NPF Secret Santa 2012 - Showing the Grinch Whatfor [UNDER WAY!!]

[synkr0nized]

Please be sure to send me your info by December 7th to "sign up"!
PMs will be going out within the next 24 hours to participants with your giftee and relevant information! Thanks for your patience and interest!! DONE


You all know when the holidays are. You have been given your quests! Go forth, NPF, and make merry!



OK
So I guess due to the large difference in difficulty implementing a snail-mail method vs. online, we'll go with something online. This way, at most we only need a valid email address for each other or a friend request in, say, Steam.

We're aiming for around 10-15 dollars (US) as a general guideline, but I don't think you should feel bad for going a little under or over. Just don't go waaay over and make everyone feel like a cheapass.

Viable Online Outlets / Ideas
Steam - games, addons, DLC, etc.
Digital Gift Cards (e.g. Amazon, iTunes, major retailers often have digital versions online)
Microsoft Live points, Wii Points, etc. (example: you buy the card, but you send the code to your recipient for him/her to use)
Audio Books
invites/subscriptions to audio/video streaming services (e.g. Hulu, Netflix)
Groupon


NPF Secret Santa Participant Count: 13

[rpgdemon]

Don't you generally know WHO you're getting presents for, so that way you can get them a present?

I feel like there's a way to keep everyone from knowing anyone's addresses, that is super elaborate. Or we could do an "e-cret" Santa, like you said.

[synkr0nized]

Don't you generally know WHO you're getting presents for, so that way you can get them a present?

As in you feel like you need to know who you've got to get an appropriate present?

[rpgdemon]

As in you feel like you need to know who you've got to get an appropriate present?

Yeah, pretty much. It's hard to get generic presents.

[Seil]

I'd be into giving a present. Not so sure about receiving one. That being said, does it have to be mail? Couldn't it be a Steam thing or the like?

[Osterbaum]

Well if we do this I'd just participate on my own account, since I doubt it would take an expert sleuth to determine who the address in Finland belongs to.

Also we should agree on a price-range.

[Satan's Onion]

Yeah, a price range to keep some of us from going overboard would be damn helpful. Other than that, it sounds neato!

[batgirl]

I'd be interested in this, though I agree that we should sort of know who we're giving presents too. For example, I don't own any next gen consoles and someone, not knowing that they got me because of the fake account, gets me an xbox live thing or some playstation points or whatever. I now can't use this present, though the thought is nice.

Might I suggest that when we pm get our fake accounts, we can pm you some suggestions of things we might like, or at least categories, that would be appropriate but not give us away. For example, I could suggest that I'd like some sci-fi/fantasy novels or maybe some art pens which makes it fairly generic since many people here like books and draw, but I won't suggest that someone get me something medical related, since that gives me away clearly. Once you get let's say 3-5 generic categories of things we'd want, you could pm the secret santa the suggestions.

Did I just make things very complicated?

[mauve]

Keep in mind that shipping costs can easily become more expensive than the gift you give, particularly if you try to mail something heavy or something to an address in another country.

This might be a problem, given the widespread nature of the NPF Empire.


However, if this does become A Thing That Happens, I agree on setting a price range and giving inexpensive gift suggestions.

[Solid Snake]

...Heh.

Every Secret Santa I've done has always been where we didn't know who in the group we'd get a gift from, but we knew who were giving our gifts to. Allowed for more personalized gift options.

Anyway, I'd definitely do this if we took advantage of gifting through a service like Steam and therefore didn't have to give out real addresses. As is, the fact that I'm temporarily housed with my parents is going to lead me to shy away from having to justify receiving strange packages of random things from strangers (particularly since I don't trust some of you to avoid a 'mature content' present for grins and giggles, especially if the gift-giving is completely anonymous.)

[Arcanum]

Another thing is despite the anonymous addresses, if/when people start posting what gift they got, then the person who sent that gift will know who they sent it to, and therefore their address, defeating the purpose of an anonymous destination.

Anyway, definitely interested in this, however it goes down.

