Epiphany Handmade Gift Exchange

Epiphany, the 12th day after Christmas, January 6th, celebrates the visit of the three kings or wise men to the Christ Child, signifying the extension of salvation to the Gentiles, in Christian religions. But all of us can celebrate this day as a way to make up for those gifts that just didn't get there in time.

This swap will not be religious in nature, but will give us all a little present under the very bare-looking tree, after all the wrapping paper has been thrown, candles blown out and the cookies have been eaten. It will also give crafters a little more time to make one special gift that you may not have had time for in the holiday rush. Many of us may not get a lot for the holidays, as we're so worried about making a good holiday for our children and family, so a little boost after the hubbub is over is always nice.

For this swap, you will have one partner, whom you will send 1 item handmade by you, one store-bought gift and one item of your choice (either handmade by you, store-bought or handmade by someone else). Three items to give a nod to the three kings! Before shipping, your package should value $5-$10 US. Please take the time to review your partner's profile for their like and dislikes, allergies, etc. You should wrap your gift and attach a tag that says "For Epiphany" on it. You get to open your gift on January 6th, 2009. NO PEEKING! :p

Ideas for this swap include:

• Handmade: holiday dotees, winter amigurumi, seasonal ATCs, knitted or crocheted dishcloths, ornaments

• Store bought: lipbalm, toiletry sets, craft supplies for your partner's craft, gift cards, Etsy Favorites, candy/treats, notecards, postcards, patterns

The Low-Down: This is a US/Canada swap, due to the mailing time-frame. Feel free to duplicate this swap for international or other regions. This swap is open to seasoned swappers only, sorry Newbies; you must have at least 10 high dollar swaps under your belt (email and postcard swaps do NOT count toward this total). You MUST have a rating of 4.9 or better; if you have an imperfect rating, it should be very clear as to why, or please PM me. Flakage is unacceptable. I will ban anyone who has not been a super awesome rockin swapper.

Send date is by January 1st, which means you should send BEFORE this date. This should be plenty of time to send to someone in the US or Canada.

Please send gifts you would be happy to receive! Rating your partner is a MUST.