secret quonsar 2013 planning time

November 1, 2013 9:47 AM

It's November. It's Metafilter. Presents are fun. Let's plan for this year's secret quonsar swap! The secret quonsar swap is - for the uninitiated - our holiday-adjacent wintery gift exchange. Read About it on the Wiki. Questions/Suggestions beneath the fold.

We need to settle some stuff before we start to swapping:

1. We need at least one more volunteer to help manage the swap and the followup, specifically from December 28, 2013 to January 28, 2014. This is the enforcement period, where we follow up with people, make the decisions about lost gifts and stiffed recipients, reassign to second chancers, help/encourage/push people to follow through, curse the many postal services and customs peoples of the world, and get good news almost daily. We manage the swap using a shared gmail account and google drive spreadsheets and scripts. If you are good-natured, vaguely organized, and/or like making things work, this may be up your alley. Drop me a memail for more info or to volunteer.

2. Participants can select a region to swap in. My proposed list:
International (Ship Anywhere, Receive from Anywhere)
US Only
UK Only
Canada Only
Europe Only
Australia/NZ Only (is this a reasonable thing - or are mailing costs between the two no better than International? Do we want Australia Only?)

Do we need other regions? Do these regions suit our needs?

3. We will recruit second chancers (people who step in in cases of giftus interruptus) once the swap gets going.

4. Last year we had a $10-20 spending guideline. How did that work for you?

Look for signups to go live on Monday, November 11, 2012 (12 November 2012 in some locales). Signups will be open until midnight (EST), November 25th. There will be a metatalk post outlining the hows and whyfors of the swap at that time. Swap info will be sent out on Thanksgiving Day.

If you are concerned you might miss the announcement (due to exams, holiday stress, record-breaking pie-making attempts, work demands, or possible alien abductions), you can sign up for the Signups Are Open Notification Mailing List When the signups go live, you will get an email letting you know. Signing up for this list is NOT signing up for secret quonsar - just to be notified when sq opens each year.

posted by julen to MetaFilter-Related at 9:47 AM (82 comments total)

Yesssss. It's the most quonsarful time of the year!
posted by ocherdraco at 9:51 AM on November 1, 2013

I volunteered for SQ last year and am signed up again to assist julen with SQ 2013: the Giftěnïng. It's a lot of fun and if you want to help, please sign up.
posted by arcticseal at 10:07 AM on November 1, 2013

I can't help with the swap this year, so please one of you lovely people step forward to help out julen and articseal!
posted by phunniemee at 10:13 AM on November 1, 2013

One of the things I got last year was a bar of brown sugar pecan bark from Cellar Door Chocolates. I still have the wrapper on my fridge so I can one day order more or try to make some myself.

I'm in again this year, and julen, check your memail.
posted by Room 641-A at 10:20 AM on November 1, 2013

I always find it difficult to come in under $20. I'd like to see the limit raised to $25.
posted by Wordwoman at 10:43 AM on November 1, 2013 [3 favorites]

I always find it difficult to come in under $20. I'd like to see the limit raised to $25.

I don't understand why this is always A Thing. There's no Quonsmas Police that are gonna come get you if you go through the "limit". The $10-$20 thing is a rough guideline so that people don't get a used shoelace and a stick of gum or a full-house set of pony chandeliers.

I think the guideline is great where it's at. If you feel so moved to break it by a few bucks, do so. It mostly helps on the bottom end, I think. Like the year that I was so broke I lost 20 lbs because I could only afford to eat potatoes but still wanted to be able to participate in Quonsmas.

I'm not trying to be all GRAR DEAL WITH IT LADY, just to be like, y'know, it's not some hard-and-fast rule. The joy of Qunosmas is all around us. No need to let a couple bucks in either direction harsh your groove.
posted by phunniemee at 10:51 AM on November 1, 2013 [15 favorites]

I'm surprised by two things.

