Halloween Spoil Us, (Local) Goodies

Hello, and welcome to the Halloween Spoil Us, (Local) Goodies.

I really like Halloween and each year I plan a party with friends and family and have so much fun! I love the decoration and the spooky-ness! Halloween isn’t celebrated in Europe as big as in the USA, but there are a lot of people in Europe that celebrate it at home or with their friends.

This is a big swap with a lot of requirements, but it is so much fun to make a parcel and to receive one that has so many lovely things in it. And you’ll get to know local things about other places and countries too! If you want to take a look on already send and received swaps, you can look here

Please read the entire swap description to prevent mistakes that might get you a lower rating than you deserve. Let's start off with the list of things to send.

Things to send:

• 3 items that have to do with Halloween in your country/city/community/family/social circle. You can send truly anything you like: ephemera, greeting cards, photos, etc.

• 3 sachets of tea/hot coco/coffee/lemonade/etc. to enjoy at Haloween evening.

• 3 edibles. They have to do with Halloween. If you send sweets/candy, you must send at least 5 and they will count as 1 (no matter how many you send). Chocolate bars and candy bars count as 1 if they are approximately 15 cm / 5.9 inch in length. Everything you send must be properly wrapped, unopened, and undamaged. Nothing you send can go bad in the mail.

• 3 recipes that could appear at a Halloween party. They can be handwritten, printed or magazines clippings, but make sure they have a picture of the completed dish.

• 1 magazine. The magazine has to have some articles with ideas or recipes for Halloween. Send something that matches your swap partner's interests. The magazine cannot be folded, damaged, or rolled up.

• Craft supplies and a description for a DIY project to decorate the house for Halloween. Make sure all the items are there for your partner to create the project. You can buy a DIY-kit or make one yourself.

• 1 game. The more local it is, the better, to play at Halloween with family or friends. Doesn't necessarily have to be a board game, but make it more imaginative/special than a pack of cards. If the game is unknown in other countries and the instructions are not in English, please write the instructions out on a piece of paper. No computer games or anything.

• 1 local craft or something you’ve made yourself, Halloween themed.

• 1 local souvenir.

• 1 wishlist gift.

• 3 random Halloween items. Can be anything you want to, as long as it's not trash. Nothing can be broken, damaged, torn, stained, dirty, and so on. (For example, things like candy wrappers fall under "trash".)

• Write a note or a letter to your partner in which you describe for example what your plans are for Halloween, how Halloween is celebrated in your family/country, etc. It would be nice to put in some pictures to illustrate your story.

How to Pick the Goodies?

When you put the parcel together, pay attention to your swap partner's profile. While you can never be a 100% certain your swap partner will like the goodies, you cannot send things that are on their dislikes list. If you are uncertain about an item, I encourage you to contact your swap partner about it. And similarly if you receive something you feel is covered in your Dislikes List. If you receive something that's on your dislikes list and your partner won't make up for it, rating a 3 would be recommendable. However, you have to keep in mind that these are not wish list-/profile-based swaps. So if you receive something, you don't like and it wasn't mentioned in your dislikes list to begin with, rating a 3 wouldn't be right.

Of course, we're all different so when you leave something open to interpretation, there's a possibility your swap partner sees it differently. If there's something you and your swap partner can't seem to solve, you can always come to me - but I'd rather you solve it between yourselves. We don't make that big of a group and as long as we're reasonable towards each other, we keep the atmosphere pleasant and healthy.

Quality of items

I know I'm getting repetitive, but nothing you send can be broken, torn, worn (out), damaged, et cetera. These are gift parcels, so do send them as if you were giving a gift. Make it as special as you can, for example: don’t put all the paper items at random in a box, but bundle it, bind it or put in a beautiful decorate envie or something. For an extra special touch, you can wrap the items, so that your partner receives a beautiful box full of gifts (This is not required, just a suggestion!)

Do not send second hand clothing, beauty products, etc. If you do send clothing or beauty products, make sure they are sealed or that the price tag is still on them. If they are not sealed or if they come without price tag, include the receipt.

If you send handmade items, please make sure they are of a good quality (this means that you could sell it on Etsy).

Cost-Effectiveness

Minimum spending limit per item is 1 USD, or 0.75 EUR, or 0.62 GBP. Maximum spending limit per item is 10 USD, or 7.50 EUR, or 6.20 GBP. The money you spend on the goodies does not have to be more than you can spare. But it's the shipping costs that can make it pricy.

Keep in mind that the shipping costs will at least be the minimum costs of a gift parcel. These are things that cannot be sent in an envelope. But you can greatly affect the amount of the shipping costs, as the costs increase with the weight. You could send lightweight items (for example a paperback instead of a hardback) or small items, just make sure they are worthwhile.

Also, if the post office asks you the overall value of the parcel, set the price at approximately 20 euros/dollars. That way your swap partner won't have to pay a customs fee when picking up the parcel.

Communicate!

If you're delayed or have questions, always let your swappartner and me know. Communication is important!

Rating

Please rate your swap partner appropriately. As a coordinator I need you to rate a 1 when you got flaked on, because I need to be able to keep this a flake-free zone. The same goes for rating a 3 if the parcel did not meet the requirements. But if your swap partner makes it up to you, do change your rating accordingly.

Send your photos

It would be lovely to see photos of the goodies you receive. Pouffia puts them up on this blog: Spoil Us, (Local) Goodies . She’ll treat all your info with discretion. Only your username, country, and your swap partner's username and country will appear on the blog. Add your thoughts to the photos if you want.

Suggestions?

If you have any suggestions for future swaps, let it know in the forum.

Questions?

PM me. :)