Welcome to Secret Santa 2024!

We’re pleased to announce our Secret Santa exchange! This exchange has run on Reddit for the past few years and was extended to Mastodon/Fediverse last year. We’re pleased to invite the Mastodon and Fediverse community again this year!

Signups will open on November 1 at 00:00 UTC and close on November 19 at 23:59 UTC. The deadline to send your gift will be December 10. 

What is Secret Santa?

It’s a gift exchange! What better way to celebrate the holidays than to exchange gifts with your fellow fountain pen enthusiasts? This is your opportunity to penable a newbie, share ink samples that you will likely never use up, or re-home neglected pens, ink, and/or accessories to a new owner that will appreciate them. Or, simply take pleasure in getting to know someone new and finding them a perfect gift!

Which tier should I join?

We have two tiers in this exchange, and you may join one or both:

Green: Gift value 20–40 USD (formerly fun tier)

Join this tier if you fit one or more of the following:

• You are new to fountain pens or have only recently started using fountain pens
• You consider yourself more of a “casual” user
• You are excited about the idea of “penabling” a newbie to get their collection started
• You can commit only a small amount of time and resources
• You do not have strong preferences on what you receive, or are just looking to experiment with new things

Red: Gift value 60–200 USD (formerly elite tier)

Join this tier if you fit one or more of the following:

• You consider yourself an experienced or advanced fountain pen user
• You have enough knowledge about fountain pens to assemble a thoughtful gift for an experienced user
• You have developed some strong preferences as to your pens, inks, and stationery
• You already have lots of stuff but want a fresh perspective and to get something you might not normally purchase yourself
• You are willing to hop down the rabbit hole and research a gift that your giftee would like

The maximum gift values are suggested maximums, but we do ask that the minimum gift value be met; please do not sign up if you cannot commit to the minimum. You are welcome to participate in both tiers if you would like to and you have the means!

Getting ready

• Make posts tagged #FountainPens—we will have a (very easy to fulfill) participation requirement. Newbies are welcome to join the Green tier!
• Let your pen friends know that you intend to participate! Not everyone reads pinned posts, so feel free to share this post or tag friends below. Use the hashtags #FPSanta #FountainPens (:
• Browse through last year’s galleries for gift ideas! Fun tier gallery (this year’s Green tier) - Elite tier gallery (this year’s Red Tier) and tagged posts on reddit.

FAQs

• Can I match with only people in my country or geographically close to me? Yes, when you sign up for the exchange, you may choose to match with domestic (same country), international (nearby countries), or worldwide (anywhere). More information on shipping groups is here.
• Do I have to buy new stuff for my gift recipient? No! In this hobby we accumulate a lot of things and we encourage you to gift pens and inks (bottles and sample vials) you are no longer using or that simply didn’t suit your preferences. New is of course fine as well—if you happen to know the perfect gift for your giftee but don’t own it, go with your instinct!
• Can I make stuff for my gift recipient? Yes, if you are crafty, whether that’s with leatherwork, knitting, bookbinding, pen turning, or 3D printing, you can definitely craft things that you think would be a good gift for your match (:
• I want to avoid getting something I already have. You can post State of the Collection posts to Mastodon (unlisted if you prefer) and link them in your exchange questionnaire. You can also link your Fountain Pen Companion page.
• Will my personal information be secure? Our matching platform Givin Gifts ensures that personal information—name, address, and phone number—is only shown to the people that need to see it. This would be your gifter (Santa) and the Givin Gifts staff member responsible for verifying shipping proof. Your personal information is not available to exchange organizers (elves). We only see which country you’re in and no other information. For more information, see the Givin Gifts privacy policy.

More info to come

A post with full information will go online when we open signups on November 1st (UTC). Any questions in the meantime? Post questions on Mastodon with #FountainPens #FPSanta, or reach out to a member of the 2024 Secret Santa elf team:

@alexa488@penfount.social, @inkycicada@penfount.social, @jezlyn@mastodon.social, @write_knife_sew@penfount.social, @Halfcelestialelf@penfount.social, @paradoxmo@penfount.social