[Flarecobra]

I'd like to see it done over Steam and the like myself. It'd be a hell of a lot more inexpensive to do it that way, what with the shipping costs and the like.

[Steel Shadow]

Sounds like a cool idea, if crazy complicated (but hey, I don't need to do any extra work for that bit, so it's fine by me!). Like Flare and others suggest, I could give gifts a lot easier if it was over Steam, but I don't want anyone excluded either.

However it falls out, yeah, I'm interested.

[Geminex]

I think I could see myself participating in a steam secret santa, or a similar event! I'm not sure when the winter steam sale starts, but if we were using steam, that's something one could definitely take advantage of.

I wouldn't be comfortable with real-life, though.

[mauve]

Yeah, Steam (or equivalents?) sounds like a good, simple idea for gifts. Anyone can download Steam-- PC or Mac-- so even if someone doesn't currently use it, they can still get involved, if they like. Plus, if we do this during the inevitable Christmas Sale, there'd likely be something for everyone's budget.

The only problem would be people not knowing other people's system requirements.

[Geminex]

The only problem would be people not knowing other people's system requirements.

Given that for a steam secret santa, we could post our participation publicly, we could just ask people to share what their requirements are. If you get a person, you look for their post in the thread, and adjust your gift to their capabilities.

Also the people with high-end systems can point and laugh af the people trying to play games on a potato.

I'm one of the potatos.

[Ramary]

Man I was already acting like Santa during the steam sale, I am all over this shit.

[Cloud Strife]

I for one am totally down with this idea, steam real life or otherwise.

[Professor Smarmiarty]

Everyone should buy me presents because I'm a poor hobo and I am the easiest to buy for.

[akaSM]

IF I can get my debit card replacement next week, I'm in. Otherwise, I can buy something for exactly 5.69 USD, or throw something from my inventory :V

[Bells]

secret Santa on NPF is a thing i'm totally up for and would gladly join.

That being said

1- Shipping prices do matter
2- Shipping TIME even more so. Specially during holiday season.

So, i'll support this idea and join in if people want to do it, but i would suggest a Plan B just like Seil Said... maybe a Steam Secret Santa would cut down on Logistic issues.

[synkr0nized]

Steam just seems so limiting to me. I mean it's only computer games, right? Kind of rules out creative thinking in gifts.


BUT it's also far easier to implement in a virtual community like this, so if we have a quorum of Steam users wanting to do this, bada-bing bada-boom.

As for price limit, I agree and was hoping to see some suggestions on that. As someone who chose extra years of education, I am not really rollin' in da phat loots myself and wouldn't want it too high, but I also don't want to limit anyone with a lowball number.

[Geminex]

Doing it via steam is just much easier logistically, and has none of that "givin' out personal info". It is limiting in that, yes, it's just computer games, but the choice of game is always relevant. Plus, you can give each other gifts that you can enjoy together, because multiplayer!

Plus, what with forum members livin' all over the world, postage would be a bit of a nightmare.

Not sure in regards to price limit, though. 10 Euro? 10 Euro goes far in a steam sale.

[Cloud Strife]

That's currently $12.96 for you Americans.

[Bells]

So why don't we settle on a 10 Dollar Average?

Cause, if someone wants to go beyond... they should be able to. And if a game or DLC someone really wants costs, like, $8, they shouldn't feel cheap for riding under the limit.

a 10 bucks mid point seems like feasible to most while still allowing people to get good games.

Also, to keep it closer to Synk's original idea, people should not narrow down games. Maybe select 3 genres you really like or something like that, so that the range of options is pretty wide and people can get creative with giving out a $13 Steam Sale AAA game or 25 Indie games worth $13 bucks...

[Arcanum]

If we go with the Secret Steam Santa then I don't think we should allow limitations by genre, only system requirements. That way you can still get joke gifts, like Farming Simulator (although you should still try to keep the joke gifts fun. Farming Simulator has multiplayer and I know a few NPFers grabbed it during the last sale and claim it's fun (they're probably crazy) but something like Football Manager would just be super boring unless you're really into football/soccer). I mean, if you want to tailor a game to someone's tastes, you can just browse their steam profile and see what games they already have and judge it based on that.

