It's time for a YANKEE SWAP!

~ The Holidays may be over, but the fun isn't ~

Let’s kick off the New Year with a January get-together.  Mixing and mingling, friends, fun, and food, and a good old-fashioned Yankee Swap are on the schedule (and what would a GeoKat / Fryler Event be without a few surprises thrown in along the way?!?) 

What’s a Yankee Swap? Maybe you know it by one of these names . . . Naughty Santa, Thieving Santa, Parcel Pass, Christmas Swamp Thing, Greedfest, Pollyanna, White Elephant Gift Exchange, or Kamikaze Gift Exchange.  Regardless of what you call it, it’s fun and laughter as folks open gifts and then try to either “steal” what somebody else has or “protect” theirs from being “stolen” (see explanation of game play below).

If you want to attend the Event, but don't want to participate in the Yankee Swap, that's OK ... you're welcome to sit back and watch the fun.

If you DO plan to participate in the Yankee Swap, you'll need to bring a gift with you (keeping these guidelines in mind, please):

Gift should be new with a value of $15 The more hilarious or “folks want to fight over it” the better! Please be sure it's suitable for either gender NO Gift Cards or Lottery Tickets   Gift can be "thoughtful" or a "gag gift"   Gifts must be wrapped but not have a “To” or “From” tag on it. Wrapping should make it “difficult” to guess what’s inside the package. The objective of the swap is to see folks steal away or try to protect the gift that their little heart desires.  Please be sure the gift you bring is in good taste and that it's something you wouldn't mind bringing home yourself.  If you need help deciding on a gift, the Internet is a great place to research “Yankee Swap gifts” or “gag gifts”.  The hard part won’t be finding sites for assistance … it’ll be deciding on what to choose from!

Sooo ... before you pack away that holiday sweater …
before the reindeer antlers and Santa hat hibernate for another year …
wear ‘em one more time!  ~  Mark your calendar for some FUN with FRIENDS!

ALL THE COOL KIDS WILL BE THERE!! 

If you'd like to help out with a donation of snacks (chips, cookies, baked goods), paper goods (cups, napkins, plates), or drinks (water, coffee, cream) . . . please let us know in your "Will Attend" Log (it sure would help A LOT and be greatly appreciated!) ~ Thanks!!  

Please post how many will attend in your "Will Attend" log.

POST-PUBLICATION NOTE:
As AnubisRW & SkyTurtle have posted in their note, PLEASE BE SURE THAT ANY CHILD(REN) ATTENDING WITH YOU know the nature of the "Yankee Swap" (I certainly don't want to see any child upset over the nature of the game, i.e. having a gift they want be *stolen* from them).  I am suggesting a minimum age requirement of 12 years old to participate in the Yankee Swap.

If you'd like to ensure that a child (or children) that attends with you, and who doesn't play the game, gets to go home with a gift anyway, you are welcome to bring one for them.  As adults, we get pretty adept at being able to surprise a child ... just be sure they don't know you brought it for them, and I will have a "child's raffle" set up so that they will receive the gift you brought that was intended for them to receive (I was wondering how I'd get to use *a specific raffle method I had in mind* and now I know ... it will be the child's Yankee Swap Raffle!!) 

POST-PUBLICATION NOTE # 2: 
Just a note to be sure everybody is aware: When we ask for a count of how many are attending it's so we'll be sure to set up enough tables & chairs ... have enough food ... and be sure the table that will hold the gifts is large enough (plus whatever else we may have up our sleeve!)

EVERY guest attending that wants to participate in the Yankee Swap MUST bring a gift with them in order to participate. We won't have any *extra* gifts on hand, so if you don't bring one with you or forget yours at home, you can still watch the fun but you won't be able to participate. DON'T FORGET TO BRING YOUR GIFT WITH YOU!!