Join the Handmade Christmas Ornament Swap!

I'm so excited to be sharing this with you today! I've been planning it for a little while and it's been quite hard not sharing it with you earlier. I am hosting my very first blog swap this year and I hope you'll join in and we'll all have lots of fun together!
I know in lots of ways it's too early to mention Christmas, but when it comes to making things by hand I don't think October is too early at all.

The Christmas Ornament Swap is something I have devised as a way to have fun making a couple of ornaments and sharing your craft with other like-minded souls, without it being a big commitment or ending up taking up too much time. I wanted to provide a way for fellow crafters to have fun, get creating and maybe even make a new friend! The swap is supposed to be fun, relaxed and something that isn't too big to commit to, for time reasons as most of us are already a little bit busy coming up to the end of the year.

Anyway, let's get into the details of the swap, shall we?


Who can join in?
This swap is for Australian and New Zealand knitters and crocheters to join. I thought very hard about making it global but then that adds a whole lot more to worry about, like time constraints and postage costs. Also, there seem to be quite a few things to participate in happening in the Northern Hemisphere already, so I wanted to make a swap that was more locally focused.

When can you join?
Sign-ups for the swap are open from today until the 14th of October! (Update: I may have to close sign-ups sooner due to a number of responses in such a short amount of time, so if you want to join make sure that you do!) You can sign up here. I'll email you within 24 hours after you've signed up to confirm your registration and give you your swap badge. (You can share the badge on the side of your blog or post it on social media if you like).

You'll be allocated your partners on the 16th of October, and you'll also be emailed a handy 4-page guide with tips, the timeline and other things to make this swap as fun as possible (like a participant-only discount for my shop!).

Timeline:
Sign-ups from 1st to 14th October
Partners allocated on 16th October
Posting of swap parcels should commence 15th November
20th November is the last day to post swap parcels

What do you make?
You are welcome to make a small garland that goes on the tree / hangs up elsewhere or single hanging ornaments, but please don’t make large items such as toys or shelf ornaments as this swap is supposed to be for small decorations that can be hung from the tree or in other places around the house.

Making your ornament 
Most ornaments can be made using oddments of yarn from your stash, however, swap participants will be given a special coupon code to use in my shop if would like to purchase some yarn specifically for your ornament. You can, of course, use the code to treat yourself during the swap period too, your purchase doesn't need to be swap related!

It absolutely doesn't matter what your skill level is. If you're an absolute beginner at knitting or crochet, do please join in any way! I've put together a Pinterest board full of patterns and ideas to help you along if you're stuck for an idea!

When you sign up you’ll be asked a few little details such as whether you like contemporary Christmas themes or traditional, etc. These will be given to your partner so that they know what to make you.

Keep it Secret
I've decided to make this swap a Secret Santa swap. I thought this would make it more fun and also give you the opportunity to share the ornament/s you're making throughout the swap process on your blog or social media without feeling like you're spoiling anything. Of course, it would be super lovely if you include a letter about yourself and maybe your contact details (like your email address) in with your swap parcel so that you and your partner can get in touch with each other after the swap. Or you can stay completely secret, it's up to you!

Spread the word
This is the first year for the swap and I do hope it won't be the last! The more that join in the merrier and the more fun we'll all have. Do spread the word by inviting your friends to the swap, sharing the link to this post on your blog or social media!

So, would you like to join? You'll find the sign-up form here. I really do hope you join us! I think it's going to be lots of fun. Most ornaments will be very quick to make too so it won't eat into your gift making time very much at all.
If you need some inspiration you can visit the Pinterest board I've put together for the swap here.

If you have any questions about the swap do feel free to leave them in a comment below, or send me an email.



Subscribe to receive posts via email and never miss out again