* R2R Secret Santa 2023 is HERE!! Get registered!! *

ScottJ · Dec 2, 2023

tbrown said:
I'm really considering joining this year!

You should! It's a lot of fun!

Stang67 · Dec 2, 2023

tbrown said:
I'm really considering joining this year!

It's almost like winning free stuff. Except you have to send out stuff to get stuff, not enter a drawing.

danieyella · Dec 2, 2023

Stang67 said:
It's in the message on here from Santa. I missed it in the message and was waiting for an email.

Yeah I didn't even get that

fishguy242 · Dec 2, 2023

danieyella said:
Yeah I didn't even get that

Me either ,just sent Santa the PM...

tbrown · Dec 2, 2023

Stang67 said:
It's almost like winning free stuff. Except you have to send out stuff to get stuff, not enter a drawing.

Yeah, but that sounds like a guaranteed win!

ESABOE · Dec 2, 2023

tbrown said:
Yeah, but that sounds like a guaranteed win!

I wish I was rich; it would be soo fun to really get to know someone’s likes, passions, dreams by reading their R2R posts and send like 25 small gifts all wrapped with different paper and bows - like $200 worth of stuff. But alas, I will have to get creative; which is a lot of fun as well. I love researching stuff !

Kellie in CA · Dec 2, 2023

ESABOE said:
I wish I was rich; it would be soo fun to really get to know someone’s likes, passions, dreams by reading their R2R posts and send like 25 small gifts all wrapped with different paper and bows - like $200 worth of stuff. But alas, I will have to get creative; which is a lot of fun as well. I love researching stuff !

Me too! I always think how it would be so fun to just pay for strangers meals in restaurants or send people surprise gifts. I need a lucrative side hustle.

ESABOE · Dec 2, 2023

Kellie in CA said:
Me too! I always think how it would be so fun to just pay for strangers meals in restaurants or send people surprise gifts. I need a lucrative side hustle.

My side- hustle is doing genealogy for friends, but I never change them!

Slocke · Dec 2, 2023

JoJosReef said:
Hey Jojo, is Yellow Coris Wrasse a Coris wrasse or not? This will only be settled by @Slocke and @tbrown ... In the Thunderdome!

I think I know what you’re getting for your secret Santa… You know just so you can compare the two fish and tell us all if they are similar.

saltypepper · Dec 2, 2023

What country are you located in? - United States
What is one thing you always need more of? - Time
What do you like to do on the weekends? - Work on projects, (metal lathe or wood working), my new tank, flight instructing
What are your other hobbies/interests? - building things, aviation, fish/corals, traveling
How do you relax after a long day at work? - Read books and look at my coralless tank right now
Is there a candy, cookie, or other treat do you remember you loved as a kid that you you haven't had in years and years? - Broken Glass Salad
Do you collect anything? - Old License Plates
What is your favorite color? - Orange
What size t-shirt/hoodie/socks do you wear? - Large
What is one TV show or movie you can watch over and over again? - Magnum PI
What type of music do you listen to? Classic rock and Jazz
Do you follow any sports teams? Canadians
What's your favorite fish? Convict Tang
Favorite coral? Elkhorn
Favorite invert? Bumblebee Snail
Tell us about your tank(s)! What size are they? What do you keep in them? Do you have a build thread? - Started up a new IM120 in July and I do have a build forum. Right now it has rock sand water, pods, and bateria (still qting my fish). Yes I have a build thread.
Do you have any planned upgrades or hopeful future tweaks to your tank(s)? Just adding SPS to the tank
What's your favorite thing to watch in your tank? My clowns in the QT
Are there any parts of the reef hobby you get really excited over? SPS coral I had a few 10 plus years ago and would like to get some old favorites again. Not really into the new flashy named stuff.
What are some good gift ideas for you? (This isn't meant to be a wish list. Just some general thoughts or ideas for whoever draws your name.) - A cheap SPS frag or some kalc powder oh zip ties reorganizing everything with a new coralvue
Would you be interested in receiving livestock? If yes, what would you be interested in? *disclaimer due to the busy holiday season we recommend not shipping livestock* yes weather is fine in SOuth Carolina a not hipped up acro frag would be nice
Are there any additional questions you wish we had asked that we didn't? (Add those questions in under these and post your answers.)
What got you started in the hobby? Public aquarium in Seattle on a trip when I was young 20+ years ago

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal · Dec 2, 2023

Never mind. I didn't read the original post carefully enough...

