C4cecret Santa

Josh Hurst · Post by **Josh Hurst** » Mon Dec 06, 2010 10:55 pm

Hey People.

I/Ben had an idea (sorry for stealing your catchphrase Jason), and it’s probably really lame but I thought I’d see what you all think of it. Others may have thought of it, but then told themselves, “Don’t be silly! Why would I want to send a present to a Countdown freak who I know from the internet?”.

As the subject title suggests, I think we should run a “C4cecret Santa” (Genius name courtesy of Mr B Wilson). If you’re up for it, this is how it will work;

1. PM me with the subject title “Ho ho ho!” by 7pm Sunday 12th December let me know whether you’d like to take part.

2. I’ll message on here at 7ish on Sunday saying how many people (but not who, to make it even more C4cecretive) want to take part, and confirm whether the idea is actually going ahead or not. I don’t see any point in doing it if less than 15 people want to take part.

3. Message me your home address by 7pm on Tuesday 14th December to confirm that you are taking part. This should give everyone enough time to have checked the thread and see whether it’s going ahead or not. Any longer and we’d risk people not getting their presents in time (which is probably gonna happen anyway if overseas people are involved).

4. I’ll perform “the draw” with an independent adjudicator (one of my housemates) present after 7pm on Tuesday.

5. I’ll send PMs to all those involved, with the name and address of the person to whom they will send a gift, shortly after the draw has taken place. If there are a lot of people, this may take me a while (like an hour or so because I’m really unskilled at typing and shit), but you should all have PMs with who your recipient is by late Tuesday evening.

6. Go out and purchase a gift in the price range of £5-£10, depending on how generous you are (remember you’ll be receiving one of comparable value! Also remember that you’ll have to pay postage too, so unless you wanna be a mega big spender, get something small). Handmade gifts are also welcome, but they can’t be shit.

7. Send said gift in the post with sufficient time for it to arrive before 25th December. This is the key factor really. Don’t enter if you don’t think you’ll be able to go and get a good gift and send it within a few days. Enclose a note too, just so that the recipient knows that it’s part of the "C4cecret Santa gifts for the lonely" charity.

8. Mail me when you’ve sent your gift, just so that I know how it’s all going.

9. Receive your presents before 25th December.

10. 25th December, 6.30am. Run downstairs (or across the corridor if you’re like Ben and live in a bungalow or flat) and open your “C4cecret Santa” present before all others. Take a picture immediately and post it on here. This may prove difficult for some people, as I myself don’t even know how to post pictures on here despite using the forum for well over a year (but I am the stoopid brother after all). I’m sure you’ll all find somehow between now and then.

11. Look at the pictures of the presents that everyone received, and laugh whilst stuffing your faces with dry, limp meat.

12. Eat your Christmas dinner, spend some time with humans, and don’t mention this to anyone outside of the Countdown realm (They’ll think you’re even more pathetic than they do now, as your only gift will be from someone from the internet who slagged you off/you slagged off on a C4cecret forum).

Obviously, I don’t actually expect you to open the Countdown C4cecret Santa gifts first, and I ESPECIALLY don’t expect you to upload pictures on here on Christmas day. But the aim is to be able to see all the gifts dished out and probably do some sort of poll on who received the best gift. The sender of this gift will then be announced as the Winner of C4cecret Santa 2010, and they can then organise it next year, if they are comfortable with doing so. We’ll probably do a poll of worst gift, and the sender will be banned from future C4cecret Santa events. Also, with the weather being what it is atm, it’s unlikely that all gifts will arrive on time, so we’ll have to be a bit patient I imagine.

Some people will clearly feel uneasy about giving their address to me, and then me sending it on to another. If you are at all concerned, I advise that you just don’t bother taking part. If some people want to take part who to my knowledge have had conflicts with others who want to take part, then I’ll make sure that those people will not be sending gifts to each other, so won’t know each others addresses.

