grafstrb
Posts: 8837
Joined: 11/6/2007
From: LAla land
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NOTE: Please read this entire post before signing-up folks!
--- I know this is an extremely long post; it is my attempt to cover as much crucial information as possible from the get-go. (I recommend pausing right now to open a bottle of wine before continuing on --- this will take a while. )
OK folks, the day you’ve all been waiting 298 days for is finally here!!! 2012 CT SS is now a-running!
I will once again be your Head Elf this year!!
So, what does this mean to you?
If you want to participate in this year’s CT SS, you need to copy and paste this “Information Form”, and provide me with ALL the requested information (via PM):
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INFORMATION FORM
1. Your preferred SHIP TO address:
2. Is your preferred SHIP TO address a residence or business address:
3a. Do you have a particular window of availability when you can receive your package (i.e.: if you're going to be out of town on vacation, or something, and therefore need to receive your package by or after a particular date)?
3b. If you answered “Yes” to 3a., please give the details here:
4. Your real name:
5. Ship To phone number (some carriers require this, therefore you must provide one):
6. Any "other information", such as types of wines you absolutely do not want to receive; any carrier/shipper restrictions:
7. If the name associated with your CT cellar is different than your name for the discussion board, please indicate as such and give me the name associated with your CT cellar:
8. Are you o.k. with having your Secret Santa recipient (the person you are buying a gift FOR) being a person who lives in Texas?
9. Are you o.k. with having your Secret Santa (the person buying a gift FOR YOU) being a person who lives in Texas?
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-------- Please note: you must provide me with ALL of the above-requested information by Saturday, October 27th. If I haven't received all of the requested information from you I will put an “N” after your name on the sign-up list in the SECOND post of this thread. If you have a “Y” after your name on the sign-up list then that means Yes, you have complied with the directions, and you are officially signed-up and good to go.
----- Once Secret Santa-recipient matches have been made I will send each CT Secret Santa participant the Information Form for their assigned recipient. I will do this via individual PM.
-------- Matches will be done completely at random; but, if necessary, I will re-draw names to avoid any matches from 2009, 2010, and 2011. In the interests of ease and interest, I will not be making "regional matches." Yes, I'm aware this will result in increased shipping expense for some participants, but that’s part of the game --- you just never know with whom you will be matched! Additionally, unlike last year, I will not be restricting TX residents’ participation to participation only with other TX residents.
---------- I will endeavor to distribute SS pairings on October 28th. That said, seeing as how participation in this event has grown exponentially the past couple of years, it may take me an additional day or two to pass along the information. I will do everything I can to get the information distributed on October 28th.
CT SS Eligibility Requirement
To participate in this year’s CT Secret Santa event, you must have been a member of the CT discussion forum before this post was posted. This matter was decided by the community, by majority vote, in this thread Here.
What To Do After You Receive the Information Form for Your Secret Santa Recipient From Your Head Elf:
1. Browse your assigned recipient’s cellar and/or tasting notes and/or forum posts to get a feel for their likes/dislikes.
------- I know some folks have their cellars marked as “Private,” which means you won’t be able to view their inventory. If this is the case, then send me a PM letting me know this is the case, and I will then PM your Secret Santa recipient and ask them to make “CT Santa” a cellar buddy of theirs. After your Secret Santa recipient has made CT Santa a cellar buddy of theirs, I will give you the login information for CT Santa so that you may login to CT as CT Santa for the purpose of viewing your recipient’s cellar holdings.
2. Chose a wine to send them as a gift. (please mind any “other information” your recipient provided on the Information Form)
******* The value of the wine you send should be $50 ******* . $50 is BEFORE the costs of shipping are taken into account. If you want to spend more, that is up to you, but you should not spend less. Additionally -- and this is merely my opinion, and is probably a good topic for threadwide discussion – it’s probably a better idea to send one $50 bottle than two $25 bottles; think about it: would You rather receive two $25 bottles or one $50 bottle? I know not everyone’s answer to this will be the same, but I hope you get my point. Again, feel free to discuss.
----- Some Notes on picking a wine:
1. The wine can be from your cellar, or it can be one that you purchase.
2. Also remember: you can choose to buy from a retailer that is local to your recipient. Most retailers have on-line storefronts and phone numbers that make it easy to do this online or telephonically. Buying and shipping from a retailer can also save on shipping costs, and can also help make it easier for you to conceal your identity.
What To Do After You Have Picked a Wine To Send To Your Secret Santa Recipient:
1. Choose a carrier to send the wine on your behalf. If you are shipping directly from a retailer, please ask the retailer which shipper they will be using.
--------- Also #1: Please be mindful of any "unavailability dates" specified by your recipient on their Information Form; do what you must to ensure that your package will not arrive at your recipient's given address during any such "unavailability dates."
--------- Also #2: Please take into account any carrier restrictions your Secret Santa recipient may have noted in the “other information” field on the Information Form. If you are shipping directly from a retailer, PLEASE make sure the retailer abides by any such carrier restrictions; if they are unwilling or unable to abide by any such carrier restrictions, then do not buy your recipient’s gift through said retailer.
2. To the extent that you can, CONCEAL YOUR IDENTITY on the shipping label and inside the package. We will have a CT SS Reveal Day (discussed below), and that is the day on which your Secret Santa recipient can start guessing as to who their Secret Santa is. Part of the fun of CT Secret Santa is the guessing game, so keep your identity a secret from your recipient for as long as possible!
3. Make note of the shipping/tracking number for the package. Please do this. This is very important, as it is how your Head Elf tracks the package from you (or your chosen fine wine merchant) to your recipient. Your Head Elf fields numerous requests for package updates, and this is the only means by which said updates can be given. If you are buying and shipping directly from a retailer PLEASE get the tracking number from them.
