MN secret santa

[daddywillbehomesoon]

Is anyone putting their hand up to run it this year? Am overseas now and want to get going on it!

mnhq have decided to run it this year after i volunteered and was shouted down.

OP, after last year's huge effforts by Fletch, MNHQ decided to take it in-house as it has grown to be far too much for one person to manage easily and it was thought to be unfair to load onto one volunteer

CM your constant shouting about being shunned/snubbed/shouted down are wearying and tiresome - it's not a personal affront to you, although you seem to be taking it as one

Given that it has grown so much in the past 3 years and also the politics which seem to surround the appeal i think HQ taking over is a good idea.

CM your intentions will have been honourable i am sure but to be honest the ofence you have taken by not being asked to do it is somewhat odd.

Cherrymonster - please stop trying to portray yourself as a badly done-by victim. You know full well why MNHQ made the decision to organise it this year - it is simply too much for one person to handle.

am delighted MNHQ are taking this on. makes it far more streamlined and organised.. although kudos to those who've done it and volunteered in teh past

BALD- how am i complaining about it constantly? i havent mentioned it in weeks, and i make one comment and get kicked again. yes, i was upset about the way people were over it, when all i have ever wanted to do was something nice for people, and it got thrown back in my face, but nothing has been said for ages. and i am not worried about mnhq saying no to me, i was more upset by the shooting down that i received from other posters who have known me on here for a number of years, and i thought were my (cyber) friends

Cherrymonster - please stop.

You are doing yourself no favours by the way you react. You're not being 'kicked' - we're trying to point out that your responses are inappropriate. Every time you comment on one of these threads it's to say how you have been 'kicked' or 'shouted down'. And it's not weeks since you mentioned it, it's a matter of days.

You know exactly why MNHQ have taken the Christmas Appeal in-house, yet you still persist in seeing it/portraying it as a personal attack on you.

The constant playing of the victim/martyr is deeply unedifying, and misrepresents the actual facts.

Just let it go.

What is the secret santa on mn...I mean how does it work?

Am so glad MN have decided to take on this task ( i have been away from mn for a while if this is old news) as a giver one year and a reciever another it is a great thing but has really grown far too big for one person to handle.

janx - the secret Santa was started 4 years ago. The idea was that people nominated other MNetters that they knew were having a hard time (for whatever reason) and other MNetters volunteered to donate gifts. The person who organised it matched up those who needed help with those who were offering gifts.

It was a tremendous enterprise, but as MN has grown, the number of people nominated has grown - and, sadly, there have been a number of instances where people have tried to join just to benefit from the appeal. When St George did it, the year before last, she had all kinds of abuse thrown at her by various people who wanted to be given stuff.

And last year, it was obvious that the task was just too much for one person to undertake, hence MNHQ taking on the challenge.

thanks - shows how much notice i took of all the politics!

I agree it's just too much work for one person and too much hassle - will email MNHQ

What a lovely idea - do people donate money?

janx it started off with folk donating preloved toys and such like and then grew from there, so yes money/vouchers/new toys/nice things for MNers

people donate whatever they want...last year i donated vouchers, some people donate well loved toys that their dcs have grown away from,smellies for adults etc

Cherry could you do some volunteer work elsewhere? Sounds like MNHQ have valid reasons for taking this in house. So am wondering if your desire to do something altruistic could be served by volunteering in some way?

Hippo, many folk have suggested this in the past, great minds think alike

soo, ermm to get back to the main topic - what is actually happening with it.

I mean do we just email MNHQ with suggestions of people that should receive? And if we want to donate???

oh cherry - give it a rest.

It started when farepak went bust and ppl had a look round for "pre loved" things to help those affected. From there people offered to buy new things, alongside the used items being given, some people gave vouchers etc. Its usually lovely to be part of :)

MNHQ will sort and post the details when they need to. Its not usually done until NOvember ish in any case.

I thought it had previously been late Sept/October that things started rolling

ahh well I shall keep my eyes out for them posting

Evening.

Panic not, people.

We are in full Christmas Appeal preparation mode at MNHQ (you know, trying on the Santa hats and all that) and we are aiming to make a big announcement about it all next week.

Thought we'd let it click over into October before starting it all off. Didn't seem right in September somehow...

daddywillbehomesoon: you should have mail by now

thanks HelenMumsnet - have replied to you.

Cherry, how about organising a regular secret santa (more of a swap, for anyone to join) instead?

I meant regular as in normal, not regular as in happening regularly.