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 members have lived in Ireland for some time, and are part of the Irish Knitter/Crafter Twitter community. Not all of the members are natives of Ireland, and not all of them are currently living in Ireland, but they all do share the special connection of having lived there.
The group follows some basic rules for the exchange: first is that at least one item in the package needs to be homemade. In addition to the homemade item, they also send each other a special crafting supply item. This could be a skein of unique yarn, gorgeous ribbon, or even some fancy buttons. Finally, they each include a special treat to eat — either sweet or savory, depending upon their tastes.
This tech savvy group is used to connecting with each other via their Twitter group, and use that as a way to try and guess who their exchange partner is. According to the group organizer Sue Cullen, “We have a couple of super sleuths in the group who really add to this element of the exchange by keeping track of clues on twitter and ravelry. It’s great fun! There’s always one or two people who have no idea who their parcel was from.”
According to Sue, using Elfster for a group of this size does add to the fun. “Participants use Elfster differently. Some have huge wishlists that really give a picture of what their tastes are while others like to stick to questions and answers. I think the questions are the most fun. Asking questions anonymously is one of our favourite things.”
The Knitmas group is busy getting their handmade gifts ready, since they are all planning to have them made and mailed by December 1st. We think that receiving a handmade gift from your exchange partner is a great way to celebrate the holidays, and their shared interest in crafts. We would love to hear the story of your family or community and how you are using Elfster, too. You can reach us via Facebook here, or Tweet us @elfster.
photo credit: indigomuse, Natalie Soud
