The Rabbit Room Community Christmas 2012

The Rabbit Room Community Christmas 2012

by Pete Peterson on December 6, 2012

The sign up window is now closed. Thanks to all the folks who chose to participate! If you sent us your name and address prior to 10:30am (cst) today, then you’re in. We’ll get emails sent back out to everyone with the name and address of the person to buy for in the next few days.

One of my favorite things about the Rabbit Room is the sense of community that’s grown up among the readership. If you stop and think about it, it’s genuinely amazing just how many of the people who read and comment here know one another. And not just on the internet. Thanks to Hutchmoot, hundreds of you have met in real life and formed face-to-face relationships. That’s something that I think very few “blogs” can boast of.

So this Christmas season I’m hoping to start something that will become a Rabbit Room tradition. We want to invite you to exchange gifts. Think of it as our version of a “Secret Santa” program (just like the ladies at church have every year).

This how it’ll work:

1. If you choose to participate, email your name and shipping address to orders@rabbitroom.com (put “Community Christmas 2012″ in the subject line). Please do not post any personal information here on the website; we want this to remain secure for everyone involved. By electing to participate you agree to allow us to send your name and shipping address to one randomly selected person (use a P.O. Box or business address if you don’t want to give out your home address). Note: Due to shipping costs, we have to confine this to U.S. addresses only.

2. We’ll randomly select names and email your name and shipping address to one other person who has elected to participate. This person (“Secret Santa”) will buy you a gift and ship it directly to you.

3. Everyone who participates will receive a randomly selected name and address. Buy a gift for the person whose name you are assigned and send it to them. Keep your own identity secret (if you wish). If you elect to participate, you agree to spend at least $20 on the gift you buy (shipping included). You’re welcome to spend more, of course, or to buy multiple gifts (if you wish).

And that’s it. This isn’t a ploy to get people to shop in the Rabbit Room store. You’re free to buy your gift wherever you like (or even make one—so long as you’d value it at about $20). But remember, this is about giving, not getting. We hope everyone who participates will do so in good faith and no one will be left out. But we’re on the honor system. If your “Secret Santa” drops the ball, don’t take it personally. We’re counting on each of you to make it work and make it fun. Surprise someone. Send something completely unexpected. Make someone’s day. Make someone smile. Be generous. Have a merry Christmas.

If anyone has any questions, post them in the comments and I’ll address them as quickly as possible.

We’ll take sign-ups until December 5th, and then we’ll assign names and let the fun begin.