[ARCHIVED THREAD] - OFFICIAL 2016 Gift Exchange- POST PICTURES WHEN YOU OPEN YOUR GIFTS!! (Page 1 of 3)
Posted: 10/19/2016 10:26:09 AM EDT
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2016 Survival Forum Gift Exchange
It’s my goal as the quasi-ringmaster of another year’s survival forum gift exchange to do everything within my very limited power to ensure that this runs smoothly. We have been blessed with a community of generally like minded, generally upstanding, and generally honorable members. I hope that the results of this year’s gift exchange will confirm that. Cag40Navy will again be my partner in crime and co-director. The rules are below. Read them. Learn them. Know them. Then read them again. Rule one- this is a gift exchange. It’s not a trade, it doesn’t follow the rules of the equipment exchange, and you basically have no say in what comes your way from your partner. Nor do they have any say in what they get from you. I have personally been very fortunate in getting hooked up with extremely generous and thoughtful people through the years, and I have tried to operate under the same guidelines with the gifts I’ve sent. Others have not been as lucky. It is my opinion that the joy should be in giving. You may disagree. Rule two- previous years have set a suggested precedent for a dollar amount of +/- $50.00 . . . (not including shipping) . . . But understand that some people might honestly not be able to afford that amount. Others spend substantially more on their partner. Both are OK, but if you fall into the category where spending $50.00 puts an unbearable strain on your finances or prevents you from eating, it’s best to bow out. Be smart. Talk to your exchange partner. Come up with a mutually acceptable amount, and then have fun with it. Rule three- this is not a dirty Santa type of exchange. If your only purpose in joining is to get rid of 19 pieces of dented and corroded 7.62x39 brass, find somewhere else to do it. Gift exchanging will not be enforced by the moderators, staff, or me. I’ll do my best to politely and honorably assist in any SNAFU’s, but at the end of the day, it will come down to each participant’s personal integrity. Rule four- this thread will follow all of this site’s COC rules. Name calling, trash talking or other violation will not be tolerated. If there’s a problem, contact either me, or Cag40Navy via e-mail or IM, and we’ll do our best to get it sorted out. Rule five- if you have previously signed up for the gift exchange, and then not held up your end of the exchange, you will not be permitted to participate this year. Yes, we know who you are. Enough said. Rule six- well, not really rules, but some guidelines. **It is highly advisable that everybody participating in this year’s gift exchange sends out their packages by some means, UPS or USPS, where a tracking number is involved. Read the forums through the years—you’ll see that a lot of grief could have been averted with a tracking number. **It is entirely up to you and your partner as to when you open your gifts. I personally prefer to wait until Christmas Eve, but that’s a call that you’ll have to make on your own. ** Posting pictures of gifts that you receive is highly encouraged, as well as being entertaining for others who view this thread. Share the joy, people. If for some reason you can’t seem to figure out how to post a picture, e-mail it to me and I’ll post it for you. ** Many people in the past have included ammo as part of their gift. Nothing wrong with that, just make sure that you ship it correctly. Dates: Sign up closes at midnight on Wednesday, November 30. You must post an “I’m in” reply in this thread to be included. Selections will be posted by Friday, December 2. Once partners are assigned, they will not be changed. If we end up with an odd number of participants, I’ll see if anybody wants to double up. Gifts should be mailed no later than Friday, December 16. Be safe, be smart, wear protection, have fun, and make 2016’s survival forum gift exchange the best ever. Leafinthewind. 