I don’t want to be patronising here, but everyone taking part should be aware that they will be giving away their address to a stranger. This whole concept is based on trust. I’d like to think that with everything that’s happened on here recently, we can use something like this to reconcile our differences and do something nice for each other. If you do want to take part, please don’t send horrible or offensive gifts unless you really think you understand the sense of humour of your recipient. If you do behave irresponsibly, be aware that I’ll know who you are, and I’ll have your address (that isn’t a forewarning of a potential death threat btw). I’m sure that nothing bad is going to happen, and it’s all going to be friendly and fun for everyone involved.

SO, over to you guys.

Also, apologies for the chode-like nature of this post. I wanted it to be long and thin, but can't be bothered to make that happen.

Jon O'Neill · Post by **Jon O'Neill** » Mon Dec 06, 2010 11:02 pm

I'll only do it if it can be guaranteed that Marc Meakin doesn't find out where I live.

Josh Hurst · Post by **Josh Hurst** » Mon Dec 06, 2010 11:08 pm

Jon O'Neill wrote:I'll only do it if it can be guaranteed that Marc Meakin doesn't find out where I live.

Josh Hurst wrote: If some people want to take part who to my knowledge have had conflicts with others who want to take part, then I’ll make sure that those people will not be sending gifts to each other, so won’t know each others addresses.

I often backtrack on my word. I can't guarantee that he won't be sending you a gift, or even that he'll just accidentally end up with your address.

Lesley Hines · Post by **Lesley Hines** » Mon Dec 06, 2010 11:25 pm

Jon O'Neill wrote:I'll only do it if it can be guaranteed that Marc Meakin doesn't find out where I live.

At least you'll have some idea who your present's from

Death threats aside that's a lovely idea

Marc Meakin · Post by **Marc Meakin** » Tue Dec 07, 2010 5:40 am

Jon O'Neill wrote:I'll only do it if it can be guaranteed that Marc Meakin doesn't find out where I live.

Not unless i get amnesia
LOOK UP electoral roll on google lol

Marc Meakin · Post by **Marc Meakin** » Tue Dec 07, 2010 5:44 am

Lesley Hines wrote:
Jon O'Neill wrote:I'll only do it if it can be guaranteed that Marc Meakin doesn't find out where I live.
At least you'll have some idea who your present's from

Death threats aside that's a lovely idea

Damn I THOUGHT THIS TOPIC WAS OFF OFF TOPIC.
cAN i play the santa.
'Why is my present a kiwi fruit in a clear plastic bag aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh'
Sorry time for my medication methinks lol

Josh Hurst · Post by **Josh Hurst** » Fri Dec 10, 2010 4:36 pm

Reminder to message me by Sunday if you want in on this. Not that many have expressed an interest so far, you bunch of scrooooges. HAH BUMHUG!

Josh Hurst · Post by **Josh Hurst** » Sun Dec 12, 2010 1:36 pm

Only 7 people have emailed me regarding this. I said earlier that I didn't see any point in doing it if there were less than 15. I think I was being very hopeful. It will work fine with 7, so if all of the guys who are interested send me your addresses (some of you already have) I'll do the draw later on and let everyone know who they have. I hope you all have some good gifts in mind.

Karen Pearson · Post by **Karen Pearson** » Sun Dec 12, 2010 3:13 pm

I wonder what's putting people off. Is it the idea of giving your address to someone you don't know (or worse, that you do know and definitely don't want to give your address to)? Or is it because people are too skint to fork out for yet another present?

Would be interesting to know.

Josh Hurst · Post by **Josh Hurst** » Sun Dec 12, 2010 3:46 pm

You'll all be pleased to know that there are 8 people in for this now. I've met everyone and to my knowledge, none are psychotic, or have ever been accused of being.

Gavin Chipper · Post by **Gavin Chipper** » Sun Dec 12, 2010 6:57 pm

Karen Pearson wrote:I wonder what's putting people off. Is it the idea of giving your address to someone you don't know (or worse, that you do know and definitely don't want to give your address to)? Or is it because people are too skint to fork out for yet another present?

Would be interesting to know.

And apathy.

Michael Wallace · Post by **Michael Wallace** » Sun Dec 12, 2010 7:16 pm

Gavin Chipper wrote:
Karen Pearson wrote:I wonder what's putting people off. Is it the idea of giving your address to someone you don't know (or worse, that you do know and definitely don't want to give your address to)? Or is it because people are too skint to fork out for yet another present?

