Ladies & Gentlemen, Its time!!!!
For the 'New Guys' (anyone that wasn't a Knoxer) this is BOB's eighth Secret Santa but it has a long lineage stemming from Knox Cigars old BB. It's always been a blast and sometimes been quite surprising, as some of the worst 'Grinchs' have turned out to be some of the best Santa's.
The same rules will apply this year but I will give a run down for all of you that doesn't know how it works. And, please READ EVERYTHING. You answer is here, as is information I need.
1. As a gift, you may send any pipe-related item and/or cigar related item. With respect to pipe tobacco, the minimum is 150 grams of tinned tobacco or eight ounces of bulk tobacco or a pre-packed sampler that many B&M smoke shops and online vendors are offering for the holidays. (Personally, one year I received several of those 2oz size Mason jars of well aged tobaccos. Packed very well. But I cannot recommend glass containers for shipping.) If you give an estate pipe, be kind enough to clean it up and sanitize the bit. Any other items, such as, lighters, pouches, racks, tampers, new pipes, or even T-shirts & hats, are good ideas. With respect to cigars, the minimum will be 3/5 quality handmade cigars or any 5 or more cigar sampler that many B&M smoke shops and online vendors are offering. Cigar related accessories such as cigar carriers, humidors, lighters, ashtrays and so on are also acceptable. Some include treats such as coffee, tea, chocolate. Yes, you can mix and match tins and stogies if that is what you wish to give. Bear in mind this isn't a maximum, most give more than this, but from past experience I can honestly say its not what you get but what you give. To clarify, you would only have to send three tins of say, Dunhill Nightcap, and you would have met the requirements. Or a single 250gram package of 1792 Flake more than meets the requirements. You do not have to send three different items. But lets keep the free handout tabacs from the shows for ourselves.
2. With respect to tobaccos, please try to stay within the preferred category that will be provided in the e-mail you will be receiving from me. There's no sense sending a sweet aromatic to someone that usually smokes heavy latakia mixtures and vice versa. With respect to cigars, the qualifiers might be size and strength. Check the Tobacco section for reviews, or the "What are you smoking?" threads for ideas. Some of you guys make this difficult. If I don't get any preferences indication to pass on to your Secret Santa, and you have not commented in some of the threads that can be searched, you may truly be surprised. That's ok. Some of you like that.
3. Please mail your package in time, so your recipient will receive it by Christmas. I suggest December 7th as a good target date. Factor in the heightened security that may be in place for parcels. It's best to put the real return address on the box, but you could use "Santa" as the sender's name. My postal people are difficult about this. Always making me follow the rules.
4. Please do not ask me to assign someone in particular to be your recipient.
5. Please use Priority mail with delivery confirmation and tracking, or UPS, fedex,dhl so the package can be traced if needed. It is okay to have your gift drop-shipped, to your recipient, from an online vendor, such as www.smokingpipes.com or your local smoke shop.
5.5 I should mention here, that the difficulties in shipping overseas make this type of activity difficult. But that does not mean that members cannot play in their own country. Take South Africa for instance. Seems to be a number of Brothers there that might be interested and know their way around the shipping problems in country. Or may wish to meet and do an exchange. I don't mind making a list and drawing names and sending that info back to you. Same for Brothers in Canada or elsewhere. But you would be entirely on your own to make it all work.
6. PLEASE, if you don't truly want to send a gift or you feel that it will be a burden on you, DO NOT SIGN UP AS A PARTICIPANT! Your name and handle may get posted on the bulletin boards as being a Grinch! There have been a few last minutes saves in the past. Getting a package together usually is not a problem, it is the lack of time to mail when we figure out someone is not fulfilling their promise.
7. If you do not receive anything from your appointed Santa by January 4, 2015, contact me and I will email you their name and email address, so that you can work it out with them. I Make No Guarantees and I Will Not Get Into The Middle Of Any Dispute. Sorry, but I'm just putting this event together. If you want to post their identity and that you didn't get anything from him/her, I can't stop you. This is another reason for not signing up as a participant, if you don't want to play fairly. Because we have not done it in the past does not mean we won't in the future.