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal · Dec 2, 2023

Never mind

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal · Dec 2, 2023

For anyone else who's a dummy like me:

"To sign up, you will need to do these 2 things (PLEASE DO BOTH):
1. PM @Santa Claus with your contact information (name, email, and country you're located in so that we can PM you the link to sign up on Elfster and join the gift exchange)."

(I didn't post #2.)

MnFish1 · Dec 2, 2023

Secret Santa Questionnaire:

What country are you located in? US
What is one thing you always need more of? Nothing related to reefing
What do you like to do on the weekends? Eat
What are your other hobbies/interests? Discus
How do you relax after a long day at work? Retired
Is there a candy, cookie, or other treat do you remember you loved as a kid that you you haven't had in years and years? No
Do you collect anything? 21 pilots posters
What is your favorite color? blue
What size t-shirt/hoodie/socks do you wear? XL
What is one TV show or movie you can watch over and over again? none
What type of music do you listen to? alternative
Do you follow any sports teams? not really
What's your favorite fish? Discus
Favorite coral? Does not apply
Favorite invert? Does not apply
Tell us about your tank(s)! What size are they? What do you keep in them? Do you have a build thread? just have a 210 gallon discus tank
Do you have any planned upgrades or hopeful future tweaks to your tank(s)? no
What's your favorite thing to watch in your tank? the fish
Are there any parts of the reef hobby you get really excited over? all parts
What are some good gift ideas for you? (This isn't meant to be a wish list. Just some general thoughts or ideas for whoever draws your name.)
Would you be interested in receiving livestock? If yes, what would you be interested in? *disclaimer due to the busy holiday season we recommend not shipping livestock* No
Are there any additional questions you wish we had asked that we didn't? (Add those questions in under these and post your answers.)NO

santeeeyyy · Dec 2, 2023

Wait do I have to be a supporting member or does a partner count as well?

Cichlid Dad · Dec 2, 2023

santeeeyyy said:
Wait do I have to be a supporting member or does a partner count as well?

For secret Santa, must be 18, on r2r for 14 days and have 10 Post I believe is all that is required

santeeeyyy · Dec 2, 2023

Cichlid Dad said:
For secret Santa, must be 18, on r2r for 14 days and have 10 Post I believe is all that is required

Ah. I thought it was 14 member as in supporting member. Ty

santeeeyyy · Dec 2, 2023

Santa Claus said:
Ho! Ho! Ho!! It's our 2023 Secret Santa for Reef2Reef!!

This is going to be a great time to spread Christmas joy!!

To those who have been part of our Secret Santa before, you know the drill...but read through this anyhow...

Here is how it will work:

Requirements to participate:

At least 18 years of age

At least 14 days as a member of R2R

At least 10 posts on R2R

Gift requirement: AT LEAST $25 value and a splash of Christmas joy! (Suggested gift range is $25-$50. More on this below.)

As you sign up, you'll get a link to the gift exchange on Elfster (it's the Secret Santa exchange website/app that we use to organize the gift exchange) where you'll need to register so that we can easily match you with your Secret Santa.*

The first matchup will take place when we have 50 people registered. After this, matches will happen every few days (at least 25 people per match) through December 11th.

Sign up will be open until December 11, 2023

Buy or make gifts and ship them by December 18, 2023.

Delivery tracking is mandatory and will need to be sent to @Santa Claus and/or updated in Elfster.

International Participation: Our Secret Santa will have a groups for those outside the US (US participants who would like to participate with international participants are also welcome to do so). While we wish that we had enough international participation to allow all participants to only send to members within their own country, that simply isn't feasible, so please be aware of the possibility that you may need to ship internationally to participate outside the US (but I will do my best to match participants to others within their country).

Here are a few guidelines for this year:

Please, PLEASE, be sure your R2R username is entered on your Elfster profile (include it maybe after your First Name so it appears like a "middle name." This really does help your Secret Santa to find you on Reef2Reef and get better gift giving ideas.

This is an event that is meant to spread Christmas joy, so we're asking all participants to try to make this special for whoever you receive. While we realize that this may look different for everyone, we're asking participants to avoid sending $25 e-gift cards as your only gift. Suggested gift range is $25-$50. You may give more, but be aware that you may not receive more than this amount.

All participants MUST make a post or send a message acknowledging their gift and thanking whoever their Secret Santa is. Most of you do this anyway, but just to be clear, this a requirement for participating. We'll start a Thank You thread specifically for this and link it here.

Feel free to make a wishlist on Elfster if you would like. This is not required (if you fill out the questions listed here, you should be giving some good ideas to your Secret Santa anyhow), but we know some of you like this feature a lot. So feel free to make a wishlist, but please remember that the suggested gift amount is $25-$50 (so be sure to have some good gift ideas available to your Secret Santa in that range).

