Secret Santa FAQ

WHAT AM I SIGNING UP FOR??

Secret Santa is a gift exchange where each participant is assigned a “recipient” and a “Secret Santa.” You’ll anonymously send a gift to your recipient, while your Secret Santa will send one to you! Once the gift arrives, all Secret Santas can reveal their identity so that thank-yous and merriment can be shared openly.  The assignments are made randomly (within a country or continent) and then the gifts begin. Here’s an example with 5 people:

If Alice, Bob , Charlie, and Danielle all enter Secret Santa, they might be paired in the following way:

Charlie (gives to) —> Bob (gives to) —> Alice (gives to) —> Danielle (gives to) —> Charlie.

This way everyone gets and receives exactly one gift!! The big difference for Lawrence Secret Santa is that our exchange has HUNDREDS of Lawrence fans from around the world. All coming together through the mail to connect and spread some good vibes! 

HOW MUCH MONEY SHOULD I SPEND ON THIS???

We stay away from making any real recommendations here, but feel free to be as simple or as elaborate as you like with your gifts.

We realize that sometimes financial limitations get in the way of sending gifts and the holiday times can get very expensive. Again, please don’t feel pressured to spend much money on this. In past years we have always found that the best gifts are thoughtful, not expensive, so if you can hand-make something or send something as small as a postcard, that goes a long way!!

UGH I HATE SHOPPING WHAT SHOULD I GET SOMEONE THAT I DON’T EVEN KNOW??

Well Lawrence fans, may we humbly suggest some Lawrence merch or a personal shout-out from a Lawrence band member……

I SIGNED UP BUT NOW I CAN’T PARTICIPATE, WHAT SHOULD I DO????

If you need to back out, you will need to do that before the sign-up deadline: December 1, 2024. Once the assignments are made, pulling people out of the exchange can be very difficult. For example if someone has already sent a gift TO YOU, then removing you from the exchange means your recipient will not receive a gift unless we ask your Secret Santa to send a second gift. PLEASE PLEASE send something if you sign up. Again even the smallest gifts go a long way to spreading the holiday cheer among the Lawrence universe. Of course if you NEED to back out please email us at info@lawrencetheband.com and so we can plan accordingly.

WHAT IF I NEED TO REACH OUT TO MY RECIPIENT OR MY SECRET SANTA ABOUT A GIFT??

Once we set the pairings, you’ll be given your recipient’s information, including email address, in order to make arrangements to get a gift. Information about your Secret Santa will only be made available AFTER New Year’s Day, to reach out about potential missing gifts. We wouldn’t want to ruin the secret early!!

WHAT HAPPENS IF I DON’T GET ANYTHING??

Sadly, each year we find that some number of participants don’t receive anything from their Santas. Sometimes things get lost in the holiday mail, sometimes a Santa simply forgets, sometimes they get sent to a wrong address, and in some cases the Santa just disappears all together. We are really bummed when this happens because we know that many of you put time, effort, thought and money into sending great gifts.

If by the end of the first week of January you still haven’t received anything, we’ll ask you to fill out a quick (like just your name and email quick) form to let us know you didn’t receive anything. We’ll then reach out to your Secret Santa to ask them to get it together! If by the END of January they STILL haven’t sent anything, we’ll be in touch with the next steps.