Project: 2004 Christmas Ornament Exchange
Designer: Unknown to me
Ornament stitched by Mary Georges
Type of needlework: Needlepoint
Photo: 1
Yahoo group: Needlepoint_etc
Comments: Many years ago, we used to do exchanges at Christmas on this group, but they were stopped as there were too many difficulties with such exchanges with so many members in the group.
The honor system involved in such exchanges has always been a bit of a challenge no matter who the group is and worst when big groups are involved.
I have handled some exchanges in much smaller groups and they were a lot of work, a lot of hard work in order to make sure that everyone gets a fair deal.
The fairest one (and I say these words loosely here) is when everyone participating in the exchange sends their finished projects to the person in charge of the exchange, which in turn distributes them all to the participants. If someone sends one, then they get one.
In the honor system, it often happens unfortunately that some participants (as there are always more than one) do not send any but do get one just the same and they just keep it just the same instead of telling the person in charge that they can't participate anymore and if they do receive one then contacting the person in charge of the exchange and asking for the name of the person they should send it to, as some participants will be without an ornament if they unfairly keep it.
In the end this behavior spoils the fun for everybody else, mostly for the person who was expecting to receive an ornament, for the person in charge of the exchange and also for the group in general as someone has to eventually take the hard decision of putting an end to such exchanges.
The "send one, get one" exchange does however considerably increase the amount of work for the person in charge of the exchange as she needs to repack all the ornaments received, address them with the names of their new owners, bring them to the post office, etc. It is also more expensive for each participant as they have to pay twice, first to send their own ornaments and then again to get another one back. Some do not mind the extra charge but others find it a bit difficult financially.
This lovely ornament that I have received in the 2004 ornament exchange was stitched by Mary Georges. I just love that design and this little cutie has been decorating my Christmas trees ever since. If you would like to see more about the other ornaments that have been exchanged in 2004, please click the link above next to "Project".
Tomorrow, I will show you an Easter ornament that I have received which is very pretty.
