January 15, 2015

Have you received your Vintage Secret Santa present yet?


Though you wouldn't know it by the towering hills of snow around town that have such a perfect December 25th quality to them, another Christmas season has come and gone and we're now officially half way through January (what a lightning fast couple of weeks it has been!).



{A full twenty days have passed since Christmas and while most folks have happily received their Vintage Secret Santa presents at this point, a few have not and are still waiting patiently for them to arrive. If you're in that group, please let me know by email asap. Image source.}



Thanks to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and emails, I know that many of you have received your Vintage Secret Santa gifts already. A few "Santas" were a little late in mailing their gifts out and where such was the case and I was informed of it, I have emailed their respective recipients to let them know about it.

However, a few folks are reporting that they haven't received their presents yet and in most cases, I haven't heard from their Santas. As the holiday mail rush is winding down now, chances are (again, unless your Santa mailed their present fairly late) you should have received your gift by now. It's possible though that if you haven't, you may still and I certainly wouldn't give up hope quite at this stage in the game.

Indeed, both Tony and I are still waiting on each of our VSS gifts and are keeping a (Christmas candle) flame of hope burning bright that they may still reach our mailbox.

That said, if you haven't received your Vintage Secret Santa present as of today and you have not gotten an email from me letting you know on behalf of your Santa that it's going to be late, please email me whenever you'd like so that I can get in touch with your Santa (the person who was supposed to send you a gift) to see what information I can find out for you about it.

Ideally, I want to ensure that everyone who signed up for this exciting first ever Vintage Secret Santa receives a present. I have a few folks who have very kindly offered to send to a second person, if an individual's original VSS gift fails to arrive. If you're available to help in this capacity, please email me and I will put your name on the list (could those who have already offered also email me to ensure that I have your name and that you're still able to so generously help out in this way).

Hopefully between such incredibly kindhearted people, late deliveries and other possible reasons for delay, even if it ends up being closer to Valentine's Day than Christmas when the last parcels arrive, we can try to ensure that everyone who took part receives a Vintage Secret Santa present.

Many thanks, everybody - very much to all those who have been sharing their gifts on social media using the #vintagesecretsanta hashtag. Tony and I - and I'm sure many other participants - have adored seeing what you've been posting. There were some seriously awesome presents involved in this fun holiday swap and I love the thought, detail and festive spirit so many of you put into your wonderful VSS presents.

Let’s all pull together and ensure that each person who signed up can experience the joy of having a gift of their own arrive.


*EDIT* If by January 31, you have still not yet received your gift and your Santa has not mailed it very recently, please let me know so that I can add your name to the list of people to try and match up with someone who can send out a second VSS gift.

24 comments:

  1. This was soooo much fun, and from what I have seen by the hashtags, a great success. I'll definitely be doing this next year! I'm not sure which was more fun, picking it out and wrapping it up, or receiving the wonderful things that my secret santa gave me. :) I hope you get your packages, you deserve an extra-special one for coordinating all of this. :)

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    1. That is immensely sweet of you to say, dear Hannah, thank you! I'm thrilled to know that you had a wholly positive VSS experience on both the giving and receiving side of things. Thankfully such has been the case for most folks and I'm going to do everything in my power to try and ensure that it proves to be for everyone who took part, even if their original assigned Santa doesn't come through.

      Big hugs & happy Thursday wishes,
      ♥ Jessica

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  2. I suck at life lately and deadlines apparently. My recipient's gift is still sitting on my work table all packaged and ready to go... I just haven't found time to go to the post office. I will be doing that this weekend, I promise!!! *bag over head*

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    1. Hi Kacy, thank you very much for the update, it is hugely appreciated. Your match is actually amongst the folks that I've heard from this week, so I will let her know right away. I'm sure she'll be hugely relieved to know that her gift is coming. Thank you for posting it out soon.

