Secret Santa gift exchange signup instructions

The holidays are coming up and what better way to celebrate 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 to a new owner that will appreciate them more. Or, simply take pleasure in getting to know someone new and finding them a perfect gift!

There are two tiers so that as many people can participate as possible but more experienced users can still receive something quite special. If you have the time and resources please consider signing up for both tiers. 

Note that suggested gift amounts are in value and not cash. You do not have to buy anything, you can gift from your own collection and we in fact encourage you to give pens, ink samples, or other things that you don’t use anymore. Let your extra stuff spark joy in others!

***Signups close on 19 November at 23:59 UTC***

Green tier!

Everyone is welcome, including newbies! Minimum gift amount is $20 USD and suggested maximum amount is $40 USD (shipping costs excluded).

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

A gift might include:

• Affordable pens such as: Platinum Preppy, Pilot Kakuno, Jinhao 82, Hongdian 525
• Ink samples
• Small notebooks or sheets of fountain-friendly paper
• Converters, ink syringes, cleaning supplies
• For examples and ideas, see last year’s gallery (previously named Fun Tier)

Eligibility criteria for Reddit:

• You have made a comment or post in r/fountainpens within the last 3 months AND
• Your Reddit account was created on or before 2024-10-01

Eligibility criteria for Mastodon:

• You have made at least one post tagged #FountainPen / #FountainPens in the last 3 months AND
• Your Mastodon or Fediverse account was created on or before 2024-10-01

Yes, you may comment or post right now in order to become eligible as long as you do so before registering for the exchange!

Red tier!

For more experienced fountain pen users, here is a chance to receive some things that you might not seek out on your own! Minimum gift amount is $60 USD and suggested maximum amount is $200 USD (shipping costs excluded).

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

A gift might include:

• One or more pens within this price range
• One or more bottles/samples of ink
• Fountain-friendly planner or notebook
• Pen case or pouch
• For examples and ideas, see last year’s gallery (formerly named Elite Tier)

Eligibility criteria for Reddit:

• You have at least 1 verified trade on r/pen_swap OR
• You have made a post in r/fountainpens within the last 3 months AND
• Your Reddit account was created on or before 2024-09-01

Eligibility criteria for Mastodon:

• You have made at least one post tagged #FountainPen / #FountainPens in the last 3 months AND
• Your Mastodon or Fediverse account was created on or before 2024-09-01

Yes, you may post/comment right now in order to become eligible as long as you do so before registering for the exchange. We suggest you make a State of the Collection post as this will also help your Santa!

Instructions

1. Sign up for Givin Gifts if you do not already have an account. Make sure you fill in the field for your Reddit and/or Mastodon username in your profile! NOTE: If you have a Givin Gifts account from a previous exchange, you may have to reset your password as GG has changed their system. If prompted for a 2FA code and you have never set one up, leave the box blank. 
2. Go to this link for account onboarding and enter or verify your name, address, and phone. If you moved since last year, please make sure your info is up to date.
3. Register for one or both of the tiers: Green Tier - Red Tier - you have to enter something in the preferences field which can be any old place holder to meet the 30 character minimum. You must also complete the following two fields regarding how to contact you and the exchange questionnaire.
4. You do not have to completely fill out the questionnaire before registering. You can copy the questionnaire into the final box as a placeholder. You can fill it in now or you can come back to it later; you can edit your preferences until November 19. You may also add any other info you would like your Santa to know! If participating in both tiers, you may use the same answers for both or different answers for each.
5. If you need help, follow our screencap instructions on how to signup: desktop - mobile
6. Optional: Put things you have been thinking about in your exchange wishlist. This is purely for reference—your Santa is NOT obligated to buy from this list.
7. On or around November 20, the system will send out your match—a digital “envelope” containing all the information for your giftee. You will receive an email notification to check the website. Note that in most cases, the person you are gifting to and the person gifting to you are different people.
8. Once you receive your match, read their questionnaire and exchange preferences and start thinking of gift ideas!
9. Communicate with your giftee as well as your Santa (gifter) if you have any questions or additional information for them. You may use the Givin Gifts platform to anonymously message them, or message them directly on Reddit or Mastodon. Please send at least one message to your giftee and at least one message to your Santa.
10. Send your gift along with a note written using a fountain pen! 
11. We highly suggest you ship via a tracked service. Take a picture of your note and the contents of your gift, in case it gets lost in the mail. Deadline to ship is December 10.
12. In Givin Gifts, mark your gift as shipped and upload proof of shipping.
13. When you receive your gift, take a photo and mark the gift as received on Givin Gifts. We also encourage you to post here and tag your Santa! When you make your post: on Reddit, please use the “Secret Santa!” flair, on Mastodon please use #FountainPens #FPSanta. Do not post any photos with personal information such as real names, addresses, or phone numbers. Please crop out or redact any such information.