1. Realizing I've been a member here for seven years now.
2. I've never heard of this tradition.

Apparently I don't just live under a rock but said rock exists at the bottom of a crevasse on Jupiter.
posted by trinity8-director at 10:55 AM on November 1, 2013 [1 favorite]

I'm pretty sure it's the only quonsarful time of the year. Which is a shame.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:57 AM on November 1, 2013 [1 favorite]

Orthodox sects recognize The Day of Quonsoning on June 3rd of every year.
posted by phunniemee at 11:00 AM on November 1, 2013 [5 favorites]

YAY QUONSING IS UPON US.

Don't have time to offer to help this year, but I'm hoping it is yet another exciting Quonsmas.
posted by deezil at 11:08 AM on November 1, 2013

I hope it as phunniemee says. I actually had a really hard time coming in under 20 for what I wanted especially because I really wanted pretty wrappings, and fretted that I was going to be a bad quonsar.
posted by corb at 11:09 AM on November 1, 2013

Could we please specify that our quonsee include their Mailbox Name as early as possible? This has happened to me in both Quonsmas and CD Swap situations. I'm perfectly fine with sending something to a Throatwarbler Mangrove Junior if you know for a fact that your mailperson will allow it, but I would really rather not have to engage an intermediary to track you down and find that out.

Thanks :)
posted by Madamina at 11:10 AM on November 1, 2013 [2 favorites]

I am watching this thread with interest. julen has clearly taken quonsarmas management well beyond anything I cobble together for the MeFiSwap.
posted by carsonb at 11:59 AM on November 1, 2013

yay secret quonsar! Last year was my first year and it was so much fun.
posted by needlegrrl at 12:26 PM on November 1, 2013

I like the $20 guideline. People can work with it how they want, according to how flush they feel. The idea behind SQ is that as many people as possible can participate and spread the joy of Quonsmas far and wide.
posted by arcticseal at 1:05 PM on November 1, 2013

I knew it! Father Christmas lives close to a countryside brewery and down the road of a high-end outdoor store and is called Julen.
posted by Namlit at 1:09 PM on November 1, 2013

Another vote for the $20 guideline. I have gone over a bit at times, but generally stay in the range.

If I could find a nice $10 gift, I would send that. But it always seems not be enough.
posted by lampshade at 1:20 PM on November 1, 2013

I agree with phunnieme and arcticseal about not raising the guideline. I am kind of a broke tuition payer and need to watch expenses. And though it seems like a $5 increase is "a few bucks," it sort of resets the calibration point and the excess tends to creep up from there. I really like that SQ remains fairly affordable to participate in, even if you're a student, low-income, or whatever. Constraints are good - maybe keeping it around $20 is a good challenge to search and be creative. And don't forget that shipping and wrapping adds to the gift cost, too, so it ends up costing more than the gift guideline amount.

Just another "let's not let it creep up" vote. It's good as is. If you don't mind throwing a couple extra bucks at it, no problem, but let's keep the low end with in reach of the broker amongst us.
posted by Miko at 1:41 PM on November 1, 2013 [6 favorites]

Hooray! Look forward to that Amazon box, future Quonsee!
posted by griphus at 1:52 PM on November 1, 2013 [3 favorites]

I hate the forced gifting of Christmas, and usually manage to avoid participating in it, but omg I love Quonsmas! Internet strangers get all my gift-love!

julen, you are a rockstar. I like the current spending limit and regions. I go international and have so far always ended up with US quonsees, which allows me to experience the strange and exotic thrill of ordering items online without exorbitant shipping costs tacked on.

Oh, and for anyone else who would have to look it up, like I did, the Thanksgiving Day referred to above is November 28.
posted by bethnull at 1:58 PM on November 1, 2013

I have never done this but this year I am! $20 sounds fun and I hope postage and wrapping doesn't count towards the $20 because I really want an excuse to buy more pretty wrapping material and pretty stamps for my stash :)
posted by pointystick at 2:00 PM on November 1, 2013

I'd love to be part of the swap, having been here for a year and a half now. $10-$20 sounds fine to me.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 2:19 PM on November 1, 2013

Oh happy day. This is one of my favorite parts of Metafilter!
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 2:23 PM on November 1, 2013 [2 favorites]

My Quonsarnist gifts have always been awesome (and I've used that apron a lot this year). I can't wait to see what The Spirit Of Quonsar (TM, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED) brings me this year.

