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Christmas

LAST CHANCE! Closes today! MN Christmas appeal 2012 - Nominations and Donations thread

267 replies

RebeccaMumsnet · 08/10/2012 17:18

We've all seen the mini chocolate snowmen in the shops and the cries for all Christmas-based threads to be moved out of AIBU to the Christmas topic Grin - so that can only mean one thing! It's time for the MN Christmas Appeal.
Little bit of history for those who are new to the whole idea: in the past, Mumsnetters offered to donate gifts to other Mumsnetters in need over Christmas. And you also nominated Mumsnetters to receive these gifts. Each year, a particularly saintly Mumsnetter volunteered to match up the donors with the nominees and organise a mass posting of presents.

Two years ago, we felt the Appeal had grown so large that it was too much for one person to co-ordinate - so we moved it onto the MNHQ to-do list and this will be our third year.


Here's how it works.
You have until Monday 22 October to nominate a fellow MNetter who you think has gone over and above, offered you some lovely advice, might need a little help or someone who is generally an all round luffly person.

You can nominate here

You also have until Monday 22 October to pledge your donation for a fellow MNetter. Vouchers are easier to match but we have had all sorts in the past from Christmas trees to hampers and re-gifted items. Nothing is too small.

You can donate here

We then contact all of those nominated by the 29th October and ask them for their address and age/sex of their DC, this information will need to be back to us by Friday 9 November

Nominees and donors will then be matched and we will send those who donated, their matched nominees address by Friday 23 November so that gifts can be sent well before the final Christmas post. Parcels are addressed to the MNetter of the House (unless otherwise stated) to try to maintain anonymity.

This whole process is anonymous, we do not pass over RL or Talk names.

If you would like to get a gift for someone specific then it is better to arrange it with them directly. As much as we would love to facilitate all of your Christmas wishes, we simply don't have the brain power capacity

Donors and nominees are given a number to quote to say thank you to one another following the gifts being sent out.

Any questions about the frankly terribly confusing process, please do ask.

May we be the first to wish you a very Merry Christmas Grin

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BrainSurgeon · 08/10/2012 17:24

Cheers Rebecca I was looking for this information as I had heard about the MN Christmas gifts but didn't know how it worked Thanks

Silly question - one can volunteer to just donate, we don't HAVE to nominate someone do we? (would struggle too much to choose)

Ta

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TallulahTwinkle · 08/10/2012 17:25

Ooh, I've nominated a lovely Mumsnetter Wink

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RebeccaMumsnet · 08/10/2012 17:26

You can just do one or the other, that is fine. No pressure either way.

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SheelaNeGig · 08/10/2012 17:33

I'm liking your easy linkies.

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NormaStanleyFletcher · 08/10/2012 17:37

YAAAAAYYY

Have donated.

SO SO pleased that you have it in properly submitable forms now. Makes the spreadsheet so much easier Grin

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blondieminx · 08/10/2012 17:46

Done

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BigBroomstickBIWI · 08/10/2012 17:57
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TequilaMockinBird · 08/10/2012 18:06

This is my favourite part of Christmas, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside Smile

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PeggyCarter · 08/10/2012 18:27

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Haribojoe · 08/10/2012 18:34

So glad this is being done again this year. Loved donating last year and the whole thing just makes me well up when I think of how generous people are and the difference it makes to people. Grin

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ChaosTrulyReigns · 08/10/2012 18:58

Nice one, Rebecca.

Gin to y'all.

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VoldemortsNipple · 08/10/2012 18:58

Oh my lord, Im just thinking about the look on postmen's faces up and down the country delivering parcels to various mnetters. Imagine if you missed it and had to pick it up from the sorting office :o

It makes me want to nominate AnyFucker just for the fun of it :o

(serious face) I'll have a think about what I can donate and come back :)

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PeggyCarter · 08/10/2012 19:02

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

VoldemortsNipple · 08/10/2012 19:22

Haha. I can imagine the shame. Do you think if I took all my Harry books, audio discs DVDs and replica wands they would accept that as ID :o

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SheelaNeGig · 08/10/2012 19:30

Vipers mean and narsty vipers

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ChaosTrulyReigns · 08/10/2012 19:31

Could you confirm please, RebeccaMumsnet, is there a macimum number of posters we can nominate?

There's a right load of good souls on here and I'd find it so hard to whittle down.

And what would happen if a poster got nominated 173 times? That would be one pizzed orf Postbox Operative. Smile

Any guidance would be great.

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NormaStanleyFletcher · 08/10/2012 19:44

Chaos - I don't think that being nominated 173 times leads to 173 presents - At least it didn't in my fuck up day.

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NorksAreMessy · 08/10/2012 19:48

Absolutely LOVE this and it is one of the best bits of my Christmas. Thanks

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IHopeYouStepOnALegoPiece · 08/10/2012 19:50

have nominated...Love the forms!!

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RebeccaMumsnet · 08/10/2012 20:16

@ChaosTrulyReigns

Could you confirm please, RebeccaMumsnet, is there a macimum number of posters we can nominate?

There's a right load of good souls on here and I'd find it so hard to whittle down.

And what would happen if a poster got nominated 173 times? That would be one pizzed orf Postbox Operative. Smile

Any guidance would be great.



In short, you can nominate as many peeps as you like. However, we would like you to think long and hard about who and why as there are a limited number of donations and we don't want to be in a position where we have more nominees than we do donations.

I will stress that this hasn't happened before, we normally have lots more donations than nominations.

10 nominations does not equal 10 gifts necessarily, we make sure that all nominated folks get something and then we take a look at reasons for nominations, number of children, number of nominations etc etc and allocate the remaining gifts.

Some people may get one small gift, others may get 10 small gifts or one large gift - it's all vair complicated. Confused
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InfestationofLannisters · 08/10/2012 20:32

Hooray! Have bought DS a toy he already owns for Christmas Blush but it would be perfect for someone else - thanks HQ.

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WineGless · 08/10/2012 20:33

Norma, you did a fab job. Don't beat yoursel' up!

Have signed up- I LOVE this part of Christmas.

Oi Chaos, thought you were being bah humbug Wink

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NormaStanleyFletcher · 08/10/2012 20:36

Aww thanks WineGlass. I still have flashbacks to the nervous breakdown, oh, and DH carrying a laptop with a mobile dongle up a snowy scottish hill, and holding it up in the air, to try to get emails sent.

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everydayaschoolday · 08/10/2012 21:03

Rebecca/previous participants if donating toys, should they be wrapped and gift labelled with child's age, or would parents prefer to vet the gifts first and gift wrap themselves for the children? I'm a happy OCD wrapper, but understand if this is not the done thing Smile.

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BabylonPI · 08/10/2012 21:19

Fabulous idea, I've signed up to donate - have some fab little stocking fillers for DCs!!

Warms me cockles just thinking about little faces lighting up on Christmas Day Smile

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