We'll gather from 12:00 – 1:30 pm at the posted coordinates for food, fellowship, and fun. As always, note that food and beverages are available, but not provided by your host. It is also an (optional) Gift Exchange! You do not have to participate in the gift exchange to log the event as a find, but if you do wish to participate in the gift exchange please continue reading.
Bison Tube Gift Exchange Guidelines:
1) Prior to coming to the event, I would like you to hide a gift (never-to-be published Christmas Cache) to be exchanged with another geocacher somewhere within 10 miles of downtown Altoona. The gift can be whatever you like... gift card, unactivated geocoins, TB dog tags, swag items, cache containers, etc. Please use your own judgement in selecting your gift items and make sure that they are approximately $25 dollars in value (container included). It's important that people receive gifts worth what they gave, so don't be a grinch! You may place your gift items in an inexpensive cache container (i.e., tupperware, Christmas tin, etc.) and hide it to be found later that day. You may fill the container with Christmas cookies or candy to take up any leftover space in the container, but make sure your gift container is weather resistant and critter-proof. Don't forget to mark a waypoint for your hidden gift for step 2.
2) Bring a regular (preferably black) bison tube (https://shop.geocaching.com/default/geocaching-supplies/cache-containers/micro/bison-capsule-black.html) to the event if you are participating in the exchange. Inside the Bison tube, place a slip of paper with the coordinates of the Christmas Cache you hid for another cacher to find. In addition, it would be a good idea to write your geocaching name and cell phone number on the paper in case the Christmas seeker needs a phone-a-friend to help them find their Christmas Cache.
3) At the event, the bison tubes will be placed in a bowl and mixed up. Everyone who places a bison tube in the bowl will then be able to randomly choose another bison tube from the bowl. For those families with multiple cachers, you may bring more than one bison tube, but there needs to be one Christmas Cache hidden for each bison tube placed in the bowl or someone will be disappointed.
4) After the event, go find your Christmas Cache! Remember... the entire cache is yours to keep, including the container; so make sure you take everything with you after the hunt. These containers are not to be left behind or published as a regular cache.
5) Please wait to log your event attendance until you find your gift! Use your log as an opportunity to thank the cacher that provided it. You may share what your Christmas Cache contained if you like, and feel free to post pictures of the Christmas Cache, too. You can even post a picture of the hiding spot, since this is not a regular cache hide. I'll leave the event page up for a while to make sure everyone can easily log and see others' logs. People are interested, so say more than "TFTE. Found my cache." Again, don't be a grinch.
Additional Thoughts...
You can be as creative as you want in hiding your Christmas Cache. You can make it a traditional type cache, or you can make it a puzzle-cache or multi-cache to make the hunt more fun. Use your imagination!
Message me if you have any questions concerning the rules.
Thanks to LeadSinger for introducing the idea several years ago and to Carsten (carels) for relaying me the idea also now several years ago. With permission, I've borrowed extensively from LeadSinger’s excellent event description (GC673E0).