Welcome to our annual Secret Santa!
🎁🎄 Registration is now open! 🎄🎁
Hello! Gunny Waffle speaking. Allow me to be your Santa bat guide~💙
Once more we are putting our all into making this year the best one yet! Last year was astounding and made dozens of people happy. We can’t wait to see everyone’s smiles come Christmas! ^-^
What is Secret Santa, and how have I tweaked it?
Secret Santa is a traditional gift-exchange game! If you sign up, you will be randomly assigned as someone else's Secret Santa. It will be your job to get them a gift from their wishlist without them knowing who you are. Since anonymous gifting is harder through the internet — especially if you're an artist — the anonymity rule is being tweaked. Keep things a secret, but you may reveal yourself when giving your gift if you wish.
I host this event exclusively on our Discord, where it is open to all. We exchange art and digital gifts with a guarantee that if you give a gift you will receive one, no matter what. Hosting this event has always brought us such joy, and we hope to bring joy to all!
🎅 SANTAS 🤶
We are using a wonderful website called Sneaky Santa to organize this event. (Consider donating to them, they make this possible!)
You must register here to join! ⚠ Be sure to use your Discord username! ⚠
Registration closes Saturday, November 30th at 11:59PM PST
Sneaky Santa helps in three big ways:
You have a wishlist where you can provide details on what you want.
Secret Santas can message their gift recipient anonymously with questions.
I can manage restrictions when drawing names, to ensure comfort in participating.
On that note, if you are uncomfortable with someone else registered in the exchange, I can accommodate. Just contact me directly and I can make sure that you won't get paired with them when names are drawn. No questions asked and your request will be kept secret.
🧝♀️ ELVES 🧝♂️
You can also join as an elf! No need to register with the event at Sneaky Santa.
Elves are those that donate games or artwork in case someone has to back out or a mistake is made. There is no shame in having to drop out of the exchange, even at the last minute. Although I will do my utmost best to fix things up, elves are my safety net. If you wish to be an elf, please contact me directly to discuss. You may remain anonymous if you wish!
🎁 GIFTS 🎁
Gifts can only be digital goods. We can not be responsible for distributing personal information such as names and addresses. So no mugs, t-shirts, or any other physically shipped goods.
Some gift examples are:
Video games
Video game content
Gift cards (take region locks into consideration)
Artwork
Subscriptions
Discord Nitro
There is a budget of $10-50 USD. If you are making something, a good rule of thumb is spending at most 4 hours on it.
We will validate all wishlists to make sure they are populated correctly and with only valid items. We will contact you to let you know if anything needs fixing or not.
More info can be found in the Gifts event.
🎄 EXCHANGE 🎄
Gifts will be exchanged December 28th onwards. Don't worry about being late, this lasts a few days as this is a global event! They can be given publicly, privately, or anonymously through a trusted mutual or myself.
I will be present to help with the exchange of gifts throughout, verifying that all gift exchanges take place.
Failure to give a gift without warning may result in being banned from future community events. That may seem harsh, but with money involved, it's unfair to leave someone hanging without a word. Communicate with me directly if there are issues. I can help!
We are beyond stoked to see the exchange! :D
More info can be found in the Exchange event.
❔ LIVING FAQ ❔
Got questions? You are free to ask us anything regarding this event. We’re more than happy to help!
Answers will be added below, anonymously.
About Your Concerns
I don't want to get burnt. What if I get nothing or something really bad?
Gunny moderates this event, ensuring that everyone gets fair treatment. Don't worry! ^^ This event has been run for 6 years now and never has someone left empty handed.
What if they only ask for art but I can't provide art or am unable to commission? Or what if I can only provide art and they don't want any?
There is always a solution! Contact them via anonymous message on Sneaky Santa. Ask them what kind of alternative they may want. If that doesn't work then contact Gunny for help.
Will I get in trouble if I suddenly can't get the gift in time?
As long as you openly communicate with Gunny you will be fine. The only way to get in trouble is if you don't ever give a gift and accept a gift at the same time. Gunny has helped with gifts as delayed as mid January. Things happen!
What if I need to drop out? Can I do that?
Absolutely, this is by no means a contract. Just contact Gunny and he can work it out! Please let him know before he draws names if possible. If you have to drop out after that then it gets a little bit harder, but he can still make it work.
What about gifting for people in other countries? It's generally harder or more expensive to do so.
Try to limit yourself to $50 USD after conversions. If the items on their wishlist are unavailable in your country, try contacting them anonymously on Sneaky Santa for alternatives. Always triple check that the gift you are buying for them will work between your two countries. Online codes are often region locked, especially for gift cards.
If none of the above work, contact us for help.
About Giving Gifts
If someone wants a commission, is it okay if I draw it myself?
Absolutely!!! It is even encouraged if you feel capable enough!
I want to write something for my gift. Can I do that?
Writing is a wonderful form of art, though unfortunately it has been abused in the past and is no longer allowed. However, if you are a competent writer and your recipient is OK with writing then you can provide us with a gallery as proof and get permission.
Are there rules regarding the contents of gifts? Like ratings?
Since this is a public event and hosted on our Discord, yes. Please follow the content guidelines of our Discord server as outlined in the #rules channel, which means SFW only.
Are tips part of the $10-50 budget limit? I want to support my artist friend.
Not at all! Consider that a gift to the artist, tips do not count towards the budget. You are awesome! c:
Are we limited to giving one gift?
Nope! You are limited to a budget of $10-50 in total, so multiple gifts is a wonderful idea if possible.
Can I give gifts to others as well?
Please don’t give gifts to other participants! Not only is it against the spirit of the event, but you may collide with other Secret Santas. Feel free to organize your own exchange of gifts with others though!
About Being a Santa
Is it possible to be both a Santa and an Elf?
Is it possible to be more awesome? Go for it! Thank you for contributing so much!
How do I share my steam wishlist as an item on my Sneaky Santa wishlist?
Steam is also a website! You can share a link to your wishlist like so: https://store.steampowered.com/wishlist/id/GunnyWaffle/
Just replace "GunnyWaffle" with your own steam username and try it out.
If that doesn't work then you need to make your profile public. Open steam and go to View my profile > Edit Profile > Privacy Settings. Then set both My profile and Game details to Public.
What happens if you get the same person from a previous year?
You get the same person! \o/ Preventing repeats will get harder and harder with each year, rendering the random aspect void as time goes on. If you get a repeat, consider it a chance to give more!
How do I change my avatar on Sneaky Santa?
Visit the group page for the exchange (where everyone is listed), then go to your wishlist and click Change Photo.
What if we have an odd number? Will someone have to drop out?
Nope! This is not done in pairs, but rather several rings of people. Which means that we could even do this with 3 people.
Are you participating? Normally organizers can't.
Yes! Thanks to Sneaky Santa. Gunny would have to intentionally reveal his Secret Santa, which he won't. Promise!