8.) I will close registrations on November 10th. The cut-off date will allow for more time to secure your gift and to get it in the mail by December 7th. Secret Santa Events have always worked because of the trust we have in our fellow Stokers (pipe smokers). You should know that, If you become a participant, there is a chance, a very slim chance but it’s possible, that you might not receive a gift. I reserve the right to refuse to allow certain people to participate. If someone had to cover your butt in the past or you are a well known arsehat its a good chance I'm telling you NO. Merry Christmas!
9. The assignments will be totally random. To set the assignments, I will put the names and addresses on pieces of paper, put them in a hat, shake them up and have someone with no interest draw them one by one. I know it's low-tech, but it works.
10. New members, and events beyond our control. I have a history of allowing new players. Sometimes that bites me in the *** and I have to scramble to get a package in the mail to cover someone. There is not a 30 day and 30 post limit at this time to be able to take part. But please be sure that you have the wherewithal to do so. The excitement of a new board and Christmas giving can catch people up, but then as the family expenses mount, things get tight. Think before you ask to sign up. Also, things happen. People can find themselves in a hospital and the mail date comes. Get word to me and I can deal with it. Discreetly. Sometimes a package goes into never-never land. Have a tracking number that you can give me if I ask for it so I can keep tabs on it. We want to make it work, and when dealing with the Postal Service, we also need a bit of luck.
If you'd like to join up now feel free to shoot me a pm containing your Real Name, address, phone number, and preferences list. (Try to make sure you give me all this info as my PM box will be filling up, and having to ask for more info makes it fill that much quicker.) I had to purge my inbox, sent box, save box frequently last year. Yes, you can only have so many PM's so check all your boxes from time to time and delete some to make room.
Merry Christmas y'all. :santa:
(Thanks to PB for the use of his rules. Modified slightly by me.)
Here are links to some past year's threads. Read and enjoy.
Secret Santa 2014
Secret Santa 2013
Secret Santa 2012
Secret Santa 2011
Secret Santa 2010
For the 'New Guys' (anyone that wasn't a Knoxer) this is BOB's eighth Secret Santa but it has a long lineage stemming from Knox Cigars old BB. It's always been a blast and sometimes been quite surprising, as some of the worst 'Grinchs' have turned out to be some of the best Santa's.
The same rules will apply this year but I will give a run down for all of you that doesn't know how it works. And, please READ EVERYTHING. You answer is here, as is information I need.
1. As a gift, you may send any pipe-related item and/or cigar related item. With respect to pipe tobacco, the minimum is 150 grams of tinned tobacco or eight ounces of bulk tobacco or a pre-packed sampler that many B&M smoke shops and online vendors are offering for the holidays. (Personally, one year I received several of those 2oz size Mason jars of well aged tobaccos. Packed very well. But I cannot recommend glass containers for shipping.) If you give an estate pipe, be kind enough to clean it up and sanitize the bit. Any other items, such as, lighters, pouches, racks, tampers, new pipes, or even T-shirts & hats, are good ideas. With respect to cigars, the minimum will be 3/5 quality handmade cigars or any 5 or more cigar sampler that many B&M smoke shops and online vendors are offering. Cigar related accessories such as cigar carriers, humidors, lighters, ashtrays and so on are also acceptable. Some include treats such as coffee, tea, chocolate. Yes, you can mix and match tins and stogies if that is what you wish to give. Bear in mind this isn't a maximum, most give more than this, but from past experience I can honestly say its not what you get but what you give. To clarify, you would only have to send three tins of say, Dunhill Nightcap, and you would have met the requirements. Or a single 250gram package of 1792 Flake more than meets the requirements. You do not have to send three different items. But lets keep the free handout tabacs from the shows for ourselves.
2. With respect to tobaccos, please try to stay within the preferred category that will be provided in the e-mail you will be receiving from me. There's no sense sending a sweet aromatic to someone that usually smokes heavy latakia mixtures and vice versa. With respect to cigars, the qualifiers might be size and strength. Check the Tobacco section for reviews, or the "What are you smoking?" threads for ideas. Some of you guys make this difficult. If I don't get any preferences indication to pass on to your Secret Santa, and you have not commented in some of the threads that can be searched, you may truly be surprised. That's ok. Some of you like that.