Would be interesting to know.
And apathy.

So the obvious solution is to make C4cecret Santa an 'opt-out' affair. Sorted.

Ryan Taylor · Post by **Ryan Taylor** » Sat Dec 25, 2010 10:24 am

My present made me feel all faint and left me short of breath and gasping for air...

Oh, and there was also some "Super Slik" lubricant with it too!

Jon O'Neill · Post by **Jon O'Neill** » Sat Dec 25, 2010 11:18 am

No pictures yet but thank you to the lovely sender of my cricket book! Gonna keep me busy when my nan's trying to force me to watch the Queen's speech.

James Robinson · Post by **James Robinson** » Sat Dec 25, 2010 12:01 pm

I thought I'd open my Secret Santa present first to avoid disappointment, hopefully.

I guessed it was probably a mug based on the sticker on the top of the package when it arrived.

On the first side was this,

Then I turned it around and saw this,

Which in turn made me this,

A big thank you to my Secret Santa.

P.S. Be careful with that sheep, Ryan. I might need another jumper shortly.

Ryan Taylor · Post by **Ryan Taylor** » Sat Dec 25, 2010 12:37 pm

James Robinson wrote:P.S. Be careful with that sheep, Ryan. I might need another jumper shortly.

My penis doesn't fit in the hole. I've tried.

Also, the picture of you with your mug deserves a Like, if only you had Facebook...

Marc Meakin · Post by **Marc Meakin** » Sat Dec 25, 2010 1:11 pm

Ryan Taylor wrote:
James Robinson wrote:P.S. Be careful with that sheep, Ryan. I might need another jumper shortly.
My penis doesn't fit in the hole. I've tried.

Also, the picture of you with your mug deserves a Like, if only you had Facebook...

Ryan it's Christmas day for fuck sake goand have fun and leave the forum to the mentally ill lol (oh and homophobe. I AM BI SEXUAL)

Jon O'Neill · Post by **Jon O'Neill** » Sat Dec 25, 2010 4:15 pm

James Robinson wrote:I thought I'd open my Secret Santa present first to avoid disappointment, hopefully.

I guessed it was probably a mug based on the sticker on the top of the package when it arrived.

On the first side was this,

Then I turned it around and saw this,

Which in turn made me this,

A big thank you to my Secret Santa.

P.S. Be careful with that sheep, Ryan. I might need another jumper shortly.

Haha incredible!

Kai Laddiman · Post by **Kai Laddiman** » Sat Dec 25, 2010 8:29 pm

Having been fooled by the 'IQ test kit' bar code on the front, I was pleasantly surprised by this:

Not a clue who it could be from, but thanks a lot anyway

Oliver Garner · Post by **Oliver Garner** » Sat Dec 25, 2010 9:00 pm

James Robinson wrote:I thought I'd open my Secret Santa present first to avoid disappointment, hopefully.

I guessed it was probably a mug based on the sticker on the top of the package when it arrived.

On the first side was this,

Then I turned it around and saw this,

Which in turn made me this,

A big thank you to my Secret Santa.

P.S. Be careful with that sheep, Ryan. I might need another jumper shortly.

I have fallen back in love with the C4C forum. Amazing.

Rhys Benjamin · Post by **Rhys Benjamin** » Sat Dec 25, 2010 9:11 pm

I guess James was someone who uses ProSilver.

Not me then...

Lesley Hines · Post by **Lesley Hines** » Sat Dec 25, 2010 10:31 pm

Was chuffed to bits with my lovely scarf (right up to the point where my husband pointed out it would make a great gag

).

Thanks very much - I'll be modelling it with pride at CoLin

Thanks for organising it too Josh - lovely idea

Phil Reynolds · Post by **Phil Reynolds** » Sun Dec 26, 2010 10:38 pm

James Robinson wrote:I thought I'd open my Secret Santa present first to avoid disappointment, hopefully.
On the first side was this,

Would whoever sent James the mug kindly contact me so we can negotiate a suitable royalty payment for the use of my photo of Charlie.

