I said I would, and dammit, I will! Kindly, Marla has volunteered to help with a possible goodie exchange. She has some fabulous ideas, I think; for those of you who want to participate, some feedback is required.

The Gifty Part

1. Tell me you want in by leaving a comment here. This is so that everyone who is participating gets a chance to "meet" all the other participants. Then post this message on your own blog or trackback here so we can hook as many fish as we can.

2. Send me your snail mail addy. I promise I am not a creepy internet weirdo who will use this info to stalk you or sell it to marketing firms. Frances will do a Big Draw to pair people up (I'll take photos of her picking the names, if I can). I will then email people to give them the name and address of their giftee.

3. Fill out the handy-dandy Gift Questionnaire, which Marla said she will be putting together over the next few days. The responses to the questionnaire should be easily accessible. Post them on your blog or LJ.

4. When you have the name of your giftee and their answers to the Gift Questionnaire, it is time to start putting together a little package of gifts. We are thinking a shoebox sized ensemble of small and inexpensive items. This is not about the money; it's about having some fun and putting a bit of thought into it. A comfortable pre-shipping gift max would be $25 (if you think that's too much or too little, let us know; nothing is set in stone yet).

5. As you purchase or make the items, take photos that you can post on your blog in January, after the gift has been received. When you post about the items, include a bit about how and why they were chosen, including how they met the answers of the Gift Questionnaire and the other guidelines (eg. something salty, something soft, something naughty, something nice--these are yet to be determined, but you get the idea.)

6. When you receive your gift, take some photos of the items in their new home--being used or displayed, and post that on your blog. As Marla says: "The recipient should take a picture after receiving them, but it shouldn't be just a typical "opening the present shot". It should be something from the box in its new home, or in use, or being enjoyed. Even if it's a picture of someone's ass after eating some candy from the box." Ah, the possibilities.

We're hoping to get the final version of this posted within a week and participants signed up by the 26th of November, targeting a shipping date of December 15. Gift Day would be New Year's Day, since that's a Winter Holiday we all have in common.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Criticisms? Volunteer Gifters?

OK. That takes care of the Gifty Part (for now). On to the Crafty Part:

The Crafty Part

I'm going to post photos of the christmas projects I have planned for this year (gifts, decorations, cards etc.) as well as any decorating that doesn't look too atrocious, and anyone who's interested can do the same. I've set up the Winter Holiday of Your Choice Blog Extravaganza! as a blog ring, linked to from the category archive page (link on the right).

Anyone who's new and interested, feel free to sign up. If you have the ability to set up a new Winter Holiday category on your blog or LJ, I would do that and link that page/those pages to the blog ring, if you can. If you can't, just sign up the whole site.

Then, just blog about your preparations for the Winter Holiday of Your Choice--crafting, cooking, baking, decorating, service attending, donating, whatever you can think of. And let the festivities begin!