As for price point, I'd say $15 or $20 max, with ~$10 being the "suggested" price. It's always good to set an absolute max price so that someone doesn't splurge, leaving everyone else feeling cheated or like they lost the santa lottery.

[Inbred Chocobo]

I am so in for this. I have been fortunate this year in that I have all my Christmas shopping done, but I have a bit of throwaway money still for buying a few more gifts, this would be a great way to do it.

I will most likely spend $20 bucks though on a gift, however setting the hard limit to no more than 20 sounds about right. $10 average gift seems more than fair as well, so lets go with that, $10 average is what is about expected with a $20 hard limit.

[Whomper]

Doing it over Steam? I have a better idea! Why don't we all just give each other an e-hug! It's the gift that everyone loves, right?

So yeah, sarcasm aside, Steam is very limiting (see: I rarely use it). On the flip side, I do like to spend monies on gifts for people. What do?

[Geminex]

Given that you can't coordinate with other people, it'll be kinda hard to agree on a real average. We can just call it a top limit of 15 or 20 Dollars, but say that people should aim for around 10, give or take. Really, you normally just work with a top limit and don't give any more constraints than that, but this works too.

How are we gonna handle currency conversion? Just use exchange rates? It'll be a bit awkward for those of us who aren't using dollars, but since the americans seem to be in the majority, I guess us europeans will have to submit.

[Bells]

My currency conversion is 2 local to 1 US Dollar and i'm still ok with a 10-20 dollars threshold. For my wallet it will actually be a 20-40 spend range, but that's ok cause any gift i get will have the same converted value (if i were to buy it for myself), so it balances out...

[Flarecobra]

How are we gonna handle currency conversion? Just use exchange rates? It'll be a bit awkward for those of us who aren't using dollars, but since the americans seem to be in the majority, I guess us europeans will have to submit.

http://www.xe.com/

Problem solved?

[Geminex]

http://www.xe.com/

Problem solved?


I'm familiar with how exhange rates work. : p

An average of 10 bucks is about 7.70 Euro. Let's call it 8.

The thing is that steam's pricing varies by region, with the EU being more expensive by a good bit. And steam likes its round prices as much as anyone else. So an EU user gifting to an American will be able to buy less, and they'll be constrained by the fact that 8 Euro isn't enough to buy a 10-Euro game, while the same game would've only cost 10 bucks on the US market.

Basically, EU users will be able to gift less, or will have to pay more to gift the same as US users.

I'm not complaining, mind you, this isn't a massive issue, I'm just pointing out that when I asked "should we use exchange rates?", I meant "Hey, the purchasing power parity of various currencies in the steam store isn't proportional to the actualy currency exchange, anyone got an idea how to account for that without too much hassle?".

It did not mean "Durrr, I don't know how to google 'currency exchange', can one of you take care of that for me?"

: p

[Flarecobra]

Others might not know them off hand.

[Solid Snake]

Regardless of whether this picks up and what form it takes, I'd recommend at least allowing those of us who don't want to give our real addresses the opportunity for a Steam edition of the festivities.

...And like, maybe we can set up so you could join one or the other or both.

I'm definitely in the category right now of being very interested so long as we limit ourselves to digital distribution for the gifts. (That could encompass more than Steam, I suppose, if you could gift things over other services like GOG or iTunes.)

I'll also repeat the recommendation of at least knowing who we're giving our gifts to. Randomize it so no one knows who they'll get gifts from, but ensure the giver is in the know as to where the gift s/he purchases will be going. That way if we create a list of everyone's system requirements and a list of the computer games they already own, we can ensure everyone receives a gift they can actually play.

The net effect is still the same: The receivers of gifts will be just as surprised by the gift they get and who they get the gift from. This would just help us avoid spending our monies inappropriately.

[Professor Smarmiarty]

WAIT WAIT WAIT, I'M IN IF I CAN GET GEM. I GOT A SWEET PRESENT FOR HIM.

