~♥Galentine's Day Exchange♥~

[Mcakes]

***All gifts have been sent/received*** Thank you for all of your support ❤

We promised you something magical and fun to start off the new year...and now the time to play is finally here! 

Our previous rounds have been wonderful platforms for bringing us all together though our appreciation for beauty, treats and camaraderie. We're glad that you've  decided to join in on the fun!

Positive Energy and Unicorn Love Always, 
Mcakes & ZombieMetroAnt

Tips and Tricks

Spoiler

♥Ask questions! Anyone can ask anyone an anonymous question, that will help you get a better idea of likes and dislikes, haves and wants, etc. 

♥When you purchase something, click "Mark As Purchased." They won't see it, but they might be using the same wishlist for other gift exchanges, so this can prevent them potentially getting the same gift from two different people.

♥If you got something for yourself, remove it from your wishlist! 

Shipping Suggestions

Spoiler

How to ship abroad/add a customs label while still using online shipping:
1. Creating an account: First, you must create a free account on the USPS website. The paypal.com/shipnow site will not let you create customs forms.
2. Shipping Label: To create the shipping label, you want to use the "Click n Ship" function from the dropdown menu under Mail & Ship. Many of the directions from above are basically the same but the key difference is under, "Where are you sending to?" you will need to use the dropdown menu to select the country of choice.
3. Finishing the Shipping Label:Fill in all the corresponding information until the end of the form including the value of the package. The Canadians on the board may have more to speak to with this but I always kept this amount on the lower side so the recipient doesn't get hit with high customs fee. (average amount I would put would be $10-$20) A great feature is at the end of the page it will give you all your options for shipping. I can tell you on a personal note that when I ship to England I always choose first class international mail and I have never had a problem. Once again, delivery confirmation is thrown in for FREE.
3. Beginning the Customs Form: You will then get to a page that will you through step by step filling in the customs form. The first question will ask you to "Enter Package Information." This is where you can just write this is a gift box for a friend. You do not need to write anything more!
4. Customs Inventory: Next up is, "Enter Item Information." Okay, this one is a little tricky. If you want to itemize, and fill in every single thing in the box, you can. If you only want to do a couple, you can. I've done both over the years and both have been okay. I'm not going to tell you though that it will work every time so ultimately, the decision is up to you. Make sure though that you mark each item a GIFT so that the recipient does not get charged increased fees. Also, and this is IMPORTANT, the total that adds up for the all the items has to be the same total you gave on the previous page for the value of the box. So if you make something worth $1, that's fine! (Again, Canadians speak up hear if I'm wrong but my abroad friends always told me it was better to do this to reduce customs fees for the recipient.) Lastly, each weight of each individual item will need to add up to the to the total weight item, so I've honestly literally made up ratio numbers in the past. (I have never had a problem in years of sending packages)
5. Tarrif Number: Lastly, you do not have a tariff number so leave that blank. Okay, one last thing, choose your AES exemption. I would choose the second one having to do with gifts.
6. Obtaining the Label/Customs Form: The steps following this are similar to the ones from above except that I believe the payment options for USPS may also include credit card options as well as PayPal. Go ahead and print your label which will also contain your completed customs form. (Please note: you may need to sign your customs form before affixing it to your package) On a positive note, YOU STILL SAVE MONEY BY USING THE ONLINE POSTAGE SYSTEM!
7. How to actually ship it:For international packages, my personal advice is yes, bring it to the post office, and yes, actually check it in and get a receipt saying it was checked in by a postal worker. Since many international packages take quite longer than domestic and tend to get delayed at different intervals, you want to make sure that everything is okay when it first enters the system.

Duty Info:
US can receive a gift up to 100 USD. If you send from Canada and mark your gift as 100 you are actually saying it cost you 100 CAD. Today Google converts that to 75.87USD so your recipient should be ok and not pay additional fees.

Canada can receive a gift up to 60 CAD. If you send from the US and mark your gift as 60, you are actually saying it cost you 60 USD. Today Google converts that to 79.08 CAD. So your Canadian friend in this case might pay duties/taxes/fees.

I believe customs will check the rate on the day the item is processed. Seems Canada is at somewhat the same range recently but it does go down a bit. Just
things to keep in mind.

Participants

Spoiler

angel7594- gift received, thank you prettyinpa!

beadshopgirl- gift received, thank you MissPuff!

CC3616- gift received, thank you mermadelove!

ClassicallyFab- gift received, thank you mella900!

darkiceis- gift received, thank you ElleElleG!

ElleElleG- gift received, thank you beadshopgirl!

fatimamummy- gift received, thank you SpaceLlama! 

gonerogue- gift received, thank you Ispend2much6!

heartsmyface- gift received, thank you PaletteAddict99! 

Ispend2much6- gift received, thank you unfungirl!

jozkid- gift received, thank you Lazybeautybeast!

lazybeautybeast- gift received, thank you ClassicallyFab!

LCResz- gift received, thank you txcatx!

lipstick4soul- gift received, thank you LCResz!

Mcakes- gift received, thank you angel7594!

meganlisa- gift received, thank you myumew!

mella900- gift received, thank you ZombieMetroAnt!

mermadelove- gift received, thank you jozkid!

MissPuff- gift received, thank you ohheyitscindyk!

myumew- gift received, thank you Tamara76!