And extra special thanks to the people willing to put up with international shipping rates to spread a little holiday cheer. It really makes me feel like I'm a part of the site, rather than just a spectator from afar.
posted by Ghidorah at 2:30 PM on November 1, 2013 [4 favorites]

Woot! I managed to miss the notice last year after participating a couple of times prior to that, so I have signed up for the Email Reminder reminder email.

Sadly, work time will trump play time for the next few months, so I can't promise to be organizing help (never have a major natural disaster when heading into the holidays, trust me on this), but I'll likely be able to be a second-chancer.

I think the current dollar guideline works really well and love the creativity I've received in past swaps.

Thanks so much Julen, arcticseal and the rest of the volunteer crew for taking this on (again!). I know it is an incredible amount of work - it is also one of the most fun Metafilter traditions, and it wouldn't happen without your willingness to organize some mayhem - thank you!
posted by faineant at 2:43 PM on November 1, 2013

Another vote for existing spending guidelines.

I would love to help as it's been such a great experience from the other side, but (un)fortunately, we have a baby due on January 4, and if the last one is anything to go by, I'm basically gonna be like Robert De Niro in the first half of Awakenings for the rest of that month.

Still can't wait however!
posted by smoke at 2:43 PM on November 1, 2013

Also, I was prepared to hate the pony chandelier but actually it's MAGNIFICENT.
posted by smoke at 2:44 PM on November 1, 2013 [3 favorites]

TWENTY BUCKS, SAME AS IN QUONSARTOWN.
posted by drlith at 3:02 PM on November 1, 2013 [8 favorites]

Aw! You guys...send actual presents to each other? In real life?

*lip wobble*
posted by billiebee at 3:22 PM on November 1, 2013

on Volunteers:
I'll start going through the offers of help on Sunday, and will start contacting people on Monday. This should give folks a fair amount of time to find the thread.

on Spending Guidelines:
We wanted to make it as flexible as possible. Some folks include postage in that; some don't. Some people find a perfect $5 gift; others spend more. We won't police how much you spend, but we do ask people to not go too over or underboard with the spending. Spend what you are comfortable with. Making stuff is great. Buying stuff is great. Getting your quonsee something they will like/use/appreciate/gloat over is ideal.

Madamina: "Could we please specify that our quonsee include their Mailbox Name as early as possible>

Yes, I've updated the signup questionaire to put more emphasis/description on what to put in the name field.

carsonb: "I am watching this thread with interest. julen has clearly taken quonsarmas management well beyond anything I cobble together for the MeFiSwap."

I would point out that I have maybe overcomplicated this, while the relative straightforward simplicity of the CD Swap is a joy.

corb: "and fretted that I was going to be a bad quonsar."

There are only two ways to be a bad quonsar:

• Be a complete jackass and don't send a gift.
• Be a 99% jackass and send a horrifyingly bad/inappropriate/offensive/thoughtless gift.

posted by julen at 3:24 PM on November 1, 2013 [2 favorites]

As much as I hate any sort of Christmas decos arriving this early, I approve this post.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 3:24 PM on November 1, 2013 [2 favorites]

Namlit: "I knew it! Father Christmas lives close to a countryside brewery and down the road of a high-end outdoor store and is called Julen."