ALSO I'M IN CHINA AND I CAN'T ACCESS LIKE 90% OF THE WEBSITES I READ. I'M SUCK A DEVIANT.

[Bells]

IM IN CHINA
I'M SUCK A DEVIANT.

Smarty... travelling the world as an international cock connoisseur.

[Geminex]

WAIT WAIT WAIT, I'M IN IF I CAN GET GEM. I GOT A SWEET PRESENT FOR HIM.

ALSO I'M IN CHINA AND I CAN'T ACCESS LIKE 90% OF THE WEBSITES I READ. I'M SUCK A DEVIANT.

Wait, you're in china? Dude, why didn't you say. Yeah, website filtering is a bit of a bitch there.

ALso also is your present something I would enjoy having?

[akaSM]

Yeah, I forgot to mention I'm in FOR Steam stuff, I do't think anyone lives near here >_>

On the flip side, I do like to spend monies on gifts for people. What do?

I'm people

I can receive gifts

*wink* *nudge*

[The Artist Formerly Known as Hawk]

Wait, you're in china? Dude, why didn't you say. Yeah, website filtering is a bit of a bitch there.


They're obviously not doing a good enough job if they can still access us though.

[synkr0nized]

All right, edited the OP. It's just way easier and less hassle to do this as digitally as possible. I have made a list of potential ways for us to gift with just email/Steam login information and no "real life" data.

Then you'd just have to pew pew me you're preferred email and/or Steam info so I can make random pairings. I have no problem with being a go-between if a gift giver wants additional information about their receiver but does not want to reveal who they are ahead of time.

I hadn't posted it, but I had originally been thinking of something like a ten to twenty-five dollar range. If that range is too wide, I'm down with what you all seem to have agreed upon -- about ten bucks US, if I have read the discussion correctly.

It seems reasonable to me that a person who signs up could also list some preferences (e.g. what games they might be interested in on Steam, or for a broader potential the specs of their system and the genres they prefer? And if Steam is not your thing you could mention that you've got a few albums you want to buy or you've always wanted to have Netflix or you've been meaning to get something in the Live! Arcade but haven't had the points for it, etc.) with their email.

edit: Actually thinking of iTunes or similar stores, can you actually purchase an album and gift that rather than just give a gift card? Maybe you think a person would like a band you like, for example, and you want to get him or her some of their music. I prefer to own physical media so I can rip/re-rip at my leisure, so I have never looked into doing something like that.

I'm not perfect and can't create a solution that will make everyone happy**, but hopefully this is decent enough to spark some interest and be a little fun.

** That might sound like a passive-aggressive whine, but I hadn't meant it that way.

[Bells]

sounds great and i'm in

[batgirl]

I'm down for this. I'll be the secret Chanukah fairy.

[Bells]

I'm down for this. I'll be the secret Chanukah fairy.

So instead of one big gift, you will give 8 indie games?

[Professor Smarmiarty]

Wait, you're in china? Dude, why didn't you say. Yeah, website filtering is a bit of a bitch there.

ALso also is your present something I would enjoy having?

Are satires valid historical sources? The consensus is overwhelmingly yes but one of my undergrad essays got marked down for too heavily focus on Juvenal. But if they are you will defineatly love it.

[Bells]

So, should we get this underway with dates and stuff?

[Shyria Dracnoir]

I'd be down with it.

[Ramary]

Don't forget if you are sending your gift though steam, people have wishlists (and valve made people make them after all the "WE MIGHT GIVE YOU GAMES ON YOUR WISHLIST" thing.)

[Geminex]

The problem with wishlists is that we can assume that people will try to buy games on their wishlists. So if there's a special offer on, I dunno, xcom, I'll probably get that. It'd suck for my santa if they bought it to give it to me, then, only for me to buy it as well.

Maybe we should just gift games as we buy them, rather than buying them during the sale and then gifting them at one specific date? I'm not really experienced with secret santas. : p

[Professor Smarmiarty]

Nothing on your wishlist is going to be on Steam special so I wouldn't worry too much.