NotCrocker- gift received, thank you gonerogue!

ohheyitscindyk- gift received, thank you heartsmyface!

PaletteAddict99- gift received, thank you Mcakes!

prettyinpa- gift received, thank you veronika23!
Sabrinas- gift received, thank you Samtian!
Samtian- gift recieved, thank you Sabrinas!

shimmerbait- gift received, thank you fatimamummy! 

sister13- gift received, thank you darkiceis! 

SpaceLlama- gift received, thank you NotCrocker!

Tamara76- gift received, thank you lipstick4soul!

txcatx- gift received, thank you sister13!

unfungirl- gift received, thank you CC3616!
veronika23- gift received, thank you shimmerbait!

ZombieMetroAnt- gift received, thank you meganlisa!

Shipping Deadline: On or before Galentine's Day (2/13)

[Ispend2much6]

@Lazybeautybeast  I'm afraid you caught my attention with the decaf comment. 🙂  I have recently found two decaf teas that are worth drinking (after a lot of searching.)

Mariage Freres Rouge Bourbon tea (rooibos with real vanilla bean- at Dean and Deluca,) and Tea Forte's Decaf English Breakfast. 🙂  I hope you find some you like!

[Lazybeautybeast]

Thanks @Ispend2much6. I'll have to check those out. For a while I was drinking the decaf Earl grey from Adagio Teas but I'm looking to mix it up.

[txcatx]

Sure! I always hope my person answers these questions, too.

Pink or blue: Depends. I like millennial pink, but also robin egg blue.
Sweet or savory: Both! 
Brights or nudes: I keep my lipsticks bright (usually) and my clothes neutral.
Jewelry? Yes, but usually subtle, minimalist designs.
Favorite types of scents: Citrus or spice for home. I've realized that my perfumes often have freesia in the notes.
Old or new? Both. I live down the street from some fun vintage shops, so I'm often walking over to see the new old stuff!
Skin type? Combination/sensitive 
Favor lots of little things or one big? Either.
Chocolate or vanilla? Both. I prefer chocolate ice cream but vanilla cake.
Coffee or tea? Both! Usually dark or medium roast coffee and peppermint, Earl Grey, or green tea. But I like all kinds of teas.

[txcatx]

So...I may have gotten so excited that I already got most of my shopping done. According to my phone, I've walked 3.3 miles today, all of which was done while shopping! Just need to wait for a Sephora order to arrive, and then I'm ready to ship. But, I hate being one of the first to ship because it's fun to see what others are sending so I can get even more ideas.

[mermadelove]

@txcatx @Ispend2much6. I am waiting for two orders to arrive then I’ll be shipping, too!

[CC3616]

Dang, you are on it @txcatx! I need to get moving, just ordered my first item.

[darkiceis]

@txcatx  It's ok, ship when you are ready.  Going out to shop is so much fun. I already saw so many things for my Elf. I'll probably ship soon as well. 🙂

[Ispend2much6]

@txcatx  Depending upon when my orders come in, I may ship at the end of the week myself. 🙂

[mermadelove]

@txcatx  I may have been shopping in anticipation for a while now.... I promised myself I would not again be first to ship for the very same reason!!!!!!!

I need to get my decorations game on cuz I was sorely lacking last time!!!!

SO EXCITED!!!!

Thanks @Mcakes and @ZombieMetroAnt  for Mcing the festivities!!!

[prettyinpa]

Haha, @txcatx, you put the miles in shopping!  I'm looking forward to an upcoming trip to get things for my galentine, I've been peppering her with questions this afternoon. I've already gotten some things for my box and started decorations.

[txcatx]

@prettyinpa Your person is so lucky because you always send the best treats from your hometown!

[prettyinpa]

Aw, thanks, @txcatx- I've seen you send some pretty awesome things from your hometown too. I'm just lucky to have a candy factory not ridiculously far away. Plus I discovered a new indoor Farmers Market recently that's open all year round and they have a candy booth there that's just amazing. I got a bunch of things there on my last trip and saved some for my Galentine too.

[fatimamummy]

Thank you for arranging it @Mcakes @ZombieMetroAnt . I’m excited 🤗

[Anonymous]

How fun - cute name for the exchange too!

I do something similar to this with a  group of girlfriends, though not on valentine's day. Is this something that is open to everyone (clearly not for this year) or is it just a group who know each other?

[shimmerbait]

Thank you for hosting.  I am very excited about and for my elf ❤️  I think she will be, too!

[Tamara76]

Yay!   So excited about this exchange! 

I've been so out of it this week with a huge planning conference and the added bonus of bronchitis 😕 so I didn't even realize names had been drawn. 

I was so happy to see who was chosen as my Galentine!  I can't wait to shop for her! ❤️

[veronika23]

Ohhh no @Tamara76!  I'm sorry you're sick. I hope you feel better really soon!!!

[Tamara76]

Thank you, my dear!  I'm feeling mostly better now! ❤️   @veronika23

[veronika23]

Oh good @Tamara76 🙂

[mella900]

Ugh, bronchitis is the worst! out of all the common illnesses, it always takes the worst toll on me. I hope you are able to recover quickly!!

[Tamara76]

Thanks, @mella900!   I'm feeling a lot better now, but it was a rough week. 😞