Robin, I am on BOTH sides of the fence. Not only am I a Ferret Rescue who put a few ferrets on the Giving Tree this year, "BUT", I was also a Secret Santa to "5" ferrets off the Giving Tree. YES, rescue/ shelter moms & dads are busy especially during the holidays, "BUT", some people who picked ferrets from the Tree never contact the rescues/shelters letting them know their kids were picked. So, since we may not know who the Santas are because "WE" never got an e-mail from the Santas letting us know who they are, there is no way to let them know if the gifts ever arrived never mind saying Thank you. This is an idea for next year as this is what I do. 1) When you pick a kid from one of the Trees, E-MAIL the rescue/shelter mom/dad to let them know you have picked their kid to be Santa too. 2) E-mail the rescue shelter to let them know WHEN you are sending the gifts out ( Give the date it was sent.). 3) Send gifts by way of Priority Mail, UPS, DHL, or 1st Class Mail being insured. This way, if the package gets lost, then it can be traced to see where it is. 4) Allow 2-3 weeks for the gifts sent 1st Class to reach their distinction depending on how it was sent. Priority Mail takes 2-4 days to reach it's destination, where as UPS & DHL take 1-2 days. 5) Do a follow up e-mail to the rescue/shelter to make sure the gifts have arrived. If they haven't then follow step #3. Mishie, Wingnut & Kiwi didn't receive their gifts in time for Christmas BUT, their Santa sent me an e-mail explaining why. I received them last Friday and then sent the Santa an e-mail from the girls saying THANK YOU for their gifts. Now as far as Jerry Springer goes, he never received anything. I had to e-mail Kris to find out who his Santa was and what her e-mail address was so I could see if anything was coming for him. As it turns out, this same person also picked a furkid from my friend's rescue. Her little boy didn't receive anything for him from this person either. I asked this person for certain information in order to trace the packages. Instead of what I asked for, she sent me an e-mail saying she mailed out Jerry's present on December 26th. She gave me no other information. This is another suggestion for people who have decided to be Santa to these kids. We all know financial situations change. If for some reason you cannot fill you obligation as Santa, just e-mail Kris and let him know, it's that simple. This way the kids can be put back on the Tree as AVAILABLE" and still needing a Santa. This way non of the kids will go without Christmas presents. Please remember, it is always better to give than receive and you should never do something nice or out of the goodness of your heart expecting something in return. Helping out a rescue/shelter in any way you can shows that you care and that us rescues/shelters are appreciated for everything we do for the love of the furkids. Debi & the Fuzzy Loving Ferret Rescue Furkids [Posted in FML 5482]