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This thread is being set up for you to see Secret Santa rules and to ask questions.

Once you receive your gift from your Secret Santa, please post in the reveal thread: Secret Santa Reveal Thread

Secret Santa Rules from Lacie's Mom:

I may be jumping the gun just a little, but I would love to handle this year's Secret Santa Gift Exchange, and I'm wondering how many of our members are planning on participating this year.

I am proposing a sign-up cut-off date of Friday, 10/24/08. I would then have your Secret Santa(s) back to you by Friday, 10/31/08. In addition, I am suggesting that we use Saturday, 12/6/08 as the cutoff date for mailing so that presents are received in a timely manner. Those that are participating from overseas or mailing to participants overseas will probably need to use an earlier mailing date.

Here are some thoughts that I've put together for this years Gift Exchange. These are certainly open to discussion. Additional thoughts, comments, suggestions are very welcome. Please let me know if you are interested in participating. I will be putting a questionnaire together, similar to the ones in past years, for you to complete and email to me as we get closer to the cutoff date.

Please read these suggestions in full before you sign up. Thank you.

1. Finding a Secret Santa - Pairing up will be randomly done, and you will be informed by e-mail or PM as to who your Secret Santa is, their address and all their information on themselves and their furbaby(ies)! You may register more than one furbaby, however, you will most likely get furbabies from different households to give gifts to.

2. Privacy - Your personal private information will only be gathered for the purposes of the Gift Exchange. The only person that will be given your name and address is the person that is sending your furbaby a gift.

3. How It Will Work – Within a week after the signup period has ended, each person will get a Secret Santa to give a gift to. Keep in mind, just because you have "Sally" does not mean that "Sally" has you!

4. Price Ranges - There will be a suggested minimum spending limit of $20.00 - $25.00 so that everything can remain fair and no one will feel like they spent too much and received too little, or vice versa! This is the amount for actual items for the Gift, shipping will be additional (usually from $5 to $10 depending on the size and weight). If you want to spend a little more (or a lot more!) on your Secret Santa, you may do so, but please do not expect that in return! Spoiled Maltese Members have been known to be very generous in the past. It is from the goodness of their own heart to do so.

5. Shipping and Receiving - Please allow 1-2 weeks shipping time or longer if your Secret Santa lives overseas! If you are participating, we are putting all our trust on you to get your gifts and to send them out on time so that your Secret Santa on the other end and their furbaby will not be waiting for their presents for too long! It is in your hands to ship it and since we are all trusting each other, please do not forget to ship it out! If you do not ship out your gift, you will be held responsible for it. Again, this is based on TRUST so if you believe that you may not be able to ship it out on time or that problems may arise, please let us know as soon as possible!

6. Sending Out Your Gift - There will be a set deadline of December 6th for mailing your gift. You will receive your Secret Santa approximately 4-6 weeks prior to this date, so that you have plenty of time to buy and mail your gifts. Remember, keep in mind the approximate amount of time it will take for your gift to get to its destination. We completely understand the inevitability of complications or that crucial personal problems may occur. If this happens, please notify us by PM.

We can help you find alternate solutions to have your gift mailed out or if, early enough, we can withdraw your name from the Participants List. It is only fair that you send out your gift in the allowed time window because other members may use their best judgment and send out their gifts a month in advance. We believe you have the ability to do the same also.

Please DO NOT send your Secret Santa any USED toys or clothing. Re-gifting an item you may have received previously is okay, but only if it is NEW. Please give away or throw away your USED items you do not want, as they should not be given to SM members in the Gift Exchange.

7. Receiving a Gift - Your buddy has put a lot of thought, effort, money and time into your gift. We believe that the least you can do is thank them. Please start a thread after you have received your gift so that your Gift Giver knows that you have received the goodies. It shows your Secret Santa that you appreciate it and also lets us know that you received your gift so we know who or who did not receive their gifts. This is a requirement of participating in the Gift Exchange.

8. Tracking Numbers / Confirmation Numbers / Insurance - Please insure your package and get a tracking number (or delivery confirmation with the US Postal Service). It will let us know where your package is and the status of it so your buddy can also be updated. We encourage you to use a shipping service that either has a tracking number or delivery confirmation number (either US Postal Service, UPS, or Fedex). The shipping services DO lose packages and it would be a shame if your Secret Santa did not get the package due to no fault of your own. Many packages are lost by carriers each year. Insurance has come in very handy in several cases already.

9. Not Received a Gift - If you have not received your gift within 2 weeks of the posted deadline, please PM us to let us know. We will contact your Secret Santa. It is not fair to you if you have sent out a gift and did not receive one in return.

10. Eligibility - EDITED BY K/C Mom... There are elibility requirements .... contact Lacie's Mom for more information.

We have had challenges with former SM members that DID NOT mail out a Gift in previous Gift Exchanges while they did accept a gift. This is totally unfair and unjust, especially with all the effort, time, and energy everyone in the Gift Exchange has given. We do not want to impose stringent rules on the Gift Exchange and ask that, if you sign up to participate, you send your gift or, in case of emergency, notify us that you will not be able to, so that other arrangements can be made for your Secret Santa.

And, as in years past, the questionnaire will contain an area to indicate if you wish your Secret Santa to donate to a rescue organization instead of sending a gift.

From Lacie's Mom: (slightly edited by K/C Mom to remove link that has now been updated.)

Many of our Secret Santas have had questions about 2 specific items. So I thought it would be best to post the answers here so that everyone could view.


As a Secret Santa, you have the same number of furbutts assigned to you as the number of furbutts you have participating. For example, If you have 2 furbutts and you want both to have a Secret Santa, you are responsible for being a Secret Santa for 2 furbutts. If you have 1 furbutt, then you are responsible for only 1 furbutt.

You may, however, receive a questionnaire which contains more furbutts than you are being assigned. I have tried to be clear as to which furbutt has been assigned to you. The other furbutt(s) has/have been assigned to another Secret Santa.

In some instances you are assigned a furbutt from one household and a second furbutt from another household.

If you have any questions about who you are assigned to, please pm me immediately.

Lastly, many of you have send me questions to ask your Secret Santa. I am gathering that info as quickly as possible and will get it back to you via pm as soon as I have it.

In the meantime, please let me know if you have additional questions.

Are there any other late arrivals that want to participate?? I would really love to join in!!