[Solid Snake]

I'm in.

When it comes to me, you can always follow the Snake Gaming Maxim: As long as it's not an FPS, I'd be happy.

Beyond that, I'd actually prefer that my Santa avoid relying on my Steam gift list. Partially because I'd prefer to be surprised with something out of left field...I enjoy relying on you guys to become exposed to titles and series I've never heard of before and would never consider playing.
But also because I'd rather avoid the whole Flash Deal dilemma, where I'd be stuck waiting until the last minutes of a particular short-term Steam deal to see whether it would be gifted or whether I'd need to purchase it before the price went back up.

[akaSM]

I agree with Snake. Even though I got a wishlist, I think I'd like to see what kind of game would someone think I should know about. Wishlist are a nice backup plan though.

[DarkDrgon]

I'd be interested in this, and everything seems good to me. I know Amazon lets you gift eBooks if thats something people are interested in

[Bells]

We should probably make a list of places where people can safely get these digital goods, also to help with inspiration.

[synkr0nized]

That's certainly a good idea. If it would be helpful, I will gladly add any such suggestions to the OP.

Why don't we do this:
By Friday, December 7, anyone interested in participating should PM me their information, consisting of the following:
- email for use for gifting
- Steam ID, if desired
- list of any information they feel is relevant for a potential gift-giver [game, book, music interests, that kind of thing?]

I'll add usernames to the list in the OP so you'll all have an idea of who's in and about how many we have. Again, if there is an odd number, do not worry. I will take care of any "extra" person when randomly pairing.

Since we are not dealing with shipping, I don't see any reason why we shouldn't assume gifts will be "given" on the 25th. Please let me know if/why this is a bad idea or whatever, though!

I will link to this thread on the Steam community for any NPF folks who lurk/don't read the forum but might still want to pew pew some monies around digitally.

[Bells]

Also, for those in the UK and US who want to give books but don't want to bother with shipping, check Book Depository. Free shipping worldwide, no limits or tricks. It's awesome. And for those that live nearby, it should arrive in time.

IT'S ON !!

[Bells]

Also, might be a good idea to have a Forum Ad Banner for this? Just so more people get to know this is happening...

[rpgdemon]

I'll participate.

[synkr0nized]

Some of you that expressed potential interest / participation have not yet PM'd me. Please do by the end of tomorrow so that we can actually have enough to make this happen.

[Bells]

Get yer stinky arses in here ye stinky butts! it's secret Santa time!

[Geminex]

http://i.imgur.com/J7dPa.png

Solid Santa wants to get this party started.

[Cloud Strife]

So, do we know if there were enough people for the secret Santa thing to happen?

[Bells]

check the updated first post. 12 people in! YAY!

[Solid Snake]

http://i.imgur.com/J7dPa.png

Solid Santa wants to get this party started.

Awesome.

[Bells]

BTW have we settled on dates beyond sign up?

[synkr0nized]

I'll be making random pairings and sending that around some time today, likely when I am not working and at home.

I figure we all know when Christmas is, so ??? At any point between getting the appropriate info and that date feel free to go at it. Unless you all would prefer the gifts were "given" at the same time?

I don't know, to be honest, which is better.

[Geminex]

I'd prefer it just being at some time between the start of the project and the end, rather than a fixed date. It's more fluid, and you can get a nice surprise any time!

[Ramary]

I'd prefer it just being at some time between the start of the project and the end, rather than a fixed date. It's more fluid, and you can get a nice surprise any time!

Agreed.

[Bells]

Indeed! It's a full season of giving =P

[synkr0nized]

That makes sense to me. So you all should have the relevant information now. Have fun!


If anyone needs to prod their giftee for additional information, let me know. I will be happy to be a go-between to keep the Secret Santas' secrets.


edit: And there are 13 folks in total currently who are putting a smile on my face by participating. Thanks to all of you. If you posted in this thread but didn't PM me information by Friday (or today, really, as I just handled the pairings), well, there's always next year!

