a crude drawing, as long as it looks like you did your best and add a message, I think most user's would appreciate it.

>That being said, if you have some unique skills that you can incorporate into your card making/replace a card (like knitting scarves, laser prints, 3D printing, bead art, stained glass, whatever) go for it to be unique and loved by other anons

3. Getting Gifts
>Start early. Look and order your gift as soon as you get your assignment, especially if you're ordering from overseas. Don't underestimate international shipping times.

>It's generally recommended that you ship the gifts from the vendor to your place first so you can then personally wrap it/add other goodies before shipping it to your recipient. It's not taboo to send the package directly to your assignment, but it's impersonal.

4. /ss/ threads (pre-Christmas)

As a sender:
>It's generally considered a nice gesture to post initials of your assignments when you've sent the cards/packages (to let people know they should be expecting a package)
>Post initials if you need to inform your assignment about special circumstances (i.e. might be delivered after Christmas, etc...)

As an assignment:
>It's polite to post initials once you've recieved a package so the sender can sleep at night knowing it arrived safely.
>You're highly encouraged to post pictures of cards you've recieved
>Cards should be opened as they are recieved and put up for display for maximum Christmas spirit
>Gifts should not be opened (unless the sender specifies or something) until Christmas day (or Christmas eve at the earliest)

As a participant in general:
>Don't ruin /ss/ threads by begging for initials

5. /ss/ threads (Christmas+)
>Post pictures of cards and gifts!
>If you don't want to post pictures, at least post thanking your Santa.

And finally:

6. Don't be a fag!

AP from NJ I emailed my info in to the gmail but didn't get a response. What do?

How long ago?

We do threads once a week, with an exception of maybe 2 before the deadline!
Worry not, it's being taken care of, a reply will come shortly but we did receive it!

Last year I signed up under a different physical address and email address, is mentioning them by name in my email enough to verify me for the whitelist?

You're approved, we got it under control!

Just to be clear I'm not

Thanks!

Just signed up! I'll be dumping gifts this year again to poorfags huehuehue

Get ready for some cards!
My skills have improved by 1% since last year.

0/4 of my cards were posted last year. Should I even bother signing up?

>write SantaLoli a message in my email
>get response
>"I'll forward your message to SantaLoli"
>some random elf read my heartfelt message for SL
n-no

Yes, you just got to believe in Christmas.

No, the point is I'm worried nobody likes my cards.

That's okay, even if they didn't like them you shared a part of yourself and that's what it's all about.

If they can only sign up for the cards, they probably can't afford a camera or a phone with a camera on it.

It's likely people don't feel like posting sometimes, as they have things to attend to! If it makes you feel any better, out of the 7 batches of cookies and 1 special surprise I sent, only 3 of them were posted.
I read it, but it's likely other hosts might see it too!

anyone got last years card album?

Where is Yui Claus?

Maybe they just all had shit taste, and that's why they didn't like your cards

I was going through all the /ss/ archived posts... SantaLoli did you actually send someone your old shimapan? Still doing a double take here.

If so did you wear them before sending them out?

What have you anons who participated in the past done when you got someone with "shit taste"?

Serious question.

I just make the card anyway

I just do cards, but usually something like "user-kun, you have shit taste", and then draw trace something that they like. If their taste is really shit I might draw a better girl from the series than the one they listed, to educate them.

I got them an artbook.

You send them a "With sympathy...for your shit taste" card

question:
does the mixing begin in the 28th or do you get assigned someone as soon as you send your email?

Well, it's not the latter.

Assignments aren't sent out until a bit after the entry deadline. Because of this, I assume the mixing doesn't happen until the deadline, though only Santaloli will know for sure what they do.

That definitely works a card. What about the present part?

just asked to be paired with someone else.

I don't remember this getting posted, or I didn't see it!
You still treat them with respect!
The assignments are sent out within a week after the deadline!

Does he has an ultimate shit taste and there is nothing good in his wishlist?
I just send whatever user likes. If he enjoys it then why stop him.

>Roughly two months to git gud at drawing
Fug. Hold me.

Does anyone have the bloody pantsu image? I thought I had it saved.

Just get them something good even if they have shit taste.

...

No pairings this year so dunno.

Just thinking of funny things you can do short of getting them stuff you think they'd hate.

Was thinking of getting the official review documents from the customs and revenue ministry and providing an official government opinion that they have shit taste and their country is disappoint. Don't want to get in trouble though so thinking of something else.

Oh, that was me!
I do not know!