Ben Wilson · Post by **Ben Wilson** » Sun Dec 26, 2010 11:17 pm

Rather fond of my two pressies but can't help feel that one of them had a subtext to it.

James Robinson · Post by **James Robinson** » Mon Dec 27, 2010 12:22 am

Ryan Taylor wrote:
James Robinson wrote:P.S. Be careful with that sheep, Ryan. I might need another jumper shortly.
My penis doesn't fit in the hole. I've tried.

Also, the picture of you with your mug deserves a Like, if only you had Facebook...

Well, push had to come to shove eventually.

In other words, I'm on now, if anyone cares.....

Matt Morrison · Post by **Matt Morrison** » Mon Dec 27, 2010 1:33 am

James Robinson wrote:
Ryan Taylor wrote:
James Robinson wrote:P.S. Be careful with that sheep, Ryan. I might need another jumper shortly.
My penis doesn't fit in the hole. I've tried.

Also, the picture of you with your mug deserves a Like, if only you had Facebook...
Well, push had to come to shove eventually.

Please specify which part of Ryan's post you were commenting on James!

Ryan Taylor · Post by **Ryan Taylor** » Mon Dec 27, 2010 2:48 am

Matt Morrison wrote:
James Robinson wrote:Well, push had to come to shove eventually.
Please specify which part of Ryan's post you were commenting on James!

That was the joke. Wasn't it?

Michael Wallace · Post by **Michael Wallace** » Wed Dec 29, 2010 4:11 pm

I'd hoped that my secret Santa had arrived whilst I was away at my parents', and would be waiting on my doorstep when I got back today, but apparently not

Karen Pearson · Post by **Karen Pearson** » Wed Dec 29, 2010 5:46 pm

Our postie didn't come today!

And I'm off on holiday tomorrow for a month.

So, to whoever is my C4cecret Santa, I'm afraid I won't be able to thank you for my present until I get back at the end of the month. I just wanted you to know so that you don't think I am an ignorant, ungrateful git!

Michael Wallace · Post by **Michael Wallace** » Thu Dec 30, 2010 1:40 pm

Hooray, it has arrived! Pictures forthcoming once I've had my breakfast.

Andy Wilson · Post by **Andy Wilson** » Thu Dec 30, 2010 2:55 pm

Thanks for the lovely T Shirt I received today, whoever you are. I didn't have any clean T-shirts when I crawled out of bed hungover this afternoon either. I don't have a camera and my computer is still in a coma so It'll be a while before I manage to stick a photo up but it's a red t shirt with this logo on the front

I've gotten well out of the habit of wearing T-shirts with band names on them, but I do love this band and it's a very tasteful plain simple shirt that I shall wear often.

Michael Wallace · Post by **Michael Wallace** » Thu Dec 30, 2010 5:15 pm

As promised, a poorly taken photo (I have a proper camera, but to use it would involve standing up, so laptop webcam it is).

In case you can't tell, it is a cuddly raccoon toy, which is was the correct gift to send. So well done to my secret santa!

It also came with a Christmas card (of sorts), including a wonderfully photoshopped raccoon santa thing, and a beautiful poem:

Raccoons are
adapted to
compete with
chinchillas and
other animals
of equatorial
nations, like
Borneo, and
often eat
young children.

Fun *and* educational!

Edit: Forgot to mention - I have called him Victor.

Ryan Taylor · Post by **Ryan Taylor** » Thu Dec 30, 2010 5:27 pm

Michael Wallace wrote:Hooray, it has arrived! Pictures forthcoming once I've had my breakfast.

Breakfast? At this time?! Crazy.

Also I love your raccoon and the little poem with it, kind of Meakin-esque if you like. Was the poem properly punctuated?

Michael Wallace wrote:Edit: Forgot to mention - I have called him Victor.

Why Victor? I don't like the name Victor.

Michael Wallace · Post by **Michael Wallace** » Thu Dec 30, 2010 5:35 pm

Ryan Taylor wrote:Why Victor? I don't like the name Victor.

It's a puzzle

(Pretty much all of my cuddly toys' names are vaguely cryptic, although I'm not sure cryptic is really right. e.g. a crab I have is called called Scotsman (because the Japanese for crab is kani, pronounced canny).