The Gävle Goat ( Gävlebocken) linked in there is AWESOME. I hope there are webcams again this year so I can watch obsessively to see if someone torches it this year.
posted by julen at 3:26 PM on November 1, 2013 [2 favorites]

There have been several years where I felt that my Secret Quonsar put more thought into my holiday gift--and thus provided more joy-- than did anyone else in my life who allegedly knows me better and cares for me more. For those who are on the fence about participating, it truly is a wonderful tradition.
posted by carmicha at 4:20 PM on November 1, 2013 [14 favorites]

I would also be happy to help - have sent MeMail. Oh, man, I haven't done this before but it looks so fun.
posted by athenasbanquet at 4:21 PM on November 1, 2013

TWENTY BUCKS, SAME AS IN QUONSARTOWN

WHO RUN QUONSARTOWN!
posted by Ghidorah at 4:33 PM on November 1, 2013 [4 favorites]

Ooh, this is the first year I feel I'll have time to participate. Yay!

Also, I believe the date in this paragraph, from the original post, is incorrect:

Look for signups to go live on Monday, November 11, 2012 (12 November 2012 in some locales). Signups will be open until midnight (EST), November 25th. There will be a metatalk post outlining the hows and whyfors of the swap at that time. Swap info will be sent out on Thanksgiving Day.

posted by dotgirl at 5:09 PM on November 1, 2013

Yes yes YES! Quonsartime is coming! Gotta deck the halls with all the Quonsar decorations, bake the Quonsar cookies, start playing all those traditional Quonsar CDs.....
posted by easily confused at 5:10 PM on November 1, 2013

dotgirl: Also, I believe the date in this paragraph, from the original post, is incorrect:

Look for signups to go live on Monday, November 11, 2012 (12 November 2012 in some locales). Signups will be open until midnight (EST), November 25th. There will be a metatalk post outlining the hows and whyfors of the swap at that time. Swap info will be sent out on Thanksgiving Day.

D'oh! I fixed the day but not the year.

Signups go live on Monday 11, 2013.
Signups close at Midnight, Monday, November 25, 2013.
Swap Notifications go out on Thursday, November 28, 2013.
posted by julen at 5:39 PM on November 1, 2013

You may as well put Australia and New Zealand in the same zone. From Australia, its $7 for domestic vs $10 to NZ for a small parcel. (Not sure about the other way).
posted by dontjumplarry at 6:30 PM on November 1, 2013

Thanks for doing this again - I love this tradition (though still wondering what happened to my quonsmas giftee from last year...).

I can't wait to go shopping.
posted by nightwood at 7:17 PM on November 1, 2013

Ghidorah: "WHO RUN QUONSARTOWN!"

FISH PANTS RUN QUONSARTOWN!
posted by Rock Steady at 7:29 PM on November 1, 2013 [1 favorite]

I am happy with the current spending guidelines. I have had a really good experience participating in this delightful holiday for...three...five? Many a year.

I really wish quonsars would put their mefi username in the gift somehow so they can be properly thanked. I don't know if it's feasible to make this a rule, but I think it is important.
posted by Tesseractive at 7:44 PM on November 1, 2013 [3 favorites]

I'll be honest: I didn't put my username in the gift and would not have done Secret Quonsar if it was mandatory. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to make someone's life really happy without having to worry about what they would think about the gift coming from me.

I think the best way to thank is in the thread, where you squee about what you got and how happy you are. It lets the quonsar know they did good, and preserves the anonymity if someone wants it.
posted by corb at 9:15 PM on November 1, 2013 [10 favorites]

I feel like for some people, the opportunity to make a connection with another mefite is a big part of the Secret Quonsar. I know I'm that way. But I can also totally understand someone's desire to stay anonymous. I think that a nice compromise might be for everybody to make sure that, if they do want to be anonymous, to indicate that some way, like writing a quick note and signing it "Anonymous Quonsar", and if they don't, to leave their username. That removes the lingering guilt for those of us who have the "write a thank you note!!!!" thing etched into us at an early age. As it is, when I don't have a username to thank, I get distraught! If I knew they definitely wanted to stay anonymous then there's no problem on either end, since it's clear what everybody wants.
posted by Mizu at 12:27 AM on November 2, 2013 [3 favorites]

It's the most quonsical time of the year!! *hearts in eyes* this is the bit of festiveness that I feel ok getting excited about prior to December
posted by greenish at 3:41 AM on November 2, 2013

I wish the sign ups for quonsar and getting names was earlier than it is......I have enough trouble getting everything done for family, etc. I really liked participating in quonsar the few years ago I did, but I was late with my gift (though in touch about that and vowing I was not stiffing said person at all).

