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 the wildly popular Australian blog, Fat Mum Slim. The blog not only features recipes, parenthood musings, photography, and social media tips, but also hosts the Photo A Day challenge. This challenge began in 2012 and has a list of simple prompts for daily photos. Now, over twenty million photos from all around the world have been submitted, and followers anxiously await the list for the next month. The group is able to share the photos on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, their own blogs, and Google+.
Chantelle, the woman behind Fat Mum Slim, has hosted gift exchanges for the past few years. In the past, participants could choose if they wanted to be paired with someone from their own country, or opt to join the worldwide exchange. This year, to simplify things, there is going to be one large exchange made up of people from all over the world. The requirement to join is that you need to be active on social media- either through your own blog, their private Facebook group, or Instagram so that your partner can use this online presence to learn more about their partner.
According to Chantelle, using Elfster has allowed her to easily accommodate her large group. For the first year of the exchange, she did everything herself, and recalls that it was an “epic task”. Although the group is able to communicate swiftly with each other through their Facebook group, Elfster keeps the whole thing organized, and allows people to have fun with their wishlists.
We are so excited to welcome back all of the Fat Mum Slim readers to Elfster again this year. As Chantelle reminds everyone, “This is a feel-good activity, where you take a chance on a person somewhere in the world and the postal system at the busiest time of the year.” Cheers to a group that has found a perfect way to connect and inspire each other daily with their phenomenal growth and participation. We hope you all have a great exchange, and that the exchange adds a bright spot to your upcoming holiday season! And, of course, don’t forget the photos ;)
photo credit: Jessica Enig- such pretty things, Tim Green
