On the Same Page: Secret Sister Project

Hello, all! A little while ago you  may have seen Alyssa asking around about a “Secret Sister” project. The great news is, we have decided to put this project out into the world and we are finally ready for sign-ups to begin! Together Alyssa, Amy, and I as co-hosts for On the Same Page will be bring you THE SECRET SISTER PROJECT! For those of you who aren’t sure what this is, well, everything is explained below!

secret sister project

THE WHAT

A secret sister is essentially a cheer club. Think Secret Santa but all year round with less emphasis on big presents, and more thoughtful notes, cards, small somethings sent just to let your secret sister know that you are thinking about her!

THE WHEN

Sign-ups run July 18- July 25. You will be paired up with your secret sister by August 1. This will run for six months from August 1st, 2014 – February 1st, 2015.

THE WHO

You guys! The only “rule” we have is that before signing up, you must “know” at least one of us. As in, we must have spoken on Twitter or SOMETHING. We are just really concerned with someone not following through, and that would just make a bad time for everyone. Also, we might be limiting the number of sign-ups so it doesn’t get too out of hand, this is just a trial run! If we have good success with the first round of Secret Sister, we can expand to accept more people! 🙂

FAQs

What will I have to do if I sign up to be a secret sister?
This is a commitment, we can’t lie to you. By signing up to be a secret sister you are promising to send at least one small card/gift to your secret sister a month. It is very important that you don’t sign up for this unless you are willing to follow through. Please think of how sad (and unfair) it would be for someone to be working hard to make their secret sister feel special and not receiving anything themselves!

Do I have to send presents?
No, you don’t have to send anything big. This really is meant to be more of a cheering up sort of club. However, in the six month period we will be going through Halloween, Christmas, and maybe your secret sister’s birthday! It is encouraged that you send one or two presents during these six months (think a book from their wish list, some Halloween candy, or if you’re feeling really fancy, some flowers for their birthday!) Honestly, this is as fun as you make it!

Do we have to remain secret?
No, though that is part of the fun! Just leave your name off of the card or box you are sending if you want to remain secret, and reveal yourself when you send a Christmas present, perhaps? It is entirely up to you!

So how do I sign up?
Easy! Just fill out the form below!

How are you pairing people up?
People will be paired somewhat randomly but we will also try to take general tastes and preferences into account because it’s just more fun to buy for someone who has similar tastes & lifestyles!
We are opening sign-ups to international bloggers as well but since there will be a smaller number of international participants and it will be more challenging to pair them up, we can’t make guarantees about pairing up international bloggers to others within their same country/region. If you are an international blogger signing up, please indicate somewhere in the notes if you will NOT ship to any specific areas. We will do our best to match international folks by area!
We will not be pairing up US/Canada participants with international participants due to shipping costs. As far as within the US, we will be focusing more on similar tastes/lifestyles than region 🙂

Anything else I should know?
For fun, take some pics of your goodies and share them with us using the hashtag #OTSPSecretSister or follow one of us (or all of us at On the Same Page) on Twitter!

UPDATE! For all those who weren’t able to get in the first round of Secret Sister, we will be opening up sign-ups for round two soon! Check back for sign-ups around the first week of January. Alyssa, Amy, and I will all have sign-ups posted on our blog so you only need to sign up once! The next round of Secret Sister will officially start on February 1st, 2015.

Hi, I'm Brittany!
Hi, I'm Brittany!

I'm an avid reader, candle-maker, and audiobook lover! Here you'll find book reviews, fun blog posts, and my other loves of photography & craft beer!

Recently Read

Dead Moon
The Fold
14
Instant Karma
American Girl
The Recovery Agent
The Harbor
One of Us Is Dead
The Last Thing He Told Me
Hook, Line, and Sinker
It Happened One Summer
The Good Lie


Brittany S.’s favorite books »

19 thoughts on “On the Same Page: Secret Sister Project

  1. Rachel

    Wow this idea sounds really cool, and I’d love to be apart of it if it’s a success! I just have to get into college and find a job first I like how there’s a thoughtful aspect to this, and getting to know someone personally and their tastes makes it personal and I love it. It will be like having a pen pal but better.

