One website that is devoted to the series and the fans is Once Upon a Fan.\u00a0 The UK-based site has enjoyed tremendous growth since it started in November, 2011.\u00a0 The members of the site share theories, fan art, and articles with each other.\u00a0 As an extension of their enthusiasm for the show, they decided to host a gift exchange on Elfster.\u00a0 The group is calling their exchange Sofie, which stands for S<\/u>ecret Santa O<\/u>nce Upon a Time F<\/u>ans I<\/u>nternational E<\/u>xchange.\u00a0 So far, they have over 90 members signed up from 16 different countries.<\/p>\n
The rules for the fans to exchange gifts are simple: spend around $20 and choose an item which celebrates some aspect of\u00a0 the show.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0 She hosted an exchange last year for fans of the show House<\/em>, and was lucky enough to have one of the screenwriters from the show participate in the exchange!\u00a0 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.\u00a0 So, she relied on the magic of Elfster to get her fairytale kingdom off the ground.<\/p>\n According to Marie, \u201cThe 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!\u201d.<\/p>\n 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 \u201cThe 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.\u201d\u00a0 Another important feature that Marie is using is the privacy settings for the group.\u00a0 This ensures that only your mailing information is able to be seen by the person sending you a gift, and not the whole group.<\/p>\n As the Once Upon a Time<\/em> 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.\u00a0 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?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/farm5.staticflickr.com\/4034\/4278591526_0554d9bc72_m.jpg\")
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