1- Leafinthewind 2- Cag40Navy 3- HUMONGO 4- Mountaineer_Shootist 5- cr4pshot08 6- therealdonjohnson 7- Slimbone 8- POG926 9- gettingstarted 10- G-REM 11- writerdelux2006 12- motown_steve 13- rscott2214 14- 4v50 15- ruffhowzer 16- protus 17- WhiskersTheCat 18- BrowardMason 19- JSmith88 20- JimPope 21- nickds 22- JFarley 23- Rat_Patrol 24- Donith 25- whiskerz 26- vm225 27- PYITE752 28- Jonn44 29- mustangracer Hey all... the new site is giving me fits with editing this post, but I'll keep trying until it works. Leaf UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE MATCHES POSTED BELOW OK, the time is now here. We've had a great turnout for the 2016 Survival Forum Gift Exchange. Cag40Navy has worked his magic and, using an arcane process known only to himself and several survivalists living in bunkers on Guam, drawn the names to match up you with your partner. So what do you do next? *Find your name, and your partner's name below. Protus - Rat_Patrol nickds - G-REM Leafinthewind - rscott2214 PYITE752 - Jonn44 HUMONGO - 4v50 Cag40Navy - BrowardMason WhiskersTheCat - gettingstarted Donith - JSmith88 JimPope - motown_steve JFarly - mustangracer vm225 - Slimbone whiskerz - writerdelux2006 ruffhowzer - POG926 therealdonjohnson -Mountaineer-Shootist Leafinthewind - cr4pshot08 *Establish contact with your partner...both of you...do it now, don't wait. Send them an IM or e-mail and introduce yourself. You should also have one from them. You know what I'm saying. Some of you may feel comfortable exchanging phone numbers, others may prefer to maintain communication through instant messaging or e-mail. l'll leave the details up to you, but whatever the case, ESTABLISH CONTACT! (although not a requirement, a short post here stating something to the tune of "contact established" is a nice gesture) * * anyone who has made several attempts to contact their exchange partner and has NOT established a line of communication by Wednesday, December 7, please IM either me or Cag40Navy ** Once you establish contact, here's the bare minimum of what you and your partner need to go over. 1- Mailing addresses. 2- Primary means of getting in contact with the other person. ASK THEM if they actually check their e-mail or IM box regularly. Figure out a way to communicate, because this is where most of the issues in the past have fallen. 3- Decide, and agree upon a dollar amount for gifts. The suggested minimum is $50.00. Keep in mind that shipping is not included in this amount. 4- Decide, and agree upon when you get to open your gift. Some do it immediately, others wait for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. If you know that you're going to be gone the entire month of December visiting family, or out of the country whacking bad guys for Uncle Sam, let your partner know and agree upon acceptable shipping arrangements. Remember, the last day to ship your gift to your partner is Friday, December 16. THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THEN TO SHIP YOUR GIFT. Many of you already have the item or items purchased. If so, box 'em up and send them out. Now, some final words of advice, take it FWIW... Have fun with this. Get to know your partner. Ask them what they're in to. Their answer may guide you if you're having problems deciding what to shop for. I'm more of a "generalist" myself, and happily accept any gift, whether or not I already have a dozen of them. (note to whoever gets me as a partner, I'm still in the market for a couple cases of LC 5.56 and a Tavor to shoot it out of....) If you experience any issues or problems, contact either me or Cag40Navy BY ARFCOM IM instead of posting in the thread. We'll try and get it sorted out and running smoothly to the best of our ability. Finally... MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL !!!!! |
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Quoted:
Survival-theme stuff or anything goes? Does the mutually acceptable amount have to come after the assignments, or could we post "I'm in for ~$[#] from my end" to help aid in assigning? In general, the gifts are survival/outdoor/hobby related, although this is not written in stone, and some have received gifts leaning heavily toward the "fun" zone.  As to the $$$ amount, you do not post it in your "I'm in" post....that is something that you work out with your exchange partner after names have been matched. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you and your partner take the time to get to know one another once you are matched...even a 5 minute phone call to introduce yourselves and let the other one know what you're in to can go a long way toward making this a fun event.