      ♥ Jessica

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  3. I hope I am on your list of VSS backups. I received mine really early and am so happy. It has been so much fun, and I have loved using my breaks at work to see what other VSS's have sent and received. I already look forward to next Christmas. :)

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    1. You most certainly are, dear Sanne, and I appreciate it immensely (and as I know the second person that you are "Santa" to will as well).

      Huge hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

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  4. Mine arrived! And since my Santa didn't let me know who she was, and I don't have social media, I'd like to just mention all the goodies Santa brought me!

    3 copies of Stitchcraft, and a 1950s craft instruction booklet (actually the same one that my grandmother has, that I learned to crochet on, only this copy isn't torn in half, missing the cover and a few pages). 4 cute sea-foam green buttons, 2 vintage zippers with metal zips, a sprig of millinery violets, seam binding, blanket edging, and one of those spikey rolling tools for tracing paper.

    I feel like Santa thought I was better than I expected! Thank you so much!

    And thank you Jessica and Tony for all of the hard work you put into this for us.

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    1. What a terrific gift that highlights what a small world we live in. I love that your Santa sent you a book that you learned from earlier in life. That is so very special. It truly sounds like your Santa put a lot of thought and care into what she sent.

      It's my (our) absolute pleasure. Thankfully this experience (of the VSS) has been immensely positive for most folks and with a bit of luck - and help from "Second Santas", hopefully it can prove to be for everyone when all is said and done.

      Many hugs & happy Thursday wishes,
      ♥ Jessica

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  5. I got mine, but I haven't heard if my person got theirs and I've been worried about it! Thanks for posting this!

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    1. Hello dear Jennifer, thank you for letting me know that you received your gift (I really appreciate it). I don't believe I've heard from your match yet, which is a very good sign that they may have received their present from you. On the off chance that they do contact me to say otherwise, I will let you know immediately.

      Have a great Thursday - big hugs!
      ♥ Jessica

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    2. I hope she did, and I hope she liked it. I tried very hard to find things that would make her happy! And I love the vintage cookbook I received.....it was perfect! Thanks again, Jessica, for all your hard work in arranging all this!

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  6. Anonymous comment, because: secret Santa! I'm very sorry to hear your gift hasn't arrived yet, Jessica! I posted it about 4 or 5 weeks ago, in order for it to reach you before Christmas. There was an ocean to cross, so maybe that accounts for the delay. I hope it will arrive soon, though! I really enjoyed making a gift for you :)

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    1. Hello "Santa", it's awesome to hear from you. Thank you very much for letting me know that you posted out my gift more than a month ago. I sincerely appreciate that. I won't give up hope yet at all, but I am starting to worry a bit. Being the person who sent out all the matches, I know where you're located, but even still, that is a long time to reach Canada. If you happen to have any tracking information, please feel free to email it to me.

      I really appreciate your comment here today and hope that in my big recap post about the VSS a little later in the year, I'll have photos of your gift to include in it. Let's keep our fingers crossed it still arrives.

      Big hugs from Canada,
      ♥ Jessica

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  7. I have received mine! Thank you Secret Santa.

    I haven't been able to confirm if my lady has received hers though. Any chance you could let me know when you're done dealing with people who haven't received theirs?

    Thanks, Angela Wicentowich

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    1. Hi Angela, thank you very much for your comment and for letting me know that you received your VSS gift, that's great to hear.

      Folks weren't obliged to post picture or let me know through email (etc) when they received their present, but I fully understand that as a "Santa", you want to ensure your person received their gift and if you'd like, I can contact her later in the month to find out (could you please email me with this same request so that I don't accidentally forget).

      For the second VSS onward, we'll have to try and find a way (or ways) for more people to make it know when their gifts arrive so that their Santas can have peace of mind. For what it's worth, I fully expect that I will hear from everyone whose gift does not reach them for whatever reason, and I do not believe I've heard from yours yet (which is a very positive sign that she received it).

      Have you searched on Instagram using the #vintagesecretsanta hash tag to see if she posted anything there?

