Everyone knows that our elves rely on magic to get things done. We know that magic can come in many different forms, and that there are different ways to celebrate what you believe in. Of course, we are attracted to stories that contain elements of fantasy and fairytale, much like the story of elves. Imagine how excited we were to discover a group of fans of the TV show Once Upon a Time using Elfster to host a worldwide gift exchange.
Once Upon a Time is a television show that began in 2011. It centers on the town of Storybrooke, Maine, USA and a woman who is reunited with the son she had given up more than 10 years earlier. After meeting him, he reveals his theory that the entire town is full of fairytale characters under a curse, and that she is actually the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. From that point forward, there is a battle between good and evil. The show became an instant success, and is now shown in dozens of countries all over the world — for example, it has become the most watched TV drama in Latin America.
One website that is devoted to the series and the fans is Once Upon a Fan. The UK-based site has enjoyed tremendous growth since it started in November, 2011. The members of the site share theories, fan art, and articles with each other. As an extension of their enthusiasm for the show, they decided to host a gift exchange on Elfster. The group is calling their exchange Sofie, which stands for Secret Santa Once Upon a Time Fans International Exchange. So far, they have over 90 members signed up from 16 different countries.
The rules for the fans to exchange gifts are simple: spend around $20 and choose an item which celebrates some aspect of the show. The real challenge in selecting a gift may depend on the country where their draw is located, due to the shipping costs that could be involved.
Marie Abello is the organizer for the group, and she is very excited to be able to take advantage of Elfster for this gift exchange. She hosted an exchange last year for fans of the show House, and was lucky enough to have one of the screenwriters from the show participate in the exchange! When she was thinking of organizing a gift swap for the Once Upon a Time group, she knew that she would need some help in order to get another exchange going. So, she relied on the magic of Elfster to get her fairytale kingdom off the ground.
According to Marie, “The system of points and levels makes you want to participate more in the group. Some of the members are already creating wishlists and trying to earn as many points as they can. And these points will surely be useful when we hold our second Annual Sofie exchange next year!”.
For a group such as this one, where the participants do not know each other in real life, using Elfster can be the key to a fun and successful gift exchange. For Marie “The questions and answers feature is the most important of them all, because it is the perfect way for everyone to anonymously get to know the person they drew, and to accurately buy a gift for them. Also, I love the wall timeline that you have in the main page of the group, because we can all write messages to all the members and tell each other how our gift search is going.” Another important feature that Marie is using is the privacy settings for the group. This ensures that only your mailing information is able to be seen by the person sending you a gift, and not the whole group.
As the Once Upon a Time fans get busy getting to know each other, find the perfect gift and mail their packages all over the world, we are hoping each member is surprised by a little magical gift. In the meantime, the elves here at Elfster will keep working to ensure that good triumphs over evil, and be grateful that there is not an evil queen around here…or is there?