Also, to help keep the thread alive, please post things you have received or made (or want to share)! Much appreciated!

>(because fuck you Zimbabwe-user)
oh boy, the joke I made last thread got added to the guide
I can die happy now

>6. Don't be a fag!
What if from the message/wishlist of the assignment you eventually get there is strong reason to believe that they are indeed a fag.

e.g. asking for trap shit. ecchi trap shit.

Nope nope nope

>Don't be a fag
Rest in peace, Santafag

Any of you anons have any luck with doing popup cards? I tried doing a couple last year but couldn't figure it out.

this thread violates many of what was listed in the kino sticky, it should be banned

I miss the days when you ultra casual fags were.

Aki from AL here.

I fucked up last year because shipping costs were over estimated and I'm not sure if the cards I made were shipped. And my parents tried to intervene the whole time.

I'm not sure if I want to try again this year.

Low quality posts like this sure be bannable. OH WAIT THEY ARE!

I've only done the simple pop up cards, like this. They worked fine. It kinda helped my cards look less plain

Am I allowed to apply with a po box?

Yes it's completely allowed!

>you will never get a used pair of panties from your santa
What's the point of waking up in the morning?

Naruto is better than Kino though.

> I'll never get a scarf from scarf user

Why live.

Will you be sending out more shimapan?

What exactly was changed? I started filling it last weekend and can't tell where the difference is.

Also spent ungodly time this week browsing the arts and crafts sections of various stores, and I already have some ideas. Was genuinely surprising to see so much Christmas stuff already. One store even had actual cards

Sign up for cards and there's a chance you'll be one of like 5 he does for card assignments each year.
That's how I got one.

Will finally be participating this Year, for the first time in several Years.

I doubt it, I think they try to match you up by geographic area and I live at the end of world so there's no chance. Maybe I'll get a Naoe scarf somehow someday.

Make a request and maybe your wish will come true!
We will see!
Removed having to fill out Name and Address a second time, but don't worry about it if you already did it!
Thanks for participating!

>you (might) get a used pair of panties from santaloli
Life is worth living again.

I think I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it this time guys

Now I feel bad. I burnt out hard last year due to work stuff, and never actually ended up picking up any requests, but this event got me back in the mood and once I'm finished with this awful commission (I now remember why I never actually sell my stuff) I can possibly work something in.
Email me at [email protected]

Dreams really do come true. I love you Sup Forums.

I sent my mail

A christmas miracle. congrats user.

>In most places on Earth, local time is determined by longitude, such that the time of day is more-or-less synchronised to the position of the sun in the sky (for example, at midday the sun is roughly at its highest). This line of reasoning fails at the North Pole, where the sun rises and sets only once per year, and all lines of longitude, and hence all time zones, converge. There is no permanent human presence at the North Pole and no particular time zone has been assigned.

>There is no permanent human presence at the North Pole
Why would you try and cite something that's clearly false?

That's fuckin fake, Santa lives there.

>We will see!
How do we sign up for shimapan and cookies?

...

I was worried there wasn't going to be a /ss/ this year, SantaLoli you saved my Christmas!

I'm helping out this year, and need to say hi before SantaLoli starts making angry loli noises.
Just do it.
Good things sometimes happen to good little girls who know how to ask in their email.

How much of a failure am I if I've waited all the way until this year's Christmas to send out a thank you card to my santa from last year?

Lots of anons send out thank you cards the following year, instead of immediately after!

I still have the return addresses of all my Anons from several years, but I've never bothered to send thank you cards. What if they moved? I don't know anything about their taste. What if someone died?

If anyone sends me a thank you card, it better be lewd.

I sent my thank you card super late as well once. I just like to think that they got it anyway.

I really hope I'm assigned to you this year.

better late than never.

ara ara has /osg/ always been here?

Just curious, are grinch stats out for this past year? Fug, one of them got me.

Also still debating on doing cards or just doing one gift from a whitelist bracket.
Should I just sell my soul to the local walmart? Tried doing that last year to the nearest amazon distribution center and fuckers wouldn't let me leave when I felt sick. Since I was temp I would've had to do paperwork and have received points against me if I wanted to go home.

I'm excited for this year too, but this time I don't know how to proceed.

>tfw plan to visit gensokyo/japari park at the end of the year
>not sure if I should participate in one more secret santa

send me an email with your info so I can send you a nice send off card.

how long have you been doing this LC? another user from /osg/ here!

Those places are too crowded at the end of the year. You should travel after holidays.

How's this year's participation in comparison to the last year?