Elfster Holiday Gift Swap
Posted on November 21, 2008 by
The other day, NancyPearlWannabe mentioned Elfster.com, a fantastic “Secret Santa” resource for the holidays, and I immediately e-mailed the family to get us all signed up.
Last year, in an effort to keep things simple, avoid the financial pinch of the holidays, and not give gifts people didn’t really need, we started a holiday gift swap, and I think we all really enjoyed it. It was fun to be able to put some extra time into getting the perfect gift for one person, and so nice to cut down on holiday chaos. We still buy presents for the kids, but for the adults in the family, we draw names, and we keep the spending limit low.
Holidays can be a time of excess and unwanted gifts that will eventually go to waste. I’m so excited about Elfster.com, because it makes it even easier to give the right gift - one that’s actually needed and will actually be used. One person in a group signs up and invites everyone else in the group to join. You can set the price limit, as well as where and how the gifts will be exchanged. You can even set who can’t be chosen by a certain person, so my sister-in-law, for example, can’t draw her husband, etc.
Each person in the exchange fills out a wish list. And if you have additional questions, like what size slippers your brother-in-law wanted, you can e-mail anonymously to ask the question, so you get the right gift without giving up your secret status.
Need eco-friendly gift ideas? Keep checking back. I promise I’ll give you plenty over the next few weeks.
What are your gift exchange plans for the holiday season?
Yay Secret Santa! I love doing it online, it gives it an air of legitimacy instead of picking names out of a hat or something.
This is pretty rad. I have a bunch of friends who are never online, though. I wonder if I can convince them, or if we’ll just do it the old-fashioned way.
Elfster does seem like a good idea, but I may just stick with my original plan and give everyone 8X10 headshots of myself for Christmas. Dunno; I’ve got time to think about it.
For my immediate family we all get each other gifts and now this includes my in-laws to bad we couldn’t all just do a swap
My extended family does a gift swap every year and has been doing it for over 20 years. It used to be each adult drew another adult and a child or two (it changed as the family grew) but now only those that want to participate get and receive gifts. It’s a great idea since it would be insane to try and purchase 50 plus gifts no matter what the economy is like!