The Great Pumpkin is Coming! Get in on the Action!

Calling all Geeks, Goodwill or otherwise!

Great Pumpkin Cthulu by M.S. Corley 

So AEIOU and Sometimes Why is hosting a Great Pumpkin gift exchange! If you love Halloween, and you love surprises... and you love... all the excited little Geeks on the internets... join in!

Hit the jump for the details pasted over from Dex's site:

Any questions or if you need to contact Dex (like to send package tracking info) 

email aeiouwhy13 (at) gmail.com

What is it?
You're familiar with Secret Santa? Well, this is an online Halloween version. People that sign up will act on behalf of the Great Pumpkin and send a gift to another randomly assigned participant, henceforth called "patchers" because they are waiting in the pumpkin patch for you, their Great Pumpkin!

How It Works
You sign up and get randomly assigned a patcher. You'll be sent their info and have until 10/20 to send them a gift. Another person will get your info and send you a gift. Everyone gets their gifts and much Halloween happiness ensues.

Important Dates
Sign up deadline will be 11:59pm EST on 10/6. Patcher info will be sent after the cut off.
Shipping deadline will be 10/20 to ensure patchers will have time to enjoy the gift in season.

Your Gift
The minimum cost will be $10 USD, not including shipping. There is no maximum but don't expect a life-size Headless Horseman to show up at your door. You don't have to spend the entire amount on a single item. Bargain/dollar stores can have some cool stuff and give you more bang for your buck.

Wish List
There is a section on the sign up form to list things you'd like to receive. Try to list at least four or five things to give your Great Pumpkin something to work with. You could list favorite imagery (witches, pumpkins , etc), favorite monsters or even favorite candy (please don't send $10 worth of candy!) Some Great Pumpkins may be artsy people, it may be helpful to mention if you wouldn't mind getting a handmade gift in case they want to send something unique. Feel free to also list some things you would not like to get.

A Touch of Magic
In addition to your gift, I am asking that you also include a little "touch of magic." What this is, is up to each Great Pumpkin, but could be anything from a signed note letting your patcher know who you are to little toys to a small Trick or Treat bag with treats. Doesn't have to be anything big, get creative!

Shipping
Again, gifts must be sent by 10/20. You are responsible for keeping track of the dates.
It is your responsibility to ensure your patcher gets your gift in time for Halloween.

Dex is requiring all Great Pumpkins to get tracking and/or insurance and submit that information to him. This is so he can verify that you shipped it and will know when it has arrived. The only exceptions are A: if you're shipping internationally and you're unable to find a way to track your package, or B: you're using a third-party seller to ship directly to your patcher (ex: Amazon) and there is no shipping option that will allow tracking. If either of these are the case, please let Dex know ASAP.

You can can ship via a third party (ex: Amazon) if you want. If you do this, order confirmation information may be supplied in addition to tracking information. International shippers, if you can provide customs info that would be helpful as well.

Remember the shipping deadline of 10/20! If a patcher does not get their gift, you are responsible for replacing it (unless there is some Life Crisis going on). Dex can't really enforce any financial penalty for not doing so, but we'd all hope that anyone signing up would be cool enough to do this to keep the spirit alive. Failure to do so will result in you being banned from winning any future contests on AEIOUwhy (and probably most of the League of Extraordinary Bloggers, as well as the Dork Horde. Not guaranteeing anything... but just sayin' --Goodwill Geek) or taking part in any future Gift Exchanges.

Be sure to enter an address where your package can be delivered.

Shipping Options
On the sign up form there are 3 options for how you'd like to handle shipping to international patchers.
* Local Only - You will only ship to the country you're living in
* Local Preferred - You'd prefer to ship to your resident country but will ship internationally if needed
* International - You have no problems shipping internationally

Promotion
Please share the link to this page anywhere you want: blogs, Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, laser engrave the moon. The more people we have, the better it will be for everyone!

Post-Gift
After you get your goodie box, please contact Dex(aeiouwhy13 at gmail.com) to let him know so he can check you off. Once patchers start getting their gifts, he'll start a blog post. If you have a blog and want to blog about what you got, he'll put a link to it in his post. Or if you just want to take a photo of your gift, he'll post that for you.

Keep in mind, this is supposed to be fun for all involved, Great Pumpkins and patchers alike!

Note that your info will only be used for this event and only sent to your Great Pumpkin, and if requested, your patcher. AEIOU and Sometimes Why, and its owner (Dex), assume no responsibility or liability for packages not received, and is only there to facilitate the matchmaking.

So... this seems sort of awesome. If you want to participate, follow the link at the top and sign up! I did! 

I'll be back with more Goodwill goodies soon enough. Until then, Happy Hunting!