Stashmas FAQs

[Kute Kitty]

Well, I'm hoping that Stashmas will become an annual tradition on the forum, so I thought I'd post up answers to a few frequently asked questions that have come up over the last couple of years!

Q: What is Stashmas?
A: Started in 2008, Stashmas is an annual gift exchange, an entirely made-up holiday for this forum.

Q: When is Stashmas?
A: Stashmas day is 1st December – but if you receive your gift before then, please go ahead and open it, and post up pictures so we can all share the glee!

Q: What do I have to do for Stashmas?
A: First you need to sign up. If you don’t sign up, you can’t participate. If you’ve joined the forum too late to participate this year, you can always get involved next year! You will be assigned someone to send a gift to. Check out the wish list thread to see what they’ve said they’d like – and make a post yourself! Find a gift for them, up to the value of £10 (that's UK pounds - convert to your local currency, Google can help). Also include something to represent yourself, or your town. This can be anything. Past examples have included post cards, calendars, hand-made cards, stitched gifts, cuddly toys…just go nuts and see what you come up with!

Q: So, is this Christmas?
A: No. We realise and respect that not everyone celebrates Christmas. This is a separate holiday, made up for this forum only, and the point is to have fun!

Q: I’ve signed up for Stashmas but now real life has got in the way and I can’t participate after all. What should I do?
A: Let us know. Either post a message in one of the Stashmas threads or PM your organiser. No-one will be upset with you! If you sign up and then don’t participate after all – i.e. if you receive a gift but don’t send one out – that will be seen as being in particularly bad taste and you may not be allowed to participate in future years.

Q: It’s after Stashmas day and I’ve not yet had a chance to send my present out. What should I do?
A: Don’t worry! Let your organiser know, they will let your recipient know, everyone will know that there’s been a delay and no feelings will be hurt. We understand that life can get complicated sometimes, and the post office can be a long way away!

Q: So, who are the organisers?
A: Well, I've become a regular feature! In 2008 Dawn and I got things running, in 2009 myself and Kell organised it. If you would like to help out organising, please shout up! You don’t get payment but you do get the satisfaction of a job well done.

Q: I’ve sent my present but the person I’ve sent to hasn’t posted yet to say it's arrived. What should I do?
A: Give it time. Remember that we are building up to Christmas, so the post offices get busy. Check out normal posting times between your country and your sender’s, if you’re sending abroad – it might be that your gift just hasn’t had time to get there yet! If you’re worried, contact your organiser and they will contact your recipient on your behalf. Remember though that we do this in our spare time and we don’t know everything about how long packages normally take to get from one country to another, if you don’t get a response immediately or with all the information you need please don’t hold it against us, we are only human!

Q: Is my recipient also going to be sending to me?
A: No, that wouldn’t be as much fun! If you’re sending to me, I’ll be sending to someone else, and another person will be sending to you.

Q: Should I talk to my recipient directly, to take some pressure off my organiser?
A: You’re sweet to think it, but we do try to maintain a degree of secrecy around Stashmas, just to maintain the fun aspect! If you don’t know who’s sending to you until the day that your present arrives, then you have all the fun of getting new stash and also working out who’s sent it to you! Your organisers don’t mind forwarding questions and responses for you (although as stated above remember that we are only human and this isn’t the only thing we have going on in our lives).

Q: How should I get my address information to my sender, and how do I know it’s going to be kept secure?
A: Your organiser will PM you asking for your information. They will pass your address on to the person sending to you, but to no-one else. They will keep a copy of your address, just in case it’s needed again. If you don’t want a copy of your address kept, say so and we’ll be happy to oblige. We won’t do anything really daft like posting your address all over the internet!

Q: What’s a PM?
A: Sorry – I’ve used that term a few times! PM stands for Private Message. Only you can see a PM which has been sent to you, when you reply to it only the person you’ve sent the reply to can see your reply.

Q: I have a question that hasn’t been covered on here. How should I ask it?
A: Just ask it! Post on any of the stashmas threads, or PM one of the organisers. Or post on here, it may be that lots of other people have the same question and you'll be helping them all out!