Secret Santa

Santa is planning to be several Red Velvet Cupcake Baileys in, so I may pass out before midnight.

Unfortunately, the USPS decided to drag their feet this year, so despite our best collective effort (and their Santas mailing before the deadline even) @Prime2099 and @SardoNumspar don't have their super awesome gifts under the tree. 

Neither does @Vectrex28, but you weren't home when the pikemen or whomever attempted to bring you your holiday cheer today.

Reveal your goodies, @ your giver if you would like, post a pic if you can, and enjoy your day!

Thank you to all the participants.

Your 2019 VGS Secret Santa, captmorgandrinker

WTF

39 minutes ago, RH said:

I had no clue Santa had time to game during the year! It's a lot of work managing elves build toys for hundreds of millions of kiddos.

July is about the last opportunity I have to game before I kick the elves into high gear!

24 hours logged on 10 games.

Most played were Tetris 99, Wheel of Fortune, and Nintendo Online (probably Tecmo Bowl)

Played 7 hours in February and 14 in July, and I don't think I've turned the thing on in a few months now.

31 minutes ago, RH said:

I agree with @B.A. and not only that, I'm very careful when selecting what I eat at holiday parties.  100% of the time that either I, or my family, has ever gotten sick at the holidays has come from eating something at a party.

That lamb might have been served right out of the oven but, I don't know what the deal is, but with some foods that were cooked earlier in the day but kept warm, even those can cause problems.

No. Thank. You.

Santa worked in a restaurant as a teen before becoming the RULER OF THE ELVES.

There's something called the "danger temperature" that is the perfect breeding ground for bacteria.   For meats I believe it's between room temp and 110 degrees or so?   The sitting food is very likely to be in that range unless they have it in a proper chafing dish setup.

Lumps of coal, the lot of ye!

Priority (not flat rate) is $57.90, while First Class is indeed $61.

That's as good as you'll get using USPS; not sure if other carriers may be better.

On 11/18/2019 at 9:03 PM, CMR said:

That's the same tactics care dealerships use to devalue vehicles that people might want to trade in.  They'll go over every little detail trying to get them to trade it for next to nothing.  They won't just outright low ball you because then you might just pick up and leave, so they play that game where they point out every little defect.  It's basically emotion manipulation.

Santa got lucky with the dealership I've bought from.   Got about $1500 MORE in trade than what I was expecting.   I even pointed out a couple non-obvious things and the salesperson was like "meh, we have people that'll take care of that".

Polar opposite- my Mom went to trade in her relatively clean van several years ago.   Clean trade was about 5 grand.   They offered her 600 bucks.   I left coal in those mofos stockings that year.

Lists have been given out!   If you haven't received one, AND FOLLOWED DIRECTIONS TO SIGN UP PROPERLY, please message me ASAP

And that is it for 2019 signups!    I hope to have everyone paired up and messages sent out tomorrow.

12 minutes ago, Mega Tank said:

PM Sent!

1 hour ago, pseudomyxoma said:

I'd prefer video games than adult diapers but beggars can't be choosers 

What if you received both?   You could have a gaming marathon without leaving the couch, eh?

2 hours ago, TylerBarnes said:

Is this a list of $20 items we are planning on buying or wish to receive? 

This would be a list of items you would want.   You won't get them all, but a variety is nice for your buyer to choose from.

On 11/10/2019 at 10:51 PM, Secret Santa said:

As of now, everyone that has messaged me with a list should have been invited to the Secret Santa club.

A reminder- posting in here that "you're in" doesn't mean squat if I don't get a list.   So make sure I get them by the deadline!

I should have everybody caught up.    Please see the bolded above.    Several "I'm in" without lists, and you only have about 24 more hours.

16 hours ago, JamesRobot said:

I'm having a hard time with my list. I don't know what I want!

Better figure that out pretty quickly!

Santa should have everybody caught up to this point.   

Let me know if you have sent in a list but haven't received a Club invite yet.

3 hours ago, Splain said:

Was... this done to be silly? Are you two secretly the same person?

Well, the jig would be up pretty quick when I get names and addresses.

As of now, everyone that has messaged me with a list should have been invited to the Secret Santa club.

A reminder- posting in here that "you're in" doesn't mean squat if I don't get a list.   So make sure I get them by the deadline!

11 minutes ago, Bear85 said:

Do you guys have back up elf’s  just Incase?

We have a couple already, but if anybody wants to just elf let me know.

It is nice to have several, that way I can dispatch the one that lives closest if things go pear-shaped for someone.

And please don't feel guilty about sending a huge list (or get worried if you receive one).    The more options people have to choose from the better.

5 hours ago, a3quit4s said:

Is a list a requirement or can we leave it totally up to the Santa? Can I provide a read only list to my games and just state my favorite systems? I feel like the fun of secret Santa is you never really know what you’ll get and a list defeats that!

We've had issues in the past with lists that are too vague, but if you provide a list of what you already have (and have in huge bolded text that these are games YOU ALREADY OWN, as people have blown that in the past too) then that should be good enough.

So technically a list of what you own does count as a list.

If I see any that may cause issues along the way, I'll PM you.   The only instant eliminations are the lists that only ask for things like Dragon Warrior IV, Mega Man X2, Mega Man X3, Earthbound, and Duck Tales 2.

Ho Ho Ho!   I have made my way to bring some Sages of Video Games some holiday cheer.

Welcome to the first annual VGS Secret Santa!   If you would like to participate, please read through the following directions: 

1- Send Secret Santa a PM with your real name, your address, and a LIST of items that are $20 or less.   The more specific the better.   If I get any of these lists with all $50+ items on them- I won't even ask you for a revised list, you'll just be out of this year's Secret Santa.   

1a- Also please indicate if you can ship internationally.

2- Once I receive your list, I will invite you to the SS 2019 club.

3- Signups will end at 10:00 pm Eastern on Tuesday November 19th.   There are ten full calendar days between this posting and that deadline, if you can't figure it out then I don't know what to tell you.

4- Santa hopes to have recipients matched up and your lists sent out by November 21st.

5- Once your gifts are shipped, please PM Santa with the tracking number!   This is very important, so don't lose it.

6- Deadline to ship in your own country is Dec 17th.    International is Dec 10th.   (That int'l window isn't ideal so I will try to keep everybody within their own country if possible)

7- Have fun!   I'll post a reveal thread Christmas morning for you to show off your goodies, but no revealing before!

Also, Santa has some basic rules to follow:

1.  PLAN ON BUYING SOMETHING.   Don't assume you can just pull some stuff off your shelf.

2.  Plan on spending a minimum of $20 before shipping.   Take that into consideration before buying your recipient those Rock Band drums.

3.  DO NOT MESSAGE YOUR RECIPIENT.   If you need clarification, please reach out to Secret Santa.

4.  No public complaining about your gift/your list/etc.   If something is that bad PM either Santa or VGS site staff.

5.  We reserve the right to refuse Secret Santa entry to anyone.   This will especially apply if you've been on Santa's naughty list before.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask them here or send me a message.

Merry Christmas!

That Mario outfit was too warm, plus Santa didn't want any recurring flashbacks from that other place that shall not be named.

15 hours ago, Fleck586 said:

Is this happening or what?

Hold your horses....er....reindeer.

Santa will be posting a thread and some details this week.

Whew!   Made it out just in time.