[synkr0nized]

also

If you've listed your Steam profile as a means for Santas to get information, it would be helpful if you, at least temporarily, made the profile publicly available. Alternatively if that's not appealing to you become friends with me so I can pass on the info all secret-like. This is not an attempt to inflate my ego with friend requests.

[Bells]

i'm also temped to give 50 Shades of Grey as a Digital book just for shits and giggles...

[Bells]

This thread went way more silent than i was expecting actually!

[Ramary]

Because we are discussing together on what we should not get you on the secret "No Bells Allowed" NPF forum.

[Bells]

i Kneeeeeeeeeeeeew it!!

[Steel Shadow]

Thanks for the Game Secret Santa! Christmas is a merry time once again, thanks to your totally-anonymous-if-you-ignore-the-fact-that-Nikose-didn't-even-try-to-hide-who-he-was gift!

Really though, thanks. This was a fun thing! We should keep up the tradition. Hope whoever I sent my gift too enjoyed it as well!

[akaSM]

Ooo ooo ooo, what did you get? :3

[Nikose Tyris]

I tried! I'm just bad at things forever! (Also your wish list made things tons easier for me I'll admit)

[Ramary]

Oh dear god. My secret santa got me crysis.....at the exact same time I got it myself.

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO NOW.

[Steel Shadow]

Ooo ooo ooo, what did you get? :3

I got me a PC copy of Half Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax Ultimate Boy! Pretty much the awesomest little game I've ever played, so I'm happy!

I tried! I'm just bad at things forever! (Also your wish list made things tons easier for me I'll admit)

I know it did, you got like the cheapest thing on there. (I kid, I kid)

Oh dear god. My secret santa got me crysis.....at the exact same time I got it myself.

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO NOW.

Give one of the copies to me. And then everything will be better. Forever.

[akaSM]

I got me a PC copy of Half Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax Ultimate Boy! Pretty much the awesomest little game I've ever played, so I'm happy!

Oh, nice :3

Oh dear god. My secret santa got me crysis.....at the exact same time I got it myself.

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO NOW.

My PC can run it, gimme gimme. OTOH, be Santa for someone who you haven't been Santa yet.

[Ramary]

I am not sure if my secret santa, who actually did remain a mystery, wants to refund it or if I should take it anyway and do something with it. Unless they changed things, I can not refund my own copy of Crysis because Steam has a "everybody gets one" policy with refunds. And I used my one awhile ago. Although they make exceptions for games with bugs and poor optimization, and they may make one for mistaken gifts.


Again, no idea what to do right now.

[synkr0nized]

Is it possible to gift to someone else? Like a friend of yours who you were planning on getting a gift anyway? If not, I believe you can reject the gift, allowing your Santa to I guess pick another NPF member or friend to send it to instead. I don't think the Santa can change it out for a different game, but I haven't attempted to use Steam for gifting.

edit: To clarify, before doing anything I am curious what the options are, so that something agreeable to both you and your Santa works out.

Edit2: Also having concurrent conversations in PMs, so ignore this line of discussion for the thread at this point!

Speaking of, I apparently still have a copy of Half Life 2 to gift, as I already had it when I received The Orange Box as a gift. I'm happy to forward that to any poor soul who does not already have it somehow. claimed

[Bells]

to be totally honest, i would love to have that HL2 is nobody else wants it, i wanted to play some HL mods like Zombie Panic and Age of Chivalry that require either Garry's Mod, HL2 or CS to run, so that would be helpful.

[synkr0nized]

Cool, done.

Also, if you are a participant and still have not gotten your gift, please at least note in this thread if you are thinking of buying something if you cannot wait until after the holiday in case your Santa might also be looking at that title as an option. *shrug* I am not sure how else to help prevent that kind of situation, heh.

[Seil]

I'm in the midst of doing it, though my computer has died. I'll get access to a computer with Steam in the next few days, though.

[batgirl]

I guess we'll be using this thread to reveal ourselves once it's over?

[Bells]

WOOOO!!!! Hotline Miami!! Thanks tons Ramary!!