3. Please mail your package in time, so your recipient will receive it by Christmas. I suggest December 7th as a good target date. Factor in the heightened security that may be in place for parcels. It's best to put the real return address on the box, but you could use "Santa" as the sender's name. My postal people are difficult about this. Always making me follow the rules.
4. Please do not ask me to assign someone in particular to be your recipient.
5. Please use Priority mail with delivery confirmation and tracking, or UPS, fedex,dhl so the package can be traced if needed. It is okay to have your gift drop-shipped, to your recipient, from an online vendor, such as www.smokingpipes.com or your local smoke shop.
5.5 I should mention here, that the difficulties in shipping overseas make this type of activity difficult. But that does not mean that members cannot play in their own country. Take South Africa for instance. Seems to be a number of Brothers there that might be interested and know their way around the shipping problems in country. Or may wish to meet and do an exchange. I don't mind making a list and drawing names and sending that info back to you. Same for Brothers in Canada or elsewhere. But you would be entirely on your own to make it all work.
6. PLEASE, if you don't truly want to send a gift or you feel that it will be a burden on you, DO NOT SIGN UP AS A PARTICIPANT! Your name and handle may get posted on the bulletin boards as being a Grinch! There have been a few last minutes saves in the past. Getting a package together usually is not a problem, it is the lack of time to mail when we figure out someone is not fulfilling their promise.
7. If you do not receive anything from your appointed Santa by January 4, 2015, contact me and I will email you their name and email address, so that you can work it out with them. I Make No Guarantees and I Will Not Get Into The Middle Of Any Dispute. Sorry, but I'm just putting this event together. If you want to post their identity and that you didn't get anything from him/her, I can't stop you. This is another reason for not signing up as a participant, if you don't want to play fairly. Because we have not done it in the past does not mean we won't in the future.
8.) I will close registrations on November 10th. The cut-off date will allow for more time to secure your gift and to get it in the mail by December 7th. Secret Santa Events have always worked because of the trust we have in our fellow Stokers (pipe smokers). You should know that, If you become a participant, there is a chance, a very slim chance but it’s possible, that you might not receive a gift. I reserve the right to refuse to allow certain people to participate. If someone had to cover your butt in the past or you are a well known arsehat its a good chance I'm telling you NO. Merry Christmas!
9. The assignments will be totally random. To set the assignments, I will put the names and addresses on pieces of paper, put them in a hat, shake them up and have someone with no interest draw them one by one. I know it's low-tech, but it works.
10. New members, and events beyond our control. I have a history of allowing new players. Sometimes that bites me in the *** and I have to scramble to get a package in the mail to cover someone. There is not a 30 day and 30 post limit at this time to be able to take part. But please be sure that you have the wherewithal to do so. The excitement of a new board and Christmas giving can catch people up, but then as the family expenses mount, things get tight. Think before you ask to sign up. Also, things happen. People can find themselves in a hospital and the mail date comes. Get word to me and I can deal with it. Discreetly. Sometimes a package goes into never-never land. Have a tracking number that you can give me if I ask for it so I can keep tabs on it. We want to make it work, and when dealing with the Postal Service, we also need a bit of luck.
If you'd like to join up now feel free to shoot me a pm containing your Real Name, address, phone number, and preferences list. (Try to make sure you give me all this info as my PM box will be filling up, and having to ask for more info makes it fill that much quicker.) I had to purge my inbox, sent box, save box frequently last year. Yes, you can only have so many PM's so check all your boxes from time to time and delete some to make room.
Merry Christmas y'all. :santa:
(Thanks to PB for the use of his rules. Modified slightly by me.)
Here are links to some past year's threads. Read and enjoy.
Secret Santa 2014
Secret Santa 2013
Secret Santa 2012
Secret Santa 2011
Secret Santa 2010
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