Who doesn’t love and appreciate receiving a special handmade gift?  For people who enjoy making crafts, sometimes they are more often on the giving side of handmade gifts, and less frequently receiving them.  One group of crafters decided to start a gift exchange group as a way to ensure that their members will receive something made just for them! The group is known as Knitmas, and includes knitters and other crafty folks.  All of the [...]

  As you can imagine, this time of year is very busy for all of us at Elfster.  We love it.  We wait all year for this, and we get so excited when our site gets super busy!  We are inspired by all the groups that use Elfster, and love to hear their stories and find out more about the groups. One group that caught our eye, is the gift exchange for the followers of [...]

Elfster over the years has grown beyond our founder Peter’s family and the staff has grown apace.  We remain a small, agile staff who often wear more than one hat at our jobs, but we’re all doing what we love: helping people and making people happy!  We’ve been asked more than once about the people behind the elf and we’re happy to shed a little light on one of our most integral staff members.  If [...]

  Elfster has been around for ten holiday seasons and we wanted to take a quick look back and towards the future to see where we’ve been, and where we’re going.  It’s also a great way for us to show new users “the way things were” and to assure all users that we’re listening to your feedback and continuing to grow and refine our service. ELFSTER MOBILE When we first started Elfster, smart phones were [...]

Many people are faced with the prospect of wanting to have a child and not being able, due to infertility issues.  The struggle can be an extremely emotional one, that is often not shared with friends and family — it’s hard to explain or articulate the feelings.  Having a person to talk to that can completely understand what you are going through can make a huge difference.  Elfster was pleased to find a group of [...]

Even though it’s the beginning of August, everywhere you look, there are signs of Back to School.  The stores, the ads, and local campuses all seem to be gearing up.  The end of summer can make anyone feel a little bit sad — it seems like we look forward to the slower pace of summer,  more time outdoors, and mellow, light-filled days for so long, and then it goes by so quickly!  For some people, [...]

Recently, a group of staff here at Elfster decided to do what we do best – host a gift exchange!  It seemed like a great way to stay in touch with other, get to know one another better, and a fun addition to our July.   We are currently hosting our “Summer Picnic” gift exchange, where we are all going to exchange something that we could use for picnicking or outdoor entertaining.  It has been fun [...]

  Trying to create and maintain a fitness plan can be tough. The ways to get started range from doing it on your own, using a fitness app, joining a gym, participating in a running or walking group, and countless others.  Elfster has found a group of women who are taking their fitness regime one step further.  In addition to connecting with each other via their Facebook group, they are also hosting gift exchanges to [...]

  While baseball is credited with being the “official” American pastime, for many people barbequing would be the answer when asked what their favorite summer pastime is.   The debate of gas versus charcoal has long been a topic for outdoor cooks to consider.  Then, the discussion of what and how to cook can get started. Elfster has found a group of people who are more than just your average backyard cook.  They are seriously dedicated [...]

  Meeting people who share your interests and outlook is usually a great way to start a friendship.  Being able to share your ideas and thoughts with people who have similar ideas and can relate to what you are going through is often just what you need.  Elfster has found a group of moms who have been able to do just that. The group, now known as the Crunchy March Mommies, or CMMs, met each [...]