It'd be SO MUCH easier to have the person I'm supposed to gift to BEFORE Thanksgiving. And this year with the extra Thursday in November, there's only three days before the first week of December, so........there's not much time to get it all done.....
posted by zizzle at 6:42 AM on November 2, 2013 [1 favorite]

It'd be SO MUCH easier to have the person I'm supposed to gift to BEFORE Thanksgiving.

I totally agree with this. It always seems to happen really fast - figuring the person out, then shopping (and maybe getting something shipped), then wrapping, then getting it actually to the post office and into the mail...it seems like I'm always racing to squeeze in these steps, and it becomes a little hasty. I would love more time with the name to ruminate over what I could do/get that would be extra fun. Getting to know another random MeFite is also my favorite thing about Quonsmas, and it would be nice to rush that. Any chance of an earlier draw?
posted by Miko at 9:37 AM on November 2, 2013

I think I can actually participate from the Ivory Coast this year! Be forewarned, secret quonsee: you're either getting a monkey, or dried monkey feces!
posted by ChuraChura at 9:51 AM on November 2, 2013 [12 favorites]

zizzle: "I wish the sign ups for quonsar and getting names was earlier than it is ... It'd be SO MUCH easier to have the person I'm supposed to gift to BEFORE Thanksgiving. And this year with the extra Thursday in November, there's only three days before the first week of December, so ... "

Miko: "It'd be SO MUCH easier to have the person I'm supposed to gift to BEFORE Thanksgiving. I would love more time with the name to ruminate over what I could do/get that would be extra fun. Getting to know another random MeFite is also my favorite thing about Quonsmas, and it would be nice to rush that. Any chance of an earlier draw?"

I think it's possible. Doing the randomization and checking the randomization for correctness (per region, etc) doesn't really take that long. We could also cut down a little on the sign-up period (currently 2 weeks) to move it up. I'll do some date-crunching and see if I can come up with a schedule that has a bigger window before. I think we can definitely manage getting swap info out on the Monday or Tuesday before Thanksgiving, if not earlier.
posted by julen at 11:14 AM on November 2, 2013 [2 favorites]

(Eep. I'm sorry to keep calling it Thanksgiving without even a Date there, folks who don't spend the day stuffing themselves with stuffing (or dressing) and pie. American Thanksgiving falls on November 28 this year. I'll try to be better about that, for clarity's sake.)
posted by julen at 11:37 AM on November 2, 2013 [1 favorite]

Julen: considering how much work you're willing to put in to make this whole Quonsmas thing happen every year, and how well you run it (another group I belong to has a name for this kind of thing: herding kittens.....), you can call Nov. 28th anything you want. Thanksgiving, St. Swithin's Day, Midsummer's Eve, Eat More Goulash Day..... whatever you want to call it, we'll go along with it.
posted by easily confused at 12:52 PM on November 2, 2013 [1 favorite]

Is this the thread where I mention that last year MsVader gave me the best secret santa gift ever given in the history of ever?
posted by googly at 5:14 PM on November 2, 2013 [2 favorites]

I love, love, Love, quonsmas gifting/ getting. It's the most fishpants time of the year. My mail carrier is unfazed by mail addressed to theora55. Yippee!
posted by theora55 at 5:23 PM on November 2, 2013

I hope everything runs more smoothly this year. I noticed Reddit has taken up doing mail swaps like this - 3 main ones throughout the year and then several more themed ones - and they have far more people participate, so I suggested to Julen that she contact them and ask how they do it. Maybe they had some tips. (I think I read that they broke a Guinness world record for biggest mail swap with over 20,000 participants!)
posted by IndigoRain at 7:09 PM on November 2, 2013

20,000, pah. It was 30,000. With just short of 45,000 last year. http://redditgifts.com/about/
posted by IndigoRain at 7:11 PM on November 2, 2013

Yay! I have all but given up on Internet secret santa exchanges after many years of putting more effort into them than anyone else does, but I will never give up on Quonsmas.

