Last year, the National Online Quilters are introducing a new concept in secret pal swapping: a year long swap, with only one mailing date. Confused? Read on.
We've all joined year long secret pal swaps. For the first 6 months it's a blast. Then the excitement starts to wane. Some months it's a chore to get that item delivered or mailed. Your pal forgets to send for a few months. It gets stale.
Now for the NOQers twist. We are holding a year long swap. The twist is you have no idea who you will be sending to, or buying for. And you won't find out until October, and you only mail once. heh!
This is how it works. First you can decide to do this at any time during the year, so if it's already July, you can catch up. Now get a box and set it aside for your pal. Each month add a little something to the box. You can wrap it whenever you feel like it. Because you aren't going to know who is going to get this gift, you have to be creative yet generic. Some ideas for this box would be some cool gadget you find at the quilt shop, a magnet from the vacation you took in July, a piece of unusual fabric. Just add them to the box.
In October you can decide if you really want to do this. The instructions for entering will be posted on the bulletin board then. If you want to do this, you'll get the name of your secret pal, along with some personal likes. Get one or 2 more things more personal for your pal, and mail in time for Christmas. If you decide you don't want to do this, all the goodies in the box are yours! No one will know that you decided against this.
http://www.noqers.org/secpal.htm
January 1, 1998