Canadian Secret Santa 2018

[lachaton]

**Sign-ups are closed**

Hi everyone! Since dyslexia cannot organize the exchange this year, I'm willing to head up a Secret Santa. I made a few changes to her rules, so please review this post carefully before signing up. 

Rules for 2018:

1. Open to both Canada & US. If in US, you must be willing to ship to Canada. If in Canada, you can specify that you want to only ship within the country.
2. Active BIC participant: Must have have a minimum 600 hearts and must have posted at least once within the last 3 months (since July 10, 2018). Since this is my first time running this exchange and we've had the recent change from BT to BIC, I'm going to be strict with this requirement.
   You can check your hearts by going to your profile at https://www.sephora.com/users/[YOUR USERNAME HERE] scroll down to posts, and click on "view all" - top right will show your total hearts received. 
   It isn't intended to reinforce a clique at all, but since we are exchanging some personal information, I want to ensure that the people who sign up will follow through. One of the ways we do that is by selecting an eligibility requirement based on activity and involvement in the community. If you don't meet the requirements this year, please be encouraged to continue to participate in the community in the future! 
3. Exchange will run via Elfster -- when you sign up please PM me with your email address so I can send your invite.
4. Deadlines:
   Sign-up cut off date: Friday, October 26, midnight EST. 
   Matching day: between Saturday, October 27 and Monday, October 29 Please also have your Elfster wishlist(s) up to date by then.  
   Ship-by date: Tuesday, December 11th (based on Canada Post shipping guidelines for 2018). Feel free to send sooner!
5. Spending minimum is CAD$50. This is a minimum, not a maximum. You may go over the minimum limit, but there is no expectation nor is it necessary for you to do so. This is a total, so it can be made up of either one bigger item, or a few smaller items.

Participants:

• lachaton
• bakeamuffin
• GG84
• myxducky
• Kim888
• Indy701
• Guessgal
• shopaholic15
• melissapurple22
• Aaliaa
• scott1201
• seymore3
• Nickelliebear1

[bakeamuffin]

I’m almost ready to send my elf their gift 🎁😍 I’m curious what shipping method everyone else will be using, especially with the Canada Post disputes being ongoing. 

“Canada Post suspended delivery-time guarantees to its customers last Tuesday as it reported a 30-day delivery backlog resulting from the dispute.

The company has since asked its international partners to halt mail and parcel shipments to Canada. It said more than 600 trailers are now parked at Canada Post yards, waiting to be unloaded.

In an interview with CBC News on Friday, Canada Post spokesperson Jon Hamilton said the backlog is a record for Canada Post. He said each of the trailers contain an average of 2,500 parcels.” 

My experience with Sephora still using Cananda Post has been pretty consistent, my parcels have only been a couple days later than average but I wonder if packaging coming from the US to CP would be backed up? 

I’ll likely ship FedEx or UPS to ensure the gift arrives in a reasonable amount of time, and to hopefully prevent it from being lost amidst the back up over parcels. 

[Seymore3]

I will probably ship Canada Post this week since I don't think there are any other options close by(Moncton looks like the closest and it's a 2 hour drive)  and I won't be going out of town again until December 7th.

[bakeamuffin]

@Seymore3 I want to say it will be fine, I’m still getting my Sephora orders that are with Canada post. I may ship with Canada post too, they’re so much more affordable, I didn’t realize that before getting quotes. 

 *edit* I entered my measurements wrong, FedEx is pretty comparable to camada post. The estimate was only a couple dollars more than the Canada post estimate.*

[lachaton]

Thanks for posting @bakeamuffin! 

Please do try to factor in the Canada Post strike when mailing your gift, either by using a different carrier or by mailing early. It might also be a good idea to find out if your recipient has a preference when it comes to carriers. 

[melissapurple22]

So glad you asked this @bakeamuffin I was having the same issue, nice to hear others thoughts. I probably going to use FedEx myself by the end of the week as my box is about ready to go! Can't wait to see everyone's Christmas surprises 💜🎄

[scott1201]

I’m glad you brought this up, @bakeamuffin! I’ll use UPS or Fedex as they typically are similar, service wise, in the US. Is there a preference between the two in Canada? @lachaton @GG84

[GG84]

@scott1201 Not really. I personally use Purolator a fair bit.

[GG84]

I'll be shipping this week but not using CP. My experiences have been horrible. I've gotten packages 15 days after ordering. My Elfie deserves better then that! 

[Kim888]

Since I’m shipping from the us I think will just do ups or fedex - don’t want to risk anything getting trapped on a truck or anything 

[GG84]

@scott1201 

[scott1201]

Went to Target today and loaded up on cute wrapping things! Awaiting some packages then Santa’s sleigh will be on it’s way!

[Seymore3]

Last gift came today in the mail,so now I just need to get everything wrapped and get it to the post office.

[Indy701]

I’m at that stage too 😁. 

[GG84]

Dear Elfie, I excel at many things. Wrapping gifts? Is not one. But I TRIED! AND for that, we get a sassy Elf.

[Indy701]

I just found out my silver wrapping paper is actually just clear plastic.  😂🤦🏻‍♀️It caught the light so well. 

[myxducky]

haha. I have had that happen to me before.  I may have prewrapped with tissue paper before the cellophane 🤣🤣

[GG84]

@Indy701 LOL like cellophane?

[Indy701]

@GG84 Exactly like cellophane 😂. I improvised. It’s an interesting wrap job. 

[GG84]

@Indy701 It will be fun for your Elfie to unwrap! 

[myxducky]

it's the inside that counts, right? 🤣🤣🤣

[GG84]

@myxducky or is it?