💀 Halloween Trick & Treat...your elf 💀

[ZombieMetroAnt]

          *  Sign ups are now closed and names have been drawn.  *

                                     👻     👻     👻     👻     👻     👻

 

Something's brewing, and it 'll be ghoulishly fun! A wicked good time for everyone...

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 haunting fun!

With ghoulish appreciation,
Mcakes & ZombieMetroAnt

🎃 Tips, Tricks & Other spooktacular ideas!

Spoiler

💀 Elfster Tips:

   -> 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 - exactly 31 muahahahahahah 

Spoiler

Asche
beadshopgirl
ClassicallyFab
darkiceis
Dyslexia
gonerogue
Ispend2much6
jen143xo
jozkid
kso1225
LCResz
Lipstick4Soul
luvgloss13
Mcakes
mermadelove
MissPuff
myumew
NotCrocker
OhheyitscindyK
PaletteAddict99
prettyinpa
RGBrown
Samtian
shimmerbait
snoflakefaerie
SpaceLlama
Tamara76
txcatx
unfungirl
willa25
ZombieMetroAnt

Mix one part Scream with two parts Scare,

a pinch of Fear, a dash of Dare...

and give your elf a Halloween Box Extraordinare!

⚰EDITED TO ADD:

     👻 Shipping: our goal is to have boxes delivered by (or before) 10/31.  Boxes being shipped across the border take a bit longer

     👻 Wish lists: if you haven't already, please update your wishlist on elfster 🍬

[veronika23]

@Mcakes@prettyinpa  yeah I'll be checking the thread 🙂  And yes hopefully next time 🖤🖤🖤

[mermadelove]

@veronika23 Definitely join in next time! I totally thought you were in it even though you weren't on the list. LOL! I have a habit of doing that: "Don't you remember? you were there....!" Well, I WANTED you to be there, so in my mind, you were!!!! ❤️

[veronika23]

Awww thanks @mermadelove  just wasn't really a good time right now. Hopefully next round 🙂

[mermadelove]

💋💄✨💖🌈🦄 @veronika23

[txcatx]

Yay! I'm going to be out of town for much of the next two weeks, so I did a lot of shopping today right after the match!

[MissPuff]

I'm so excited! I'm a total noob to the gift exchanges so any tips to make it extra special for my pumpkin elf! Elf pumpkin?! 

[MissPuff]

Thanks for the vote of confidence @Mcakes, @prettyinpa, @unfungirl, @Tamara76! Elfkin here I come!

[Tamara76]

@MissPuff Like everyone else said, it's all about having fun - I'm sure your "elfkin" will love whatever you send her! ❤️

[unfungirl]

so glad you are participating @MissPuff! i have no doubt you will send an amazing gift to your elf! 

[prettyinpa]

@MissPuff  All the exchanges I've been in have been so super thoughtful. It's like my elf reads my mind!  Truly, some amazing gifts have been exchanged, so have fun with your box, I'm sure your elf will be delighted. Just think to yourself, what would my elf like based on her posts on BT or what she's drooling over in the "What's new" and you can't go wrong.

[Mcakes]

Elfkin? lol 😄

Just have fun with it! I seriously haven't seen anyone ever get a gift I would not have loved to receive yet ❤

[Tamara76]

@Mcakes I love it!   "Elfkin" it is!!!! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ 

[luvgloss13]

YAY!!! I am so excited.  I can't wait to get shopping for my pumpkin. LOL

[snoflakefaerie]

This is totes me when I saw names have been drawn:

[SpaceLlama]

Ahhh! I'm so excited for this. I've already made a list of ideas for gifts for my elf and I've gotten some decorations. Now I just need to do the fun part: shopping! Thanks for hosting this, @ZombieMetroAnt & @Mcakes! 

Me right now

[ohheyitscindyk]

@SpaceLlama What We Do in the Shadows is one of those movies that I can watch over & over again & it never gets old haha love that gif!

[Mcakes]

@SpaceLlama

for joining us 😄 Happy Shopping!

[Ispend2much6]

Thank you ladies!!!!  @ZombieMetroAnt  @Mcakes!

[ZombieMetroAnt]

No, thank you @Ispend2much6

[mermadelove]

Yesterday I went a little Hallowe'en shopping crazy because I kept finding things I thought would be perfect for my elf. Then I was like, "Well what if you don't GET that person>?" But GUESS WHAT ?!?!?!? I DID!!!!!! 

Magick is afoot....... Muahhahahahhahahhahahha!

[prettyinpa]

There's definitely magic involved. In the RAOK exchange, my recipient elf was Shimmerbait and the 2nd exchange, I was her recipient. What's the chance of that? We had a blast.