I am at this very moment drinking from the wonderful oversized mug I got from last year's generous Quonsar!
posted by rhiannonstone at 7:24 PM on November 2, 2013

I would like to finally bite the bullet and participate, but I'll be out of town (and out of Internet) from 20 November until 12 December. That doesn't leave much time for Quonsing. Should I sit out?
posted by Night_owl at 8:05 PM on November 2, 2013

no, night owl, DOOOOOO IIIIITTTT!

Last year was my first time, and there is no way I am not repeating!
posted by wenestvedt at 8:47 PM on November 2, 2013

Night Owl, are you out of town in a place without a post office? You should totally join--SQ is excellent.

Wait, I am bad at reading. You should still join, though.
posted by mollymayhem at 9:06 PM on November 2, 2013

I never heard back from the Reddit folks; I think I mailed them during a swap, so they probably just put my email aside to answer later and never got around to it. There's a lot to envy there (except the scale! That's really impressive ... and scary) about their infrastructure and tools.

Night_owl: "I would like to finally bite the bullet and participate, but I'll be out of town (and out of Internet) from 20 November until 12 December. That doesn't leave much time for Quonsing. Should I sit out?"

This is tough. If you can come up with a mechanism for getting your swap info while out of pocket/net, than you might be able to work it out. You have a tough row to hoe here because you'll miss both the date where you get your swap info and the deadline for sending out your gift. It's also hard to get to know your recipient without access to the net much less MeFi.

However, this year, we are really encouraging people to be confident they can send out and receive gifts in a timely fashion before signing up.
posted by julen at 10:01 PM on November 2, 2013 [1 favorite]

I like the $15 limit. It translates to ~£10 UK then postage shoves it to around $20 equivalent anyway.
posted by biffa at 2:29 AM on November 3, 2013

All the years I've been here and I've never participated. You've warmed my heart with your Quonsar carols. I'm in.
posted by Songdog at 6:43 AM on November 3, 2013 [1 favorite]

I missed sign ups last year and had a major sad, so I am joining that mailing list and can't wait!
posted by Lulu's Pink Converse at 8:30 AM on November 3, 2013 [1 favorite]

This is one of my favorite things to do - I love giving gifts. Can't wait to participate, although I can't volunteer to do more than send a gift (and be a second-chancer).

Thanks for all your hard work on this, julen et al.
posted by k8lin at 1:22 PM on November 3, 2013

THIS IS THE BEST THING. I love you Julen, for doing this, and I love giving presents. HOORAY.
posted by bibliogrrl at 8:34 AM on November 4, 2013

I very much enjoy Quonsar, and am looking forward to it this year. Thanks, julen and company!
posted by vegartanipla at 9:18 AM on November 4, 2013

I'm pretty sure it's the only quonsarful time of the year.

not at all.
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 12:22 PM on November 4, 2013

Yay! I can participate this year!!!

/flailing kermit arms
posted by Sophie1 at 1:03 PM on November 4, 2013 [1 favorite]

Wow! I'm overwhelmed by all the volunteers. Thank you everyone. You will be hearing from me over the next day or so.

on Dates & Timing
That said, I've looked at the dates, and we can bring it up the timing by almost a week. This will solve the problem of American Thanksgiving being late this year, give people a good chunk o time to acquire and mail gifts, and

This is what I am proposing:

Signups would open on Sunday, November 10 (this Sunday).
Signups would close on Wednesday, November 20.
The randomized draw will be on Friday, November 22.
The send by date is Saturday, December 7.

That gives folks 2 weeks + 1 day to find a gift and send it out on time this year.

