We were to mail them directly right? Cuz I did. (I can't follow instructions)

Whoo hoo!

I'm sorry (yipes!) mine can't go into the mail until Saturday because the weather outside is frightful. But it'll get there fast, I promise!

Just got mine in the mail...!

I hold you blameless :) You did a great job. I know that 50% of my part is DONE!

Wouldn't be your fault - it would be mine!
I am sure I screwed it up somehow although I did get the package in the mail on Monday!

I'm in the same boat as Liz -- I can't mail my package until Saturday as I can't leave school during the day, and the post offices are closed by the time I leave. I will do it first thing Saturday morning. I swear! :)

And, no -- we all know you and Marla did a great job organizing the gift exchange. Now, if only we can get you to reconsider about the Open date! What if there are Christmas or Hanukkah themed items in the boxes? If we open them on Jan 1st, it will be too late to use them! I cry foul, madam! :)

Oh my god! Saturday?

Just kidding. That's fine.

I will be very, very nervous until everyone ends up with a package. Very nervous.

Also mailing mine on Saturday...still 'working' on it...heh heh...

I just realized something as I was mailing mine this morning -

If, as the case may or may not be with me, a participant has a cross-border recipient, and a customs declaration had to be filled out, that putting your name and the contents on the label is necessary so that the package doesn't get held up or searched means that you will be revealed to your giftee too soon!

And so, giftees - do not look too closely at your packages! Have a loved one or trusted friend remove or cover identifying information if you will be too tempted to just look and see who spoiled you! Part of the fun is that your secret spoiler is secret for a while!

I was too tired and busy feeding Rockets (that's Sweet Tarts to you Americans) to Josephine to keep her from whining to figure my way around this snafu once I finally got to the head of the line and then had to deal with the mouth breather behind the counter this morning - I answered somewhat honestly on the customs label (if indeed I did, I mean) and used a work address so if the package got returned it wouldn't end up kicked around on my porch -

But as I remember, part of the deal was that we open on the 1st, and post about putting together our packages some time after that so that our recipient has time to enjoy and wonder before the reveal.

The only way to open them early would be if everyone checks in when they receive their package, and once all nineteen of us have theirs, and then we go back and forth and agonize over a date and oh cripes, I can't think of everything.

Andrea, I'm now having my freak out. What do you say to the impatient people about the opening date?

I say I don't have time to think about it until Dec 26th!

I also say that some of us probably won't have our packages until after xmas, given the way customs works.

And I say that what with all the insanity the holidays usually bring, none of us are going to remember to take pics while opening the present if we do so on a major gift-giving holiday.

So I say that we wait, and revisit on the 26th, if people reeeeeaaaally can't wait any longer.

TWO questions:

(1) Are we not supposed to reveal who we are? Even in a card inside the package? Oops?
(2) And what are you gonna do and who is gonna know if I am one of the most impatient ones and opens before the 1st?

(1) Well, sure. At least, I did--but they won't open the card until they open the gift, right? I think Marla's saying that we post afterwards so they won't know why we picked what we did until then.

(2) I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE.

Well, poopers. I was all set to head to the mailing place tomorrow morning .... it never even DAWNED on me that there might be north-of-the-border issues. Is there a nutshell listing of what can and can't go and/or what needs major hoop-jumping to be sent?

I never even thought of possible north-of-the-border issues. How much of a problem is that? I was heading to the post office first thing in the morning .... I have to do customs declaration? Poopers!

Oops - Anon, and Not (if I may be so familiar) -

If it's not too late to answer the North of the border questions - shouldn't be a problem. The only things that can't go over are meats, citrus fruit, exotic animal species, firearms, and more than a certain allowance of alcohol/tobacco. I'm sure you'll be generous to your giftees - but I doubt anyone's getting a gun-totin' inebriated parrot with a tangerine habit. So fill out the customs declaration honestly, and you should be fine. I used a generic term to describe the main composition of the items - okay, it was stationery and it was true enough. The $25 limit and marking gift should keep any duties under control (at most they'd be 15%, and probably they won't bother with them at this time of year, and with NAFTA most things are exempt anyway), and there may or may not be a brokerage fee (a small fee charged to open the box and verify that the contents don't violate any laws, which is either a flat rate or small percentage of the stated value) and I've only ever had to pay this once, years ago. So it should be cool, no matter what you do or have done. Mail does suck in Canada (sorry - it does compared to the 'States), though - everything takes longer and there isn't a Saturday delivery here in Toronto.

I did think at one point that this had been designed to be anonymous until a certain point - when the post about how the contents were chosen went up so that one could surf around to find out who put their gift together and learn about everyone else's process and see the other gifts received; but don't really mind if it's not. I do think that if people managed some degree of it, it makes it more fun. If they didn't, it's nice to think of your spoiler as the package is opened. Either way, it works beautifully.

We'll set a date, maybe about two weeks into January, to get past the holiday hump, for the putting packages together posts. Sounds good Andrea?

Two weeks into January works for me, but I think we're going to have to wait to make sure that everyone has received and opened their gift first--you never know. Customs (on both sides) sometimes arbitrarily holds onto things for a week or so.

But Jan 14 works as a tentative date, and then if we need/want to change it, we can.

Without being too revealing, when I sent my package cross-border all I had to write on the customs form was "gift" and that satisfied them.

I made a list of my items on the customs list, but I left it sort of generic. I asked the postman if I had to list everything, or just write "Gift", and he said that if I didn't want it opened and inspected, then I should write individual items, like "candy" but not "Roll of Life Savers."

My gift is away. I hope it arrives safely! I can't wait!

My package was mailed Dec 9th, but it is going far far away. I paid extra for it to take 2 weeks instead of like..5-8 weeks. And I had to write out the customs form and all that. I hope it arrives in time.
I have recieved mine already though.

This is so exciting! I received my package and I'm going to be very good and wait to open it. The package I sent out also should have arrived this week, and I've got my pictures all ready to go for the reveal in terms of what I sent out and why, so 'all systems go' over here! Thank you SO much for organizing this, Andrea - it really was a wonderful idea. It's nice to have some magic/mystery as adults.

I received my package. My pack. age. MY PAAAAAACKAAAAAAAGE. MYYYYYYYYYYYYY package. MYMYMYMYMYMY PA-A-A-A-A-A-A-ACK-AAAAAAAGE today.

Um, Andrea - ye of the computer skills and home base - do you want to set up a check-in post one day next week?

Ack! Unwrapping on the 14th! Can I wait that long??

p.s. A sticky check-in post would be a great idea too. I would also like to ask people to post a note on their websites when/if they receive their gifts. I keep waiting and waiting!

I'm so jealous! I havne't gotten my package yet, either. I'm hoping it comes this week.

We should put up a place where we can all check in once we've gotten our packages, just so senders can check to make sure that their Spoilee has gotten their gifts without having to out themselves before the open date.

I, of course, will check my spoilee's site, but I don't want to be gauche, and go -- "Hey! Have you gotten your gift yet?" :)

I've received my package. It jingles!!! I can't wait to open it.