4. Send your Head Elf (that’d be yours truly) a PM with the following information:
……… 1. The identity of the wine you’re sending to your recipient
……… 2. The carrier you or the merchant through whom you purchased the wine is using to ship the package.
……… 3. The tracking number for the package.
……… 4. The date the package was shipped out.
******** posting in one of the CT SS Threads that you’ve shipped your recipient’s gift *does not* count; the CT SS threads remain very active throughout the event, and it’s simply too easy for one of your posts to fall through the cracks whereby I will miss seeing it --- this is why you need to send me a PM --- it’s guaranteed that I will see all my PM’s. *******
5. Make sure you do all this by the pre-determined shipping deadline, which will be Monday, November 12. Ideally, everyone will have received their wine by Thanksgiving (which occurs on the earliest possible date Thanksgiving can occur – Nov. 22nd). I know two weeks isn't a whole lot of time to do your sleuthing and shopping, but it should be enough
6. Don't ship the package at a time when it's likely to spend a weekend (or worse, an extended weekend) in a warehouse. In other words, Mondays and Tuesdays tend to be the ideal days of the week to ship wine, GIVEN THAT THE WEATHER BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR RECIPIENT IS SUITABLE FOR THE SHIPMENT OF WINE. Please be mindful of the weather.
What To Do Once You’ve Received Your Gift From Your Secret Santa:
1. Do NOT open it.
2. Send your Head Elf (that’d be … ok, you got this by now, right!?!) a PM indicating that you have received your gift, and the date on which you received it.
3. Wait until the assigned time on the Reveal Day to open it.
Reveal Day
"Reveal Day" is the day on which everyone opens their gifts. Reveal Day will be on Saturday, December 1st @ 9:00 a.m. PST.
---- Reveal Day works like this:
1. No earlier than the pre-determined time (to be determined), open your Secret Santa gift.
2. Post in our 2012 CT Secret Santa (USA Chapter) Reveal Day Thread . (this thread will be started by me at a later point in time. Last year’s thread can be found here.
-------- Ideas of things to post in the 2012 CT Secret Santa (USA Chapter) Reveal Day Thread:
-- that you have opened your gift
-- thanks for your gift
-- curses that you did not get the bottle of 2005 Charles Shaw Valdiguie you were hoping for (where applicable)
-- identity of your gift (if you so choose)
-- your guess as to who your SS may be
-- a confirmation or denial of another's guess -- only make such a post if somebody specifically guesses you as their SS (i.e.: if somebody correctly guesses that you are their SS, then you Should post that their guess is correct; i.e.: if someone guesses you are their SS but you are not their SS, you can post telling them that their guess is wrong).
-- general banter
3. At the very least, you *really should* post in the Reveal Day Thread that you’ve opened your gift and you should also thank your Secret Santa; common courtesy dictates as such.
Important Considerations re: PM’s and Communicating With Your Head ElfF:
1. I know if you’ve opened any PM’s I’ve sent to you. This is how: In my PM “Sent” folder, I can click on the user's name I sent the PM to --- when I click on that user's name, a box pops up indicating whether or not that user has opened the PM I sent to them. THIS is how I keep track of who is and who is not reading my PM’s.
2. I don’t know if you’ve read the PM’s I’ve sent to you if you’re reading the email notifications you receive. This is what I mean: I know many of you receive an email notification informing you of any PM you receive. I know that the text of the PM is included in that email, thereby allowing you to read the PM without ever actually going into the CT forum and opening and reading the PM through the CT forum software. Here’s the problem with reading my PM’s in that manner: if you never go into the CT forum and open the PM through the CT forum software, that PM continues to show as not having been read by you. That means I have no evidence that you’ve actually read the PM(s) I’ve sent to you. Therefore, it is Important that you actually login to the CT forum and open each PM that I send to you. Doing this really helps me out, and I genuinely appreciate you taking the effort to do this.
3. Please respond to my PM’s quickly --- it really doesn’t take you a long time, and it makes my job as Head Elf a lot easier.
4. I try to send an acknowledgement PM in response to every PM I get; if you do not receive such an acknowledgement from me, and are worried that I may have not received your PM, feel free to send me another PM asking if I did, indeed, receive your message.
A Few Final Random Things
1. I will be doing the CT Santa cellar again this year.
2. Please keep your eyes on all relevant 2012 CT Secret Santa threads. Throughout this process, I will be making important announcements to all you participants, and it is in these threads that those announcements will be made. I have tried to cover as much information as possible in this opening post, but it’s impossible for me to cover everything. So, please stay up-to-date with the threads.
3. Have tons of fun, and be creative! Perusal of previous years’ CT Secret Santa threads is rich with fun, creative, and devious little tidbits.
A Closing Comment From Your Head Elf
Serving as your Head Elf is a lot of fun for me, and I am greatly looking forward another year of this unique CT Discussion Forum tradition. I am here to help you, so if you need some guidance please don’t hesitate to ask. I will do all that I can to make this experience fun, smooth, and seamless for everyone. This event really does help bring the members of this community together in a very beautiful and generous way. This event is one of the many ways in which this online wine community is unique from all others. I, for one, think it’s a really cool event, as it helps strengthen and enrich the bonds we have with each other. I’d like to give a huge THANK YOU to our own Hollowine for originally conceptualizing the idea three years ago. Thank You, Scott!
Merry cheers,
grafstrb (Brian)
Your 2012 CT Secret Santa Head Elf (USA Chapter)
< Message edited by grafstrb -- 11/15/2012 2:15:24 AM >
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Terroir is not a flavor.
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