I am completely fucking confused.

sO wHATS THE THEAM fOLKS ?????

I'll be happy to take full advantage of the present confusion, and confirm the theme of edibles.

there's confusion over presents?

And potables!

I'm not sending potables through the post....

Teabags?

Nah. Merkins ruin tea!

:p

We'll force them into doing it properly - PG Tips a go go!

Tea would be cool. We have a great shop here.

If by tea, you mean tequila, I'm all for it! ;)

Merkins don't ruin tequila. Well, some do, but I'm a minimalist: no wheels.

My wife fell in love with PG Tips while on her first Buxton trip. I'm not a big tea drinker, when I do have some, I prefer that to the US stuff. (Do they have Earl Grey? Or is that considered an abomination in the UK?)

One of my college profs said her first job out of school was editing music for one of the British university presses. By tradition, as the newest employee, she was in charge of making tea for the office. However, as a Yank, her tea-making skills were repugnant to all right-thinking Britons. She said it took her several weeks to get completely up to standard in that area.

I work in an office of Earl Grey drinkers. It's not all that common in the UK, but it is an acceptable alternative. Just don't go in a greasy spoon and ask for it (translation: truck rest stop?)

Steve if you would like some PG Tips just PM your address. We have stacks of tea left over from the work we did with the British Chinese Community earlier this year, so I'm happy to send it on.

NB - I had no intention of sending work tea as my Secret Santa gift!

DA RULZ:

PM me a name and address if you would like to participate. If I have a surplus of givers who don't wish to receive, I might suggest to them to hit the tip mug, unless someone has a better idea.

On Nov 10th I will PM everyone their randomly selected recipient.

The optional themes of this year's SS gift exchange are holiday ornaments and edibles. May I suggest for the edibles category something that is unique to you or your local area. A ballpark for gift values is around $15 US.

You can let your recipient know who you are when you send the gift, just give a clue and make them guess, or be totally anonymous. It's up to you.

Please be sure that the gift arrives at its destination by Dec 14th.

When you receive your gift, try to get a few pictures of it to post. It's fun to see what others received! In early December, I will create a new thread for the posting of gift pictures and guessing of senders. At that time I can make a list of who participated available if you want.

I hope that covers it. Happy shopping!!!

Great idea.