Rematching

Sometimes people drop out of the exchange for various reasons and their original matches are left without a Santa. What happens in this case? They are rematched with people who volunteer to send extra gifts.

If you have the means and time, please volunteer to be a rematcher! This means that if a Santa drops out of the exchange, rematchers will take over and send gifts to the people left without a Santa. 

If you are participating in the exchange: Click the “Become a Rematcher” button on the exchange page (under Actions) to volunteer. You may volunteer to send 1–5 extra gifts—please only volunteer to send as many as you have time and money for.

If you only wish to send gifts and NOT receive any gifts: Please contact your nearest elf and let them know the following information: what country you are in, what countries you are able to ship/gift to, and which tier gift (red and/or green) you are willing to send. We’ll put you on a list and reach out if your help is needed to fulfill a rematch.

Q&A

• 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.
• Is my giftee also gifting back to me? Your Santa (gifter) and your giftee are likely not the same person! Each person’s match is drawn randomly and matches are not reciprocal in most cases.
• 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 (:
• Since it’s a “Secret” Santa, do I have to stay anonymous? No, this is not required, you may message your giftee directly on Reddit/Mastodon if you are OK with breaking anonymity. But some Santas prefer to stay anonymous for the fun factor, and if you wish to do so, you may use the Givin Gifts message system which does not reveal the Santa’s username.
• What if my Santa/giftee doesn’t contact me? Contact us and we will try to reach out to them. If they drop out of the exchange, we will do the best to pair you with a rematcher so that you can still send or receive a gift!
• I want to avoid getting something I already have. You can post State of the Collection posts to the subreddit, or to your Reddit user profile, and link them in your questionnaire. You can also link to your Fountain Pen Companion page if you have one.
• International shipping is expensive. What’s another option? You may choose to order a gift for your giftee from a fountain pen store close to them and send your written note separately via normal mail.
• 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.
• My account is too new to be eligible but I really want to participate, is there any way? You may contact the elves to be placed on a waitlist for a late match; we may put you in if someone drops out. 
• Other issues? Comment below with your question (Reddit) or post your question on Mastodon with hashtag #FPSanta. Or contact the team (below) via Reddit messages or Mastodon private mentions. 

Santa’s Elves — your Secret Santa team

If you need help, comment below or contact the appropriate team member(s) depending on your region. We recommend contacting an Elf in a timezone close to yours for timely responses aligning with your schedule. 

You can easily identify the exchange organizers by the “Santa’s Elf” user flair on Reddit: 

• Americas West and Central: u/merantite and u/write_knife_sew
• Americas East: u/jezlyn, u/duskbunnie, and u/Ok-Seaweed7173
• Europe/Middle East/Africa: u/halfcelestialelf and u/PrestigiousCap1198
• Asia/Oceania: u/paradoxmo
• Head Elf (escalations/other): u/merantite

You can contact the exchange organizers on Mastodon:

• Americas West and Central: @alexa488@penfount.social and @write_knife_sew@penfount.social
• Americas East: @jezlyn@mastodon.social and @inkycicada@penfount.social
• Europe/Middle East/Africa: @Halfcelestialelf@penfount.social
• Asia/Oceania: @paradoxmo@penfount.social
• Head Elf (escalations/other): @alexa488@penfount.social