Matt Morrison · Post by **Matt Morrison** » Thu Dec 30, 2010 9:19 pm

I love the snapshot of CF/Raccoon home life, complete with cuddlies collection (or part thereof).

Ryan Taylor · Post by **Ryan Taylor** » Thu Dec 30, 2010 9:43 pm

Michael Wallace wrote:
Ryan Taylor wrote:Why Victor? I don't like the name Victor.
It's a puzzle

(Pretty much all of my cuddly toys' names are vaguely cryptic, although I'm not sure cryptic is really right. e.g. a crab I have is called called Scotsman (because the Japanese for crab is kani, pronounced canny).

Victor is a black man from Big Brother. Raccoons have black bits of fur. I solved the puzzle ma, look at me!

James Robinson · Post by **James Robinson** » Wed Jan 19, 2011 3:22 pm

BUMP
Are we ever gonna find out who sent what

I'd personally like to thank the person who gave my mug, and although I don't know who it is, I do have a pretty good idea at who it might be.

Gavin Chipper · Post by **Gavin Chipper** » Wed Jan 19, 2011 4:27 pm

Ryan Taylor wrote:
Michael Wallace wrote:
Ryan Taylor wrote:Why Victor? I don't like the name Victor.
It's a puzzle

(Pretty much all of my cuddly toys' names are vaguely cryptic, although I'm not sure cryptic is really right. e.g. a crab I have is called called Scotsman (because the Japanese for crab is kani, pronounced canny).
Victor is a black man from Big Brother. Raccoons have black bits of fur. I solved the puzzle ma, look at me!

Was he right?

Lesley Hines · Post by **Lesley Hines** » Sat Jan 22, 2011 10:54 pm

James Robinson wrote:Are we ever gonna find out who sent what

This
Although I'm sure your gratitude has registered

Karen Pearson · Post by **Karen Pearson** » Sun Jan 30, 2011 4:19 pm

Well, I am back from my obscenely long holiday. Am I downhearted? Not at all! Because I arrived home to my C4cecret Santa present!

So, a massive THANK YOU to whoever sent me The Biggest Pub Quiz Book EVER! Absolutely spot on - the perfect present for me. In fact, I've already started annoying James by testing him on the hardest questions in it!!

Soph K · Post by **Soph K** » Sun Jan 30, 2011 5:02 pm

Great idea, although (at school) I have been learning about Cyber-Bullying and I really couldn't risk giving my address out to a stranger as much as I'd have loved to take part. Therefore, sorry, but I chose the safest option which is not to take part. Again, it is a very good idea, just (in my opinion) quite risky giving my address out to a total stranger.

Gavin Chipper · Post by **Gavin Chipper** » Sun Jan 30, 2011 6:37 pm

Soph K wrote:Great idea, although (at school) I have been learning about Cyber-Bullying and I really couldn't risk giving my address out to a stranger as much as I'd have loved to take part. Therefore, sorry, but I chose the safest option which is not to take part. Again, it is a very good idea, just (in my opinion) quite risky giving my address out to a total stranger.

Yeah, and people who use their real name on the internet are also mental.

Karen Pearson · Post by **Karen Pearson** » Mon Jan 31, 2011 10:54 am

Soph K wrote:I really couldn't risk giving my address out to a stranger

Quite right Sophie. Very sensible approach. I must admit I had similar thoughts - but then I remembered that I have a PO Box address too so I used that.

Jon O'Neill · Post by **Jon O'Neill** » Mon Jan 31, 2011 11:57 am

Karen Pearson wrote:
Soph K wrote:I really couldn't risk giving my address out to a stranger
Quite right Sophie. Very sensible approach. I must admit I had similar thoughts - but then I remembered that I have a PO Box address too so I used that.

How do you get one of those?

Karen Pearson · Post by **Karen Pearson** » Mon Jan 31, 2011 12:24 pm

Jon O'Neill wrote:[quote="Karen PearsonI remembered that I have a PO Box address too so I used that.

How do you get one of those?[/quote]

You ask Royal Mail for one and then they provide it in return for a handsome sum of money. (I have it for business purposes)