Top 20 FAQs for Secret Santa

I) What is Secret Santa?
Secret Santa is a tradition in which a group are randomly assigned a person to whom they anonymously give a gift. Often practiced in workplaces or amongst large families, participation in it is usually voluntary. It offers a way for many people to give and receive a gift at low cost, and without much effort. [Copied directly from Wikipedia]

II) How does this work?
You send a gift to someone random on Twitter and you get a gift from someone random on Twitter.
The cost of the gifts (across multiple items or one individual item) must be minimum Rs. 500.
The maximum can be as much as you want but dont raise the bar too much.

III) What should I know before registering?
You will be giving out your personal details to the people in charge of this account.
We reassure you that we do not share it with any marketing agencies.
If you are having a tough time trusting Santa, you probably had a rough childhood.
Also, your Secret Santa will get your real name and postal address. (We usually mask the phone number and dont share it with the Secret Santa.)
If you are not comfortable with one person on Twitter figuring out who you are, please do not participate.

IV) I am not comfortable giving my phone number?
I am not comfortable giving my phone number either but the courier guy needs it to coordinate delivery times. Last year lots of people gave their office address and phone number for delivery. You could use that as an option but we will need a phone number.

V) How do I register?
Sometime this week, you might receive a DM from a Twitter friend. The link is the registration form for Secret Santa. Fill in your details and register. Make sure to mention the name of the Twitter friend who sent you the DM as he or she has vouched for you.
Once registration closes, give a few days to me for processing this data. You will receive an email with details about your Santee along with helpful tips on how to send your gift.
Now, neatly pack the gift. Adding an optional Merry Christmas card is optional.
Stalk Santee for his or her reaction.
Feel happy, enjoy the good karma.
Now, wait for your gift.
Once you get your gift, Twitpic it (or Instagram it for all you hipsters) with the tag #MumbaiSecretSanta or #ChennaiSecretSanta or mention @MumbaiSanta or @ChennaiSanta.
The Bots will automatically RT your tweets.

VI) How do I know what my Santee likes?
During registration each person will mention what he or she likes.

If they have asked for some weird gifts, here is what you can and cannot do:
a) You can "stalk" them across all social networks, find what they like and give them that as a gift.
b) Do not stalk their families and friends. That is creepy.
c) Do not save their Twitter profile pics and send them a customized collage. That is also creepy.
d) Ask the Twitter bots to help you out.

VII) What is this vouching?
Vouching is something we have introduced this year in order to remove "bad children" from this game. Vouching is nothing but a system built on trust and being responsible. We all take responsibility of the people we recommend for Secret Santa. Hence, each Santee technically has 2 people ensuring he or she gets a gift. Let me explain how it works,

Assume A has vouched for B. Once we start playing, A is going to be Secret Santa for C and B is responsible for D. If B does not send the gift to D, the Head Santa will ban B from participating in future Secret Santas. Now, the responsibility of making sure D gets the gift is now on the person vouching, i.e. A.

If A also refuses to send a gift, he or she may also be banned unless a proper reason and justification is given for this. We, Santas might even buy the gift ourselves and send it to D if the need arises.

Moral: Only vouch for people you believe will play this with the Christmas spirit intact.

After registration closes, each person will be emailed a list of people who have listed their Twitter handle as the person vouching for them .  You must reply accepting this list of people and confirming responsibility for all of them.

VIII) Wont this vouching create a long chain?
Yes, it creates a vouching chain but dont worry as you are only liable for whoever you vouch for.

To Recap:

1. The person who vouches for you must also be taking part in Secret Santa.
2. The person who vouches for you will decide (and without you knowing) whether they want to take your responsibility or not.
3. Please send the DM invite to only people you know and friends you trust will play this in its true spirit.

Because of the wonderful Secret Santas, we saw last year, Head Santa will vouch for all the 129 participants who took part last year.  They will get the DM first. So, harass them. Convince them. Bribe them. Beg them. Shower them with attention.

IX) What if I don't have anyone to vouch for me?
Send an email to mumbaisecretsanta@gmail.com or chennaisecretsanta@gmail.com If you are persuasive enough, we might vouch for you ourselves.
In some cases, pretty Twitter DPs can be persuasion enough.
If registration have been closed, please do not email or msg us as we cannot add more people.

X) Who decides if the gift is fair or not?
Please note, shit happens. Gifts get misplaced, they break in transit, and sometimes it might not be what you expected.

So, firstly Fuck you for having expectations and not playing the game in its true spirit. Secondly, Just give without expectations. Thirdly, Fuck you again for comparing.

XI) Is the randomization and allocation of Santa to Santee biased?
I wont lie. It is a tad biased. We try to be as balanced as possible and avoid difficult combinations.
Please note: Chennai peeps get Chennai based people. Mumbai will get Mumbai. Pune will get Pune people as a priority. This is done to ensure you dont end up paying unnecessary postage.
Also, for someone who is 40, we usually try to pair them up with someone similar. And generally, we try to pair women with women, and men with men wherever possible.
We do not entertain requests to change your Santee once allocated. Please do not ask us to change them. once allocated.
Also, This isn't a dating service (yet) and please do not ask to be paired with someone specific.

XII) What happens if I send a gift but don't get one instead?
Send a tweet to the Twitter bot in charge. @MumbaiSanta for Mumbai & Pune or @ChennaiSanta for Chennai.

XIII) What happens if I cant send a gift and I have a genuine excuse?
DM or email the respective bots and we shall consider if the reason is genuine enough. We can allocate additional time if needed.

XIV) What happens if I am traveling and no one will be at home?
If you are traveling please make sure to send your gift early. Give us your date of return, and your Secret Santa will be told to wait before sending the gift.

XV) Will I know who my Secret Santa is?
Once you receive a gift, you can ask the bot who is my Secret Santa.

The bot will in turn ask your Secret Santa.

XVI) Who all take part in this?
Lots of Twitteratis took part in this last year like @B50, @AshwinMushran, @TheTanmay, @ProbablyTrippy, @DharmeshG.
Secret Santa is probably the only way you can have some of the big names follow you on Twitter.

XVII) Why is my city not included in Secret Santa?
Maybe next year.. this year it is restricted to Mumbai, Pune and Chennai.

XVIII) If I live in Thane, should I register under Mumbai or Pune?
Neither as both cities refuse to accept you. You have to select: Navi Mumbai.

XIX) Why doesnt Pune get a separate Twitter bot?
*Awkward Silence* It isn't that big a city

XX) Who are the people behind this?

MumbaiSanta: @VelvetRhyme
ChennaiSanta: @MumbaiCentral
BengaluruSanta: @LyricallyMute
DelhiSanta: @IMSahilBhalla
Head Santa: @TheGoodJew
Social Media Integration: www.Canvass.in
IT Help: www.AurusIT.com

*Please send replies or queries to the respective bots and not the person behind the handle.