Last year, it felt like we all were running a little late in getting gifts out. I'm hoping this year we are all better about that. Hopefully this timetable can support that.
posted by julen at 1:18 PM on November 4, 2013 [5 favorites]

Last year, it felt like we all were running a little late in getting gifts out

Partly, it's because you really need a weekend between Thanksgiving and the deadline, especially if you work 9-5. A lot of people travel or host over Thanksgiving, which makes for plenty of distraction, and then when you turn your attention to Quonsing, there you are with only a few days. A year like this with late Thanskgiving makes it even harder. For this reason I might advocate December 9 as a send-by date, but since it realistically probably will be anyway, maybe it's fine to keep it the 7th and see if that moves more people to act earlier.

In general I think because you basically lose a big weekend to Thasksgiving in the US, it wouldn't be crazy to plan for a week earlier in future - know your Quonsee by Nov. 15, for instance.

But here I am doing that thing where I am not volunteering but am making all sorts of "helpful" recommendations, so I think the schedule planned is fine.
posted by Miko at 3:21 PM on November 4, 2013 [2 favorites]

I have nothing to say except I AM IN!!!
posted by rouftop at 7:19 PM on November 4, 2013

Yay! I've been lurking most of this year due to health reasons, but I came out of the shadows specifically for this! I love Quonsmas! I'll definitely be checking back to sign up this Sunday.
posted by patheral at 8:39 PM on November 4, 2013

Cool, I think this is my first year. I'm feeling the quonsar spirit!
posted by jaduncan at 4:30 AM on November 5, 2013

Obviously not for this year, but I agree with Miko that I'd like to see an earlier match-up period. You could have sign ups in the first week or so of November and then matches announced around the end of the second week.
posted by Rock Steady at 4:50 AM on November 5, 2013

Woohoo! Let's do this!
posted by schleppo at 8:16 AM on November 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

I can afford to participate this year! Yay!
posted by magstheaxe at 7:58 AM on November 6, 2013

Question: I am dealing with some major health issues that will make getting out to do shopping/shipping close to impossible during that timeframe.

Am I lame if I find something online and have it shipped directly to my SQ, without a chance to do the normal fun wrappy/note-y thing I would do for this?

DO NOT WANNA BE A LAME QUONSAR.
posted by deliciae at 10:21 PM on November 6, 2013

an earlier match-up period

So, essentially, you're promoting Quansarmass-creep? You'll be to blame when stores are blasting "What a Wonderful Quansmas (Thanks for the Ukelele!)" and setting up the fish pants display in the middle of September every year?

Gee. Thanks.
posted by Ghidorah at 10:42 PM on November 6, 2013 [4 favorites]

deliciae: Am I lame if I find something online and have it shipped directly to my SQ, without a chance to do the normal fun wrappy/note-y thing I would do for this? "

So not lame! First of all, you can aways send a fun note/card separately if you so desire. Secondly, many places will gift-wrap. Thirdly, the most important thing is the act of giving. You could wrap it in the most depressing section of the newspaper and it would still be wonderful.

Ghidorah: "essentially, you're promoting Quansarmass-creep? You'll be to blame when stores are blasting "What a Wonderful Quansmas (Thanks for the Ukelele!)" and setting up the fish pants display in the middle of September every year?"

September? You poor naive guy. Try July 5 (earlier in some locales).
posted by julen at 8:52 AM on November 7, 2013 [1 favorite]

Hooray for Quonsmus! I'm definitely in!
posted by SisterHavana at 11:27 AM on November 7, 2013

I don't think I can do it this year. And I am heartbroken because it is indeed the most funnest thing ever.

Wake me up when December ends.
posted by malibustacey9999 at 5:14 PM on November 9, 2013

Signups are open. Here is the new MeTa thread: Secret quonsar 2013: Relatively Earlier This Year.

Thanks everyone for your input on timing, for volunteering, and all the other useful help.
posted by julen at 7:59 AM on November 10, 2013