I've also done this on other forums and its always a good laugh. Got a paddling pool one year

****ing American crap, Santa is a ****** lives in lapland making loads of money only delivers to the USA.

Father Christmas lives in the north pole delivers to the rest of the world makes no money from commercial visitors

dave said:

****ing American crap, Santa is a ****** lives in lapland making loads of money only delivers to the USA.

Farther Christmas lives in the north pole delivers to the rest of t he world makes no money from commercial visitors

Click to expand...

Dave, is that the same as Father Christmas or does he live closer?

I think that qualifies as the first Bah Humbug of the season.

That will be Daves accent coming through, hes dead common

It's a nice sounding idea - but you've never had problems with people not sending things?

dave said:

****ing American crap, Santa is a ****** lives in lapland making loads of money only delivers to the USA.

Farther Christmas lives in the north pole delivers to the rest of the world makes no money from commercial visitors

Click to expand...

I hate to ruin your illusions Dave but Father Christmas, Santa, etc. are figments of an advertising agencies imagination and the fact he wears red/white is soley down to Coca-Cola. (just don't tell the kids )

ben said:

It's a nice sounding idea - but you've never had problems with people not sending things?

Click to expand...

Personally no. If people are concerned there could be a rule that everything must be sent recorded?

james44422 said:

Personally no. If people are concerned there could be a rule that everything must be sent recorded?

Click to expand...

There is an element of trust involved in this, which is why I asked that only genuinely interested peeps join the chaos

My usual check is to ask that those in the draw PM me to say when the Prezzy has been sent and keep proof of postage in the event the postal service do a number on it. I then contact the SS recipient and advise that Santa is on his way and ask them to let me know when he's been, so I can let him/her know everything's good with the delivery. It's also why I limit the value to a tenner, to minimise financial damage if anything goes wrong. But yes, if you want to, recorded delivery can be used

scout500 said:

I hate to ruin your illusions Dave but Father Christmas, Santa, etc. are figments of an advertising agencies imagination and the fact he wears red/white is soley down to Coca-Cola. (just don't tell the kids )

Click to expand...

I'm sorry scout, It just really grinds my gears when people quote that fact

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7152054.stm

james44422 said:

I'm sorry scout, It just really grinds my gears when people quote that fact

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7152054.stm

Click to expand...

Before the 1920/30's he was often displayed in green or brown, it just seemed to become standard red and white after the ad campaign which has perpetuated to this day. While Coca-cola may not have 'invented' the red and white santa they (and other ad agencies perpetuating it) are certainly a major part of why he looks the way he does today.

there was no colour in the old days look at any old photos everything was black n white :doh:

seriously though there was a version of father christmas way before the 1900's

as for the secret santa thing the op is new with the opening post being only there 2nd, how do we know he isnt just going to give his own address for everyone to send presents too? I think if it was to happen then a long established member or staff needs to run it

dave said:

as for the secret santa thing the op is new with the opening post being only there 2nd, how do we know he isnt just going to give his own address for everyone to send presents too? I think if it was to happen then a long established member or staff needs to run it

Click to expand...

Good point, i'm obviously far too trusting

As we're back on topic, I'd just add that in my opinion secret Santa rarely works, as your buying what you think someone you don't know might like. Might as well set fire to the tenner for the use your present will get IMHO.

You can call me DX and believe me, I have no intention of doing anything like scamming the forum. Nothing worse than a dishonest person that basically steals off everyone else, rogue traders and similar can and have upset whole communities I've been involved with in the past.

I am a genuine person and I have successfully run this little seasonal frivolity in the past for other large car forums (TMF / The Mini Forum), where I was a well-regarded member for a number of years along with my own, sadly now disbanded, Mini Designer Register club.

I can, however, appreciate all views on this topic and won't be offended if you decide to scrap the idea entirely or pass it to a mod to run in the event it goes ahead as I appreciate I may seem a little forward, being under the postcount of 10 and making suggestions of this ilk. At the end of the day, I'm here to become an active member of the community and want to get along with everyone... and that's why I made this a suggestion instead of going ahead and doing it without due sanction from Mods/Admins.

As for the financial value of £10, as mentioned, I deliberately kept to a low value to the game to minimise the impact on those who could potentially be involved. It's also a test of creativity as anyone can get a decent gift for over that quite easily, but can you do it for that value? After all, no-one wants to burn their entire wage packet on a total stranger. There's also an element of choice, participation is entirely at your own discretion, so those who consider it a waste of time/money or those of a different faith don't have to join in. At the end of the day, it's just for fun.

Ball is, as always, in the court of the forum.

Rgds,