Welcome patrons new and old, it's that time of year once again for….
↬ ❄️THE FIFTH ANNUAL LIBRARY GIFT EXCHANGE ❄️↫
hosted by UncertaintyCrossing and
zipzipskins! The Library is such an awesome community that it is an honor to be running this wonderful tradition yet again for y'all! And of course, many thanks to Zip for helping run it this year! In case you're not familiar, this is the Library's version of the Art Exchange hosted on our sister site, the SCP Wiki.
What is this?
It's a Secret Santa event! You sign up in this very thread, listing what you can offer and what you'd like to receive. We pair people up - you'll receive a private message from either Zip or I with who you're making a gift for. Check out their post in the thread, and make them a wonderful little present to bring the season together! This isn't a contest - it's a chill, relaxing event where, ideally, everyone comes out with a good time, good gift, and good memories. Check out the Yuletide Hub Page for examples of gifts from prior years!
What kinda gifts we talking?
Anything, really, provided a.) you created it, and b.) you can send it over the internet. The most common are art and writing. Remember that we tend to have more writers than artists - be sure to offer requests for both so that your gifter knows which direction to go in.
If you sign up, you're only required to make one gift for your assigned giftee. That being said, if you feel so inclined, you are welcome to make multiple for more than one person! Just please keep in mind the spirit of the holidays - this is not a contest, and everything is in good fun. Everyone has different schedules and skillsets, it's an honor to receive any sort of gift from this amazing community in the first place!
Awesome! How do I sign up?
Simply make a new post in this thread (do not reply to this post!) following the format below:
**What I Can Give:** [What you can give]
**What I Am Looking For:** [What you are looking for]
New to this year, we are requiring you to be more detailed/specific with what you want, and with what you can give. Please do not put "I can receive anything" or "I can write any kind of (prose/verse/ect)" when describing the above, especially if you haven't participated in Yuletide before! You will be asked via a forum reply to elaborate on what you can give/what you are looking for if we deem your request not specific enough. If you truly are happy with making/receiving anything, think about what you enjoy the most or would want to see more of or just what you're in the mood for! Anything helps, as while it may seem courteous to your prospective gifter to be open ended with what you want, it actually leaves them with no direction for their gift, making the process inadvertently more difficult. A genre, main theme, or a specific item/character/concept can be a great place to start. Additionally, if you are more specific with what you can give, it makes it easier on us to make sure everyone is happy in the gifts they get to make/work on too! Please be at least a little specific with your requests (while also being reasonable). Also, one cannot stress this enough:
Don't sign up if you are iffy on making the deadlines, laid out below!
If you know you're busy or something's coming up that interferes with your gift-making, you should probably abstain from participating. However, we understand if something unexpected emerges in your personal life that you could not have planned for and disrupts your Gift Exchange intentions. Should that occur, please:
1) Send an unfinished product at the deadline with the intention to finish it later, or…
2) Contact one of us ASAP about your situation, and we'll get a pinch-hitter on the case right away. More on that later!
Schedule?
First, have a brief overview:
Nov. 17th - Nov. 30th — Signing up.
Dec. 1st - Dec. 22nd — Making the gifts.
Dec. 22rd - Dec. 24th — Pinch-hitting.
Dec. 25th - Dec. 27th — Receiving gifts, wondering who made them.
Dec. 28th — Revealing the Secret Santas.
Anytime after Dec. 28th — Optionally posting gifts to the site.
For a more in-depth run-down…
Pinch-Hitting
Pinch-Hitters will make a gift for someone when the original gifter cannot follow through. This will mostly come into play between gift submissions and distributions, though a Pinch-Hitter will be called in anytime a gifter says they cannot fulfill their request, giving the Pinch-Hitter more time to fill in. However, a Pinch-Hitter must be prepared to work under very restrictive timelines, down to 48 hours.
Only sign up as a Pinch-Hitter if you're very confident in your skills under pressure. Your application as a Pinch-Hitter may be turned down if we do not share your confidences. It's a bit harsh, but necessary to ensure everyone gets their gift in full-confidence. If you have interest in the position, simply state so on your sign-up post here!
Blacklist
The Library is not implementing a blacklist this year; which is to say, even if you did not finish your gift last year, you'll be allowed to participate in the Gift Exchange this year. That said, we will be continuing our soft check-in system implemented last year — meaning that if you did not finish your gift last year, you may be contacted by one of the organizers and asked to clarify what happened then and if it's likely to occur again this year/if there are any steps you're taking to address it and ensure you get your gift in on-time this year. If you can't provide a satisfying assurance, we may elect to deny your participation in this year's Gift Exchange. We understand this isn't fun and don't want to spoil anyone's season, but we're just trying our best to make sure everyone wakes up on the big day to many gifts on their doorstep!
Reminders:
- Don't ghost the exchange. Please, if you can't make it, send a PM to the organizers beforehand. When you skip out, everyone suffers.
- It's called Secret Santa! Don't reveal yourself to your giftee, and if you know something, don't let anyone in on it! Secrecy is part of the fun!
- Keep it jolly and festive! Don't intentionally make a gift that goes against the giftee's wishes, or otherwise knowingly make something bad.
- Try to keep requests and gifts age-appropriate for the site. If you wouldn't post it on the site or in chat, consider choosing to request or make something else that still fulfills the giftee's wants but is more appropriate.
- Please be detailed in your requests of both what you can give, and what you'd like to receive as a gift!
❄️ HAPPY HOLIDAYS, WANDERERS! ❄️
But the time flies, irretrievable.