One of the highlights of the last decade has been the fun, festivities and fright of our annual Secret Santa. To recap: the way it works in our family is that all the adults (over 20 and working) go into a single draw in which random Secret Santa recipients are drawn. Accompanying the draw is a list for each person in line with the agreed upon spend budget for that year. Over time, the operations have evolved – and improved – still, never before had we tried a Secret Santa across two continents and involving postal logistics.
Once again, we used an online Secret Santa Generator that emailed each person’s recipient name to them. Then we created an online shared doc for each person’s list. Given that we would have to potentially have to ship gifts between South Africa and the US, we also had to put links to online sites and reputable delivery services, and try to get the timing just right. Finally, we set a Skype date, and waited with bated breath for Christmas day.
Between waiting for everyone to be around, then trying to log on successfully, and being able to see and hear everyone, the set up was a little stressful, but then once it got going, it almost felt like normal. Almost. Amid the usual drama and hilarity, it was pretty cool how it all worked out, and everyone was happy with what they got:
Garth bought a Andel a bicycle tyre
Andel bought Yaya a pair of running shoes
Yaya bought Papu a Bible (with large text)
Papu gave Dom some cash vouchers
Dom bought Annie a kettle and kitchen knife block
Annie bought me a swim costume and slip slops
And I gave Garth the cash – because his list was empty, but that’s a post for another day!
Yes, so that means Ash and PJ bought each other gifts! It was not rigged. And it worked out perfectly for this year, meaning that perhaps SSTAE will survive another year after all!
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| Our annual Christmas photo... |
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| ... missing one important piece |
Missing that piece too! 💖
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