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Quoted:
In general, the gifts are survival/outdoor/hobby related, although this is not written in stone, and some have received gifts leaning heavily toward the "fun" zone. As to the $$$ amount, you do not post it in your "I'm in" post....that is something that you work out with your exchange partner after names have been matched. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you and your partner take the time to get to know one another once you are matched...even a 5 minute phone call to introduce yourselves and let the other one know what you're in to can go a long way toward making this a fun event.Quoted:
Quoted:
Survival-theme stuff or anything goes? Does the mutually acceptable amount have to come after the assignments, or could we post "I'm in for ~$[#] from my end" to help aid in assigning? In general, the gifts are survival/outdoor/hobby related, although this is not written in stone, and some have received gifts leaning heavily toward the "fun" zone. As to the $$$ amount, you do not post it in your "I'm in" post....that is something that you work out with your exchange partner after names have been matched. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you and your partner take the time to get to know one another once you are matched...even a 5 minute phone call to introduce yourselves and let the other one know what you're in to can go a long way toward making this a fun event.Ok. Also on rule 3, "not a dirty Santa", you probably meant White Elephant. Both are defined here. I'm not sure if I can participate since I would only be gifting out of my own inventory of new & used stuff, & wouldn't do anything like "19 pieces of dented and corroded 7.62x39 brass", but I might not have enough selection from survival/outdoor/hobby/"fun" zone to match my partner. |
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Quoted: Ok. Also on rule 3, "not a dirty Santa", you probably meant White Elephant. Both are defined here. I'm not sure if I can participate since I would only be gifting out of my own inventory of new & used stuff, & wouldn't do anything like "19 pieces of dented and corroded 7.62x39 brass", but I might not have enough selection from survival/outdoor/hobby/"fun" zone to match my partner. Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Survival-theme stuff or anything goes? Does the mutually acceptable amount have to come after the assignments, or could we post "I'm in for ~$[#] from my end" to help aid in assigning? In general, the gifts are survival/outdoor/hobby related, although this is not written in stone, and some have received gifts leaning heavily toward the "fun" zone. As to the $$$ amount, you do not post it in your "I'm in" post....that is something that you work out with your exchange partner after names have been matched. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you and your partner take the time to get to know one another once you are matched...even a 5 minute phone call to introduce yourselves and let the other one know what you're in to can go a long way toward making this a fun event.Ok. Also on rule 3, "not a dirty Santa", you probably meant White Elephant. Both are defined here. I'm not sure if I can participate since I would only be gifting out of my own inventory of new & used stuff, & wouldn't do anything like "19 pieces of dented and corroded 7.62x39 brass", but I might not have enough selection from survival/outdoor/hobby/"fun" zone to match my partner. Got a box of 22...maybe a MRE ...multicam ball cap..Pmag....pair of lace panties..signal mirror.. Theres a gift box.  As said outdoors/survival themed items. Theres been times I've passed on stuff. Iirc my first one I sent out a bunch of small survival kit fillers (stuff from usaf kits)along with my main present..a multicam ARFCOM SF patch last year.....one of my solo but out tarps I make etc . If that's not what you can do then....it's your call to bail. Long as I don't get anything kifaru I'm good to go.  |
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Quoted: I'd take it...but I know you here...... hand woven creek dyed.....panties....yup...ill take them Quoted: Quoted: Are home-made items typically frowned upon? I'd take it...but I know you here...... hand woven creek dyed.....panties....yup...ill take them Eta: anyway, im in. I would like to take this time to apologize in advance..  |
| Ladies and Gentlemen. As of 11:59PM on November 30th, sign-ups are now officially closed. The monks in the Himalayas are now going to start the arcane ritual of partner selection deep in the temple. As posted in the OP, selections will be posted on December 2nd. |
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So how did you guys do this?
I sent my guy an IM and asked for his address and 5 suggestions for things he might want. I also gave him a few suggestions (but told him I would be happy with anything and that he didn't have to take my suggestions) and sent my address. Is that about what you guys do? The last time I did a gift exchange, was when everyone was going on and on about those HK AR mags, years ago. I sent my partner one of those mags, cost me like $45 shipped. He sent me a Swiss Army Knife with my name engraved on the blade. I felt like horrible.
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Quoted:
So how did you guys do this? I sent my guy an IM and asked for his address and 5 suggestions for things he might want. I also gave him a few suggestions (but told him I would be happy with anything and that he didn't have to take my suggestions) and sent my address. Is that about what you guys do? The last time I did a gift exchange, was when everyone was going on and on about those HK AR mags, years ago. I sent my partner one of those mags, cost me like $45 shipped. He sent me a Swiss Army Knife with my name engraved on the blade. I felt like horrible. Your call, but I prefer a "live" contact via phone if possible.... have also done the email route as well. Both work. IMO, each partner should send a mini bio... a little about yourself... what are you into... what calibers do you shoot... gaps or weak spots in your preps... what kind of dog you have...anything  That said, I know who you got matched up with  .... he was my partner last year.... great guy.
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