I can’t believe it, but here we are again! It’s time for one of my favorite parts of the holiday season: Broke & Bookish Secret Santa! Please make sure you read through the entirety of this post before signing up to ensure you’re clear on everything!
CHRISTMAS CARD EXCHANGE INFO:
This exchange is open internationally and you must be 18 years old or older. You can sign up to send 5 or 10 cards and will receive the same in return. Please note that this will not be divided up by countries, so you might be sending internationally. You are more than welcome to sign up for this exchange in addition to a Secret Santa package, and I will not be placing a cap on participants for this exchange.
SIGN-UPS CLOSE AT 11:59 PM MST ON NOVEMBER 15TH!
I will be emailing you your list of card recipients on November 16th.
If you want to sign up for the Christmas card exchange, please do so through the following links:
5 cards
10 cards
THINGS YOU NEED TO DO:
1. Mail your cards by December 3rd (ASAP if you’re sending internationally). Delivery times can increase during the holidays, so getting these out sooner rather than later makes it especially fun for those who enjoy hanging up or displaying their cards all season.
2. Once you have sent out all your cards, please fill out this form.
3. Writing a note (and not just signing your name) is not required, but encouraged, because it makes this exchange even happier and more special. Consider sharing the title of your favorite read of this year, including a yummy holiday recipe you love, or offering cheerful wishes for the holiday season or upcoming new year. Some people have enclosed a fun bookmark or sticker, too, which is such a fun idea. Take the opportunity to make some new friends!
4. This exchange highlights holiday cheer, so please do not include personal promotional/marketing materials in your cards.
5. Include some way for your card recipients to find/contact you online! If you only include your mailing address and name, they won’t be able to figure out who you are unless they write back… and since that is not a requirement of this event you might miss out on a new friend. A Twitter/Insta handle, blog link, or email address would be perfect.
6. Include the hashtag #TBTBSanta somewhere on the envelope or in the card so your recipient knows you’re from this event.
SECRET SANTA INFO:
1. You must be 18 or older to participate.
2. Please only sign up if you are committed to sending off a package on time. Really think about whether or not you’ll have the time and the money to send a thoughtful gift to your recipient–one you’d be happy to receive yourself.
3. Be as thorough as possible in your questionnaire (no amount of info is too much). Please utilize the event hashtag on Twitter (#TBTBSanta) to ask questions, or reach out to the contact your recipient provides if you need help or clarification on what to send.
4. There are Google forms linked below in the “things to do” section for you to fill out when you have sent your package and when you have received your package. These forms will also be included in the email I send out with your recipient’s information. Please don’t forget to fill them out!
5. A note to people outside of the USA: Please understand that I can’t guarantee that you will be assigned to send to someone who lives remotely close to you. I try to work it out geographically, but it all depends on who signs up and which package they sign up to send.
Countries are divided up into mailing groups to help with shipping costs. If you live in one of the locations listed below, you will be placed in that mailing group and could be sending to any of the countries listed in that group. If you sign up for a package type that nobody else close to you has signed up for, you will be placed in a different mailing group. If you are unsure as to whether or not you can afford the shipping, please do a little research before you sign up. I will continually update this post with a list of countries where participants are from (and which mailing groups they are in) so you can see where you might potentially be sending your package.
- All participants in Canada are guaranteed to ship to someone else in Canada (if you sign up for package A and nobody else does, I will write to you and ask if you want me to move you to another tier or discard your sign-up).
- All participants in the UK are guaranteed to ship to someone else in the UK (if you sign up for package A and nobody else does, I will write to you and ask if you want me to move you to another tier or discard your sign-up).
Mailing Groups:
Canada: (Packages B and C)
Europe Mailing Group 1: UK (England, Wales, Scotland) (Packages B and C)
Europe Mailing Group 2: Mainland/Continental Europe (The Netherlands, Belgium) (Packages B and C)
6. I’m capping this event at 250 participants this year. If you sign-up after the cap has been reached, I will reply and let you know.
7. I can’t ensure that you will not be assigned to send someone you’ve sent to before, or someone you’ve been paired with in other swaps/gift-giving events.
If a family member or significant other is signing up for the same package type that you are and you want to make sure you are not paired with them, please note that at the top of your signup before your questionnaire answers so that it’s the first thing I see. Making it large and bold would also be helpful. Once emails go out, pairs are set in stone and I will not be able switch things around since many people start shopping immediately.