    Reply
  2. Beth W

    I just found this, thanks for Kristen at The Book Monsters, and it sounds fantastic! I hope this first round is terrifically successful, because I’d love to be a part of round 2 (except I don’t engage much on Twitter, so not sure I’d qualify :/ )

    Reply
  3. Nicole @ The Quiet Concert

    I love this idea and I really want to sign up but I am a little scared of the commitment because of school. There are periods of time when my schedule gets so busy that I am barely a functioning human being. I will think on this over the next couple of days but right now I am leaning towards waiting. I hope it is extremely successful though. I love the positivity!

    Reply
  4. Kritika

    This sounds amazing! I’ve talked with you a couple of times on twitter so I hope I can join 🙂
    I’m a college student so I’m not moving into my new apartment until Fall quarter begins. Should I put down both addresses (summer and school year)?

    Reply
    1. Brittany Post author

      Thanks so much!!
      Yep, just put down both addresses and if you have the approximate dates of when you’ll be moving (give or take) so we can make sure your secret sister will be able to send things to the right address 🙂

      Reply
  5. BarefootMedStudent

    This is a fantastic idea! Unfortunately I’m about to change address in November, AND I’m not currently employed, so this isn’t a good idea for me right now. But I hope it’s a success and that you will run a second round after six months (by which time I will have a job!! And an address!) and then I would LOVE to sign up.

    Reply
    1. Brittany Post author

      Hey Stormy!
      Yay, thanks for your interest 😀
      As far as US vs International, we will try to match up International people but we will not be pairing them with US/Canada folks due to shipping costs! It’s just too much to ask and coordinate. We may to try to pair people up so for example, someone in CA isn’t sending to someone in FL and shipping across the country, but I think for US participants the shipping costs won’t vary TOO much and we’d rather pair people up based on interests so they have a better idea of what their SS might like 😀
      Let me know if you have any other questions!

      Reply
  6. Anne @ booksbakingandblogging

    This seems like SUCH a cool project, and I would love to participate, but since I live all the way in the Netherlands that would sending gifts or something quite difficult (and expensive). So I’m really curious about your answer to Rachel’s question as well!
    Also, I’ve been reading your blog for quite a while now (and I believe we’re following each other on Instagram), but we haven’t ever really spoken. Does that make me not eligible for this project? If it’s doable with the costs I would love to join, since I’m keen to get to know more people in the book blogging world 🙂

    Reply
    1. Brittany Post author

      Hi Anne! Sure, you are welcome to sign up! I just answered Rachel’s question so I’ll just do a quick copy/paste for time’s sake haha! 🙂
      The matches will be somewhat random but we’re trying to take interests into account because we figure it will be easier an d more fun to get presents and send happy thoughts for someone who has the same general tastes! 🙂
      As far as where people live — we’re not really taking that into account for US. If we have international folks sign up, they will be paired with other international folks and those we WILL try to pair up based on location. We will do the best that we can since there will be far fewer international people signing up to participate so hopefully we can match everyone up well!
      We will NOT pair US/Canada participants and international/overseas participants because that just gets too costly! 🙂
      Let me know if you have any more questions!!

      Reply
  7. Rachel

    LOVE THIS SO MUCH! I’ve signed up! It will be a commitment, but hopefully a really fun one!! For the purposes of postage and whatnot are you planning to match up people based on where they live? Or their interests?? R x

    Reply
    1. Brittany Post author

      Thanks, Rachel! The matches will be somewhat random but we’re trying to take interests into account because we figure it will be easier an d more fun to get presents and send happy thoughts for someone who has the same general tastes! 🙂
      As far as where people live — we’re not really taking that into account for US. If we have international folks sign up, they will be paired with other international folks and those we WILL try to pair up based on location. We will do the best that we can since there will be far fewer international people signing up to participate so hopefully we can match everyone up well!
      We will NOT pair US/Canada participants and international/overseas participants because that just gets too costly! 🙂
      Let me know if you have any more questions!!

      Reply
      1. Rachel

        I’m UK-based, so I may or may not be one of the few internationals then! Ideally, I’d like another UK blogger to sign up (if anyone UK-based is reading this go do it!) because shipping costs can be a lil crazy! Amazing idea though. Fingers crossed! R x

Leave a Reply to Anne @ booksbakingandblogging Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

%d bloggers like this: