Hello everyone and once again welcome to another year of Taxidermy Secret Santa!
This year, the group has had the rules tidied up, as well as the journal template being slightly updated, both of which you can read here - Groups Rules, Information, and FAQ [Current], Journal Template [Current].
You may also notice we've gotten a bit of a delayed start this year, but not to worry.
Journal wishlist submission to the group will be open from the 17th of November, 2023, to the 31st of December, 2023. Gift sending can be done at any time, but due to the timing of the group's open this year, it is expected to extend in to January 2024.
Journal submissions to the group have been set to needing 1 vote of approval, to make sure they follow the rules set out by the group. *Update 11/18/23* Submissions to the journal folder have now been set to automatic approval due to ever-present issues on dA's end.
Otherwise, I hope to see some familiar faces, and perhaps even some new ones. Happy Taxidermy Secret Santa, everyone!
Please note that anything in italics should be deleted when you copy+paste this template and fill it out. Those are merely guidelines / examples The [YEAR] portion in the title should be changed to the current year TSS is active.

Taxidermy Secret Santa [YEAR]

Rules
  1. Post up a journal with 10 things you'd like for Christmas. We suggest at least 5 of these be taxidermy related
  2. Make sure to try and send other people gifts, even just sending card is nice!
  3. Asking for non-taxidermy items is fine, but if you don't want any this might be the wrong secret santa for you.

Wishlist

List 10 items you'd like to get, list can be as detailed or blunt as you like.
The following example is for one John Doe.
1.Mutation foxes! Anything from scraps to a full hide would be much appreciated.
2.Imitation feathers. Since I’m in the US, the MBTA is in full effect, but painted turkey feathers make for a great substitute for things I can’t have.
3.As of late I’ve been on a skull kick, and I’d love to get some skulls from smaller creatures.
4.I’ve also been a vertebrae kick, so any spare spine bits you might have lying around would be fantastic.
5.My all-time grail item would be a piece from[a specific taxidermist / fur seller].
  1. Cards! Enough said.
7.We’re all artists here, so art! Doesn’t matter if it’s a print from someone well-known, or some stickers you made.
8.My keychain collection can only grow from here. Do I have enough keys for these keychains? Nope, but I do have plenty of wall space.
9.Candy, but regional. Because there’s always more than just the big-box name-brand things out there.
10.I’ve always liked turtles, so anything related to them is a welcome addition to my collection.
Bonus. In years past, there have been a number of people that have included an 11th item on their list, so the bonus spot is now official!

Region and Contact

List your region, and the best way to contact you for your address.
For example, someone could say they’re from New York and the best way to contact them is through notes on dA or through Discord at JohnDoe1234.

Restrictions

This section is for items that you cannot be sent, or do not want to be sent.
In continuing the example from above, this person states they cannot receive any wolf parts due to being in New York, cannot receive most feathers because of the MBTA, do not want any wet specimens due to not liking them, and are allergic to chocolate, so do not send them any food items with that ingredient.

Tagged

Tag anyone you think might be interested in participating here. Please note that by tagging someone, you are not guaranteeing they will participate.

Rules

  1. You must be 18+ or have your parent’s permission to join Taxidermy Secret Santa.
  2. Know your laws. Failure to educate yourself on your area’s laws can get yourself, as well as your gift sender(s), in extreme trouble. As laws can change yearly, the group strongly recommends reading up on them before putting up your journal / sending out gifts. The group will not be held responsible for your failure to follow laws. It is greatly encouraged for you to list on your journal what you cannot legally receive, or otherwise state your area has no restrictions in place.
  3. You must follow the journal template provided. Small changes are permitted, but the template is there to keep things organized.
  4. Journal submission to the group are open from the 20th of October to the 30th of November each year, unless otherwise stated in the official Start journal.
  5. For journals, you need to list the area you are in, so people may make informed decisions on what they may be able to send you. As of 2023, for safety purposes, addresses are no longer permitted to be listed on journals, and must be sent via note, chat, Discord, etc if someone requests it.
  6. You may inform people that you have sent something by commenting on their journal, however, please only do so after you have sent the letter / package. If you have sent anything with a tracking number, please send a link to the tracking number (and company used) via note (or their preferred contact method) to the recipient.
  7. Asking for money in any form, which includes, but is not limited to, physical currency, gift cards, checks, PayPal or other such digital cash sending services, is not permitted.
  8. Pressuring, forcing, begging, guilt tripping, or otherwise manipulating users in to sending you items is not permitted.
  9. While this is a taxidermy-based secret santa, the group does understand that people may live in areas where laws have changed and the sending / sale / receiving of animal parts is difficult or outright banned. You may still participate by sending / receiving taxidermy / animal related things, such as art or books.However, this is not a secret santa group for those who are anti-taxidermy, and we ask that you participate in other secret santa groups.
  10. Digitally-created pieces are allowed to be sent, however, any items found to be generated using AI will result in a ban from the group. If you have received something that you expect to be the result of AI, please send a note to the group.

General Information

There are no restrictions as to when you may open things you receive.
While not required, putting your deviantART username somewhere on what you’ve sent is encouraged, so people know who sent them things and who to thank.
We encourage you to post a picture of what you’ve received, along with a thank-you to the sender.
You are welcome to send gifts after the holidays have passed, as delays do happen, or even throughout the year, but as rule 4 states, journal wishlists will only be accepted from the 20th of October to the 30th of November.

FAQ

Q: Why do I have to be 18+ or have my parent’s permission to participate in the group?
A: This is a world-wide group, and various countries have varying laws at which age a person becomes responsible for themselves. And as the gift giving portion of this group can involve people’s real names and addresses, the group cannot hold any responsibility for a minor participating, hence needing parent’s permission.
Q:I don’t know my laws, and don’t know where to start. I don’t think I’ll get caught if I’m sent something illegal or I send something illegal.
A: Start with Google. Search up local laws and federal laws relating to wildlife and wildlife parts. For international laws, CITES is a good place to start. You can also look up your local equivalent of fish and game services to ask the people who work there.
As for not getting caught, people can and do get caught all the time, and it comes with extremely hefty fines and, depending on the severity, can result in jail time.
Q: Why do I need to follow the template?
A: As stated in Rule 3, it is for the sake of organization, and so that people may know exactly what they’re looking for on each journal.
Further questions and answers will be added as they come up.
Welcome one and all for 2022 TSS! Lets get this started everyone and please reach out to anyone you might think would enjoy this too.
No changes to the rules just like last year! All of last years journals have been removed so the folders nice and fresh for this year's.
If you don't want to have your address on display please send it either to me or friends or you can list to be messaged about it. Also feel free to tag anyone in your journal you think would like to join!
GENERAL RULES AND GUIDELINES IDEAS AND GUIDES Please submit journals to the folder SS Journals IF YOU ARE UNSURE OF ANYTHING NOW IS THE TIME TO ASK! Comment on the journal or send questions to me ( AstaraBriarart ) I'd be happy to help. <3
Hey everyone,
Trying to be early on the jump this year and just want to let everyone in the group know we will be having the event again this year and i plan to get the journal template up by late October to give everyone enough time to save up to send things and or just more time to get things ready.
Please let me know if you plan to participate and please let others know se we can keep this awesome event going!
Stay amazing yall,
Anastasia/Astarabriarart

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