8. Please note that this is NOT a swap. You will not be sending to the same person who is sending to you.
Sign-ups close at 11:59 PM MST on November 13th
and I will send out pairings on November 14th.
HOW TO SIGN UP:
Some of these questions have changed since last year, so please be careful if you are copying and pasting last year’s questionnaire!
To sign up, send an email to TBTBSecretSanta (at) gmail (dot) com answering the following questions. (NOTE: Please do not attach a document to your email. Just copy and paste your answers directly into the body of the email. Please do not include any attachments that you want me to send on to your Santa.)
- Full Name & Mailing Address (Exactly as it should appear on the mailing label)
- Please choose which gift you will be sending to your recipient (I will be grouping people accordingly, so you will receive a package in the same tier you choose. Please note that ARCs have no monetary value and will, therefore, not count towards the item quantities listed here. Think of them as a fun bonus if you choose to include them.):
A. 1 book and a small gift/goodie
B. 1-2 books and a couple small gifts/goodies
C. 2+ books and multiple small gifts/goodies
- Twitter handle: (If you do not have a twitter account or are not active on a regular basis, please put N/A here.)
- Are you planning to be active on the #TBTBSanta hashtag on Twitter during this event? (If you answer no or do not use Twitter, you will still be allowed to participate. This is just info for your Santa.)
- If you answered no to the above question, where will you be posting about your gift/thanking your Santa?
- Other social media handles/links: (Include any social media or blogs that will help your Santa get to know you. You MUST be active and not private on at least one social media platform in order to participate.)
- List of 10-15 books you’d like to read, or a link to a book wishlist: (Please include old and new releases and please do not ask for books that have not been released yet. Make sure your Goodreads profile or Amazon wishlist is public at least for the time this event runs. Double check that your link works while logged out of your account. Please keep your wishlist separate if you participate in other gift giving events. Santas should not feel obligated to return anything if they discover that items from this exclusive list were purchased for them by someone else, and will be advised to send the duplicate item anyway.)
- Genres you read the most:
- List of your bookish preferences: (your favorite authors, things you will not read, if you prefer hardback or paperback, if you would prefer all ebooks, if you don’t care about book format at all, if you collect editions of certain books, if you are okay receiving a book not on your wishlist that your Santa thinks you would like, etc.)
- Food and other allergies:
- Would you be open to receiving homemade treats?:
- All the things about yourself: (Please tell your Secret Santa about yourself. The more they know about you, the better job they can do picking out your additional small gifts/goodies. For example: general info about yourself (pronouns, job, age, school/major, family, pets, etc.), if you celebrate Christmas or not, your hobbies/passions, music you love, smells or flavors you like/do not like, TV shows you watch, favorite movies, things you collect, fandoms you’re a part of, if you would love something native to where your Secret Santa lives, coffee/tea you like, candy/snacks you like, favorite colors, shoe/sock size, favorite patterns, your style/aesthetic, favorite animals, things you are obsessed with, etc. Also, if you have an e-reader and would be happy receiving ebooks or a gift card, mention that and include your preferred email address(es).)
- Would you be able to send internationally if needed? (This question mainly applies to people in the USA, since I can’t guarantee that you will not be sending internationally if you live outside the USA.) Please answer with:
A. Yes, I can.
B. No, I cannot.
C. Would prefer not to but will if needed (be careful with this one, as you could be shipping anywhere.)
NA. I do not live in the USA, and understand that I might be sending internationally.
- Please confirm that you are 18 years old or older:
A. Yes, I am.
B. I am not.
- Have you participated in Broke & Bookish Secret Santa before, or is this your first time?:
- Please provide the contact information (name and Twitter handle/email address) of someone your Secret Santa can contact with questions about you: (This person does not have to know you well. They will only serve as the relayer of information between you and your Santa so I am not inundated with emails. Please choose a member of the book community and not a partner/spouse/parent. In the past, some people have felt awkward contacting people who have no ties to the bookish community. Please ask this person to open their DMs on Twitter if this is how they prefer to be contacted. If you have no idea who to ask to be your contact, post to the event hashtag and ask for volunteers or ask me for help and I will find you someone.)
- Any questions, comments or additional things your Secret Santa (or I) should know?
- If you would like to sign up to receive an email notification when future Broke & Bookish Secret Santa sign-ups go live (always in October), please type out your preferred email address here.: (I will scan and remove duplicates from this list before emailing, so if you’re not sure whether or not you already signed up for this list it’s ok! You can ask me to remove you from this list at any point if you decide you no longer want to receive this notification, and I will promptly remove you.)