Also Synk, I gotz a legitimate copy of Half Life 2 at least! Holy ballz!

[akaSM]

I just got Secret Santa'd, and it couldn't be a better game for this time!

I'll get to be a post apocalyptic hobo! Even better, hobo training before the apocalypse that may or may not happen soon...ish!

Also, thanks to the wait, and the sale, I got another game!

I'll finally get into those linebattle things Harpuia talks about :3

Also, there's someone who wanted to be naughty by being extra nice this year, you got a gift ^^

[Geminex]

Yay, a certain comically behatted fellow got me Deus Ex HR!

Exactly what I wanted!

Though I didn't ask for it.

[Revising Ocelot]

A certain pink fellow has decided to dishonour me. With Dishonored. Or something. British spelling and all that. Anyway, many thanks! When I unleash a plague of rats to devour some poor guy, I'll be thinking of you.

Although I think somehow adding me on Steam despite being offline for... 29 days... was even less subtle than when I messaged my victim on an alt account and still gave myself away.

[batgirl]

Woohoo! Arkham City AND Torchlight 2! Thank you, oh secretest of Santas!

[rpgdemon]

I don't think I thanked not!Shyria yet for Terraria, so, thanks not!Shyria!

[Arcanum]

Bells got me the XCOM DLC, the Sleeping Dogs Halloween DLC, and the IndieGala bundle (I got this stuff forever ago but never posted about it in the thread, figured I should share :)). He is also the worst at secrets because he didn't even try to hide his name :P

[Nikose Tyris]

SO I kind of splurged and grabbed Portal+Portal 2 even though I knew that my computer couldn't run them so I could give em way, is there anyone who HASN'T got these yet? XD

edit: CLAIMED!

[Flarecobra]

I might've given POS a little something.

[Seil]

A certain pink fellow has decided to dishonour me. With Dishonored. Or something. British spelling and all that. Anyway, many thanks! When I unleash a plague of rats to devour some poor guy, I'll be thinking of you.

shut up dude you're blowing my cover

>>

[Bells]

Bells got me the XCOM DLC, the Sleeping Dogs Halloween DLC, and the IndieGala bundle (I got this stuff forever ago but never posted about it in the thread, figured I should share :)). He is also the worst at secrets because he didn't even try to hide his name :P

The devil's great deception was the trick the world into believing he never existed.

This phrase has nothing to do with the secret santa, i just think it's kinda cool and makes me look clever than i actually am, so... yeah.

[Revising Ocelot]

shut up dude you're blowing my cover

>>

No you shut up, I could have totally been referring to Solid Snake

[Bells]

Oh! Hey.. guess what...

I actually JUST learned today that American Secret Santa is different than the one we have here. It seems, from what the interwebz tells me that secret santa in the US you are not suppose to know who gifted you (at least not right away) while over here the entire point is for everyone else to try and guess who you are suppose to gift as you give them clues.

I did not know that!

I'VE ACQUIRED THE GIFT OF CULTURE!!!!

[Revising Ocelot]

I sold culture to a guy in a large coat What are ya buyin'? so I could buy some dubstep tracks and Michael Bay Transformers movies.

Actually, it was because I saw my victim had committed the heinous crime of not owning Bastion, which I simply had to rectify. Speaking of said victim, stop not checking your Steam, or I'll gift you my spare copy of Amnesia as well and THEN you'll be sorry. Oh yes, you will.

[batgirl]

Since he never posted about it, and it's well after Christmas, I had Cloud and I got him Nights: Into Dreams.

[Cloud Strife]

Thanks! Just got my computer back, and Steam didn't exactly like my iPhone for some reason.

... Though, I admit, I have no idea how to receive a gift. <_<

[synkr0nized]

... Though, I admit, I have no idea how to receive a gift. <_<

One easy way is to open Steam's main window (go to your profile, your community pages, the store, etc., anything like that but not the Friends list). The envelope icon next to your name and the min/max/close icons on the upper-right includes a selection for your gifts. You should be able to accept any gifts from there.