      Thank you again for the update - I hope that 2015 is off to a great start for you,
      ♥ Jessica

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  8. yes and I loved it I posted it on instagram I hope you got to see

    retro rover

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  9. Happy with my amazing VSS gifts. Thank you Rachel from Fletcher Ohio, I was awestruck

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    1. That's awesome to hear! Thank you very much for letting me - and Rachel - know.

      Thank you so much for taking part and helping to make this inaugural VSS such a roaring success!

      ♥ Jessica

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  10. i was very happy with my gifts as well. however, i did send my gift to the UK about two weeks before Christmas and my recipients instagram has not mentioned anythihng about it. i'm fearing the worst.... hopefully she just forgot to mention it on IG.

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    1. Hi sweet Abigail, I haven't heard from your giftee yet, which is a very good sign as I think most folks who have not (yet) received their VSS have come forth, especially after this post went live yesterday. If I do hear from her directly, I will let you know right away.

      Thank you again so much for taking part. I'm thrilled to know that you're happy with the gifts you received.

      ♥ Jessica

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  11. I'm so sorry to hear there are folks (you are included) that haven't received their gift yet; because I'm enjoying mine for quite some time... as a matter of fact, you could probably spot the rabbit-fur brooch and pearl earrings on my blog. The fact is: I'm ever so happy that I was a part of your amazing gift-exchange scheme. And, also - what makes me shine is the fact that this truly was a worldwide event.
    Do feel proud about it, Jessica.
    This was a success. :)

    Happy Saturday.

    Marija

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    1. That's very sweet, dear Marija, thank you. It is a shame indeed, but I knew going into this fun undertaking that realistically, there would be at least a few people in this boat and alas there is easily a dozen, if not more. In some cases it's likely that their respective Santas, for whatever reason, never sent a gift (or perhaps never even opened their VSS match email), and in others that the parcels were lost or stolen en route. I suspect at least a couple may also simply be late for whatever reason and will still reached their intended recipients, but only time will tell.

      I'm slowly building up a small list of folks (myself included) who are able to be "second Santas" so hopefully thanks to them, when all is said and done, everyone who took part will eventually receive a gift. Fingers super firmly crossed! (It means sooo much to me to try and make that happen. I feel like I have a strong personal responsibility to everyone who took part to ensure as much.)

      Thank you again, my darling friend - very much including for taking part. I was/am elated that you did!

      Tons of hugs & happy weekend wishes,
      ♥ Jessica

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  12. I sent my package long ago. And I got my present from my Santa in a very timely manner. The only thing that I am surprised about is that neither responded to my request to email me or Facebook me so that we could build a friendship. I sent a thank you to the woman who sent me my wonderful package. But I never got one from the person I sent my package to in Australia. But I assume that she must have gotten it by now. Since New Years I sent a makeup package to an Aussie friend and it only took a week for her to get it. Oh well. I am not naming names. I am just a little disappointed that I have not heard from either end of my Santa exchange.

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    1. Thank you very much for your comment and for taking part in this fun and exciting first VSS exchange. I fully understand where you're coming from. Have you checked the #vintagesecretsanta hashtag on Instagram to see if the person you sent to posted about her gifts there? (Many folks thanked their Santas in such posts on Instagram.)

      Participants were/are not obliged to share or acknowledge their gifts, but it certainly is lovely and appreciated by their respective Santas when they do. For next year, I'm going to see if there's some way beyond "just" a hashtag if we can track who received their gifts and hopefully encourage an even larger number of folks to publicly share about what they received (especially those, and there are actually quite a few out there including several that I know from amongst the group of VSS participants, who don't use social media or the kinds best suited to hashtag sharing) so that more people will know for sure that their giftees received their presents.

      Because the Vintage Secret Santa is just that - secret - it's up to each person how much they want to retain their anonymity or not. It's possible that the two people you were involved with simply want to remain private and there's nothing wrong with that. If you enjoyed taking part, bringing joy to your giftee with what you sent them, and receiving your own gifts, that's ultimately what matters most.

      Thank you again & have a truly fantastic 2015!
      ♥ Jessica

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