THINGS YOU NEED TO DO:
1. It is recommended that you mail your package by December 10th (perhaps earlier if you are sending internationally). This is a recommendation and not a shipping deadline. Please ensure your package arrives no later than December 24th.
2. If something comes up that will cause your package to be delivered after December 24th, please email me and let me know. I don’t need all the details if it’s personal, but communication is super important in an exchange like this. I will always be empathetic, understanding, and respectful of your privacy. If I have to chase you down to find out why your recipient did not receive anything from you, I will decline your sign-up request for future Secret Santa events I host. Exceptions will always be made if something catastrophic occurs, so if that happens please get in touch with me when you are able.
3. Please do not ship gifts directly from Amazon or elsewhere (unless you approve it with me first). Gifts should be thoughtfully chosen based on your recipient’s questionnaire, wrapped nicely, and sent in a box together. Please include some kind of a note or card.
4. Once you’ve sent your gift, please hold onto the tracking number and submit it through this form. Shipping delays and lost mail are not your fault. A tracking number proves you did all you could. :) If you’d rather email me a picture of your tracking number, please still fill out this form and specify you emailed me so I’ve got a record and know where to look.
5. Once you’ve received your gift, please fill out this form.
6. Be sure to thank your Secret Santa when you receive your gift. You can do this via social media or reach out to me for their email address. I know this should go without saying, but there have been some ungrateful people in the past who never reached out to their Santa to thank them or even acknowledged that they received their gift. That’s completely unacceptable, not to mention rude. People who do not thank their Santas will not be allowed to participate in future Secret Santa events I host.
Another note on thank you’s… Please acknowledge you received your gift even if you do not plan to open your gift until Christmas Day (or any day other than the day you received it). In this case, please say you received it publicly on social media or reach out to me for their email address. Your Santa is likely watching your online activity, eager to know that their gift is safely in your hands and has not been stolen or lost. You can thank them again after you’ve opened your gift and discovered their identity.
7. Please do not ask me to investigate where your package is until December 27th. I will be taking Christmas Day and the day after to spend with my family, and I will be happy to investigate the status of your package on the 27th. I will try my very best to work things out, but please understand that there is only so much I can do.
8. Please reach out to me through the event email with any questions or concerns, and not my Twitter DMs. I juggle so many things with this event, and having everything in one inbox where it’s easy to manage means I won’t lose track of your message.
9. Please utilize the event hashtag (#TBTBSanta) to ask questions, post hints, thank your Santa, and share in your shopping/gifting/receiving/sending process! Show us what you got! It’s also really helpful to search your person’s handle with the hashtag and see all the questions they’ve answered and the gifts they received in previous years.
10. Please do not request a tracking number from your Santa on the event hashtag. This causes unnecessary stress for everyone involved in this event. If having the tracking number is important to you (because you live in a shared dwelling or will be traveling), please put that request in your questionnaire.
GIFT GUIDELINES & SUGGESTIONS:
1. Books can be new or used. Use your discretion as far as used books go, but please be kind and don’t send something you wouldn’t want to receive. They should be in very good condition. ARCs have no monetary value and should, therefore, only be included in addition to the number of books and goodies you committed to send.
2. When I say “goodies or small gifts”, I don’t mean free swag. If you think your recipient would really love and appreciate these kinds of items (maybe you have something cool signed by an author they love), feel free to add them after you’ve gathered some other thoughtful goodies. Please just make sure that these additional goodies are not all things anyone could have picked up at a book event or received from publishers in the mail.
3. Please do not include personal marketing or promotional materials (bookmark/postcard ads, business cards, book samplers, etc.) in the gift you send. This can appear as though you signed up for the wrong reasons, and takes away from the holiday cheer.
4. Regarding food items: Due to allergies and other health concerns, please do not send homemade food items unless your recipient mentions that they would like them. Pre-packaged, store-bought foods are encouraged! Please just make sure that they are wrapped/sealed in their original wrapping/packaging from the manufacturer. Sprinkling candy into the box like confetti is fine, it just needs to be individually wrapped to protect the health of your recipient.
5. Be thoughtful. Most of the time the gifts are really sweet and thoughtful, but occasionally someone throws random crap in a box to fulfill their commitment.
6. If you aren’t sure what kinds of things to add for the additional small gifts, peruse the #TBTBsanta feed on Twitter or Instagram to see pictures of packages from previous years. There are lots of good ideas!
Please ask any questions in the comments!!
