25 Days of Christmas - AUSTRALIA ONLY 2010

Hi all, i have hosted this swap the past three years and and thought it was time to post it again for the coming Christmas! (Yes i know i'm early but i just can't wait! :-P) I received some wonderful gifts in the past years and from what i've heard others have as well.

For this swap you will get 24 small gifts and 1 larger gift for the partner you are assigned. These items don't have to be expensive and some can be handmade if you'd rather that. (Please make sure they are not all handmade unless your partners profile allows for it). The larger present for Christmas day should cost you somewhere between $5 and $10. Please check your partners profiles for ideas and please make sure not to send anything that their profile says they are allergic to or dislike. This is the section i really want to stress this year: READ YOUR PARTNERS PROFILE THOROUGHLY! All 25 items should match their profile. DO NOT send things that they do not want or can not use. Eg. If they are allergic to lavender, do not send them lavender soap, if they are diabetic do not send them sugary treats, etc. etc.

Also acceptable would be Christmas related items. Eg. Decorations, Recipes etc. HOWEVER, last year i heard of people receiving mostly Christmas related items and not profile based items so i am adding a limit on how many days can be Christmas items. You will not be able to send more than 5 days of Christmas items this time around.

Please also keep in mind that it will be summer so if you're sending chocolate or other perishables be aware that they may not arrive in one piece. Also consider that that your partner may find different things offensive to what you do so use a spoonful of common sense when selecting gifts. :-)

Each little present must be wrapped individually in Christmas paper and have written on them a number between 1 and 24. This is so the person knows which day of December to open each gift. The larger present is of course for Christmas day itself. (Which you should also label)

Of course there are some rules. You MUST have an overall rating of 5! No 1 ratings!! If you have 3 rating but it can be easily explained please PM me and i will assess these on a case by case basis. YOU MUST have completed a minimum of 20 swaps! (I know this may sound high but i really do want to protect the wonderful swappers who sign up for this. Due to the amount of work that goes into this swap i don't want anyone missing out. No newbies!!!. I will also ban anyone who i believe is a dodgy swapper. And i will just repeat that this is AUSTRALIA only. To ensure that nobody forgets about this swap YOU MUST have signed into swap-bot within the five days before sign up ends. (If this is not possible due to travel etc. please PM me in advance). Anyone who hasn't signed in within those five days will be automaticlaly banned. (And yes i certainly will be checking :-D)

Everyone must have a fully filled out profile before the sign up date otherwise i will ban you. A fully filled out profile will normally contain several sections including a wants/likes section and a please don't send section. I will be checking all profiles and ratings of participating swappers before assigning partners so if you do not match them, do not sign up. I will NOT be able to angel this swap due to the time commitment and size BUT if anyone is flaked on let me know ASAP and i will attempt to find some angels.

If anyone signs up that does not meet these guidelines they will be banned when i come to assign partners. No exceptions whatsoever.

Packages must be sent out by November 10th so that they arrive in time for December and the unwrapping process! :-) All 24 small presents and the one large present should be sent in the one parcel. (If this is not possible due to size or weight it is ok to split the parcel in two. However both of the split parcels should still arrive before the beginning of December.) If you are sending breakable or delicate items please make sure to wrap these in bubble wrap to ensure their safe arrival. It is also advised to send in a box as no-one wants to received squished gifts! Australia Post can sometime be very rough on packages so lets not let them get the better of us!

I do apologise if anyone is unhappy with the new swap requirements but i feel with all the flaking that goes on around swap-bot that it is necessary to protect the serious swappers out there. :-)

That's about all, any questions feel free to ask but otherwise have a great swap as always!