Your gift MUST be sent by December 18th. Now, we realize things can happen, and we're always willing to work with participants. However, if your gift has not been shipped and confirmation/tracking info sent to Santa by the deadline, you may be banned from participating in future Secret Santa exchanges on Reef2Reef.

Failure to abide by these guidelines may result in not being allowed future participation in Secret Santa gift exchanges. (We're really not expecting to remove anyone, but we do reserve the right to do so if a participant does not engage in the spirit of this gift exchange.)

All R2R Secret Santa participants will receive a special Secret Santa banner under their username.

To sign up, you will need to do these 2 things (PLEASE DO BOTH):

PM @Santa Claus with your contact information (name, email, and country you're located in so that we can PM you the link to sign up on Elfster and join the gift exchange).

Post in this thread with your answers to the questionnaire (see below) IN THIS THREAD (this is our official registration thread).

Secret Santa Questionnaire:

What country are you located in?

What is one thing you always need more of?

What do you like to do on the weekends?

What are your other hobbies/interests?

How do you relax after a long day at work?

Is there a candy, cookie, or other treat do you remember you loved as a kid that you you haven't had in years and years?

Do you collect anything?

What is your favorite color?

What size t-shirt/hoodie/socks do you wear?

What is one TV show or movie you can watch over and over again?

What type of music do you listen to?

Do you follow any sports teams?

What's your favorite fish?

Favorite coral?

Favorite invert?

Tell us about your tank(s)! What size are they? What do you keep in them? Do you have a build thread?

Do you have any planned upgrades or hopeful future tweaks to your tank(s)?

What's your favorite thing to watch in your tank?

Are there any parts of the reef hobby you get really excited over?

What are some good gift ideas for you? (This isn't meant to be a wish list. Just some general thoughts or ideas for whoever draws your name.)

Would you be interested in receiving livestock? If yes, what would you be interested in? *disclaimer due to the busy holiday season we recommend not shipping livestock*

Are there any additional questions you wish we had asked that we didn't? (Add those questions in under these and post your answers.)

At this time, we are unable to guarantee matching users based on a preference for shipping coral. If shipping coral we ask that you notify @Santa Claus via PM when you would like 2 ship so we can notify recipient and make sure they will be able to receive it. If recipient can't be there we will ask them for 2 other days and work out with sender. (We don't mind playing the go between here to keep it more a secret.)

Also, notice that we have a special Secret Santa forum going on! Feel free to start other threads in here to talk about everything Secret Santa related, holiday related, or just anything you want to talk with all of us other SS peeps!

#R2RSecretSanta

What country are you located in?USA
What is one thing you always need more of?CUC
What do you like to do on the weekends? Stay home and tend to the tank
What are your other hobbies/interests? Gaming. Soon to be golfing
How do you relax after a long day at work? Games or sleep on couch with dog
Is there a candy, cookie, or other treat do you remember you loved as a kid that you you haven't had in years and years? No
Do you collect anything?rocks
What is your favorite color?green
What size t-shirt/hoodie/socks do you wear?large. And socks idk. I’m like a size 10-11 in shoes so whatever sock size that is
What is one TV show or movie you can watch over and over again?impractical jokers
What type of music do you listen to?rock indie rock
Do you follow any sports teams?no
What's your favorite fish?tough one. Got to go with the stereotypical clown
Favorite coral? Green clove polyps
Favorite invert? Hermit crab
Tell us about your tank(s)! What size are they? What do you keep in them? Do you have a build thread? I have been planning on doing a build thread. I have a six gal and a 15 gal. Springers damsel. Coral. And a longfin clown.
Do you have any planned upgrades or hopeful future tweaks to your tank(s)?i would like to automate my water. I do have a GHA problem that I am slowly hopefully getting rid of
What's your favorite thing to watch in your tank? The crabs or the coral
Are there any parts of the reef hobby you get really excited over? Everything. The chemistry is what I try and avoid but I soon need to get a tank with a sump so I can learn to maintain
What are some good gift ideas for you? (This isn't meant to be a wish list. Just some general thoughts or ideas for whoever draws your name.) unsure. Maybe any equipment or used equipment. Or reef related clothes or accessories would be cool.
Would you be interested in receiving livestock? If yes, what would you be interested in? *disclaimer due to the busy holiday season we recommend not shipping livestock* yes. Any small clippings or frags from ones tank with a little description of what it is. I love learning about all the corals I can get my hands on.
Are there any additional questions you wish we had asked that we didn't? (Add those questions in under these and post your answers.)
Was it just if you had an account or if you had to be a supporting member or if a partner is fine