Secret Santa

24/12/08

At one of the chapters I visited this week, instead of the normal 10 Minute speaker, they had a chapter Secret Santa.

The Events Co-ordinator had arranged it: members pulling a name of another member out of a hat of who they would buy a present for. All the presents were beautifully wrapped and given out by each member going to the pile of presents, one at a time, and randomly picking one to give. Everyone then waited until all the presents were distributed before opening. Once unwrapped each member informed the group of what they had received.

This was the fascinating part, as some members had looked upon the idea as a bit of fun, while others has taken it more seriously. The presents ranged from chocolates and bottles of wine, to joke books and books that were well-suited to the member, to things that matched personality: one member received a beard trimmer, he has a bushy beard; another a recorder, he is a musician; part of another member's present was a money box for a millionaire: the member talks about how to become a millionaire. Some presents were very interesting: one member received a fire-extinguisher; another a posing-pouch!

It was a brilliant event and with every member taking part wonderful for the chapter - a great way to start Christmas.

But, what was very fascinating was that you could tell which members really knew the member that they had bought a present for and those who did not. And, I couldn’t help thinking that some more One2Ones would help those particular members to get to know each other better and, by doing so, increase their chances of a referral from one another.