Various moderators and other members of the community often come up with helpful hints and reminders.  These are not rules, but if you read through them, you might find something that will enhance this experience for you or someone else in the community.

Archives and Lost Posts

We get many comment requests and submitted posts asking if users can re-post their wishlist since they "know they posted it already" but "can't find it," or for users who can't find a list for a specific user. The easiest solution to this is to go to the community archives, find the month you think you posted your list, and click "View Subjects." This will generate a master list which you can use your browser's "find" feature (often ctrl + F, or cmd + F on macs) to find a username.

Go Through Older Lists

Sometimes, especially, later in the season, a lot of the older lists get forgotten.  Granting wishes from these lists could really make the giftees day, especially if they haven't had many wishes granted.  Visiting the archives is a great way not only to find a specific user, but to look for posts that have not received many comments, which probably means the poster has not had very many wishes granted.

Check for Toy Recalls

It's a good idea to check the toy recall lists before buying any toys.  Here is a list of all toy recalls in the US.

Keeping Track of Wishlists

In this thread, there's a discussion about how to keep track of wishlists through excel or google spreadsheets for anyone who is interested! Another suggestion -- del.icio.us is also a good method of keeping track of lists you'd like to follow, as it has a tagging feature so you can bookmark and tag lists with the specific items that you would like to give. Finally, the memories feature is a great way to keep track of wishlists on LiveJournal itself.

Sending Cards to Soldiers

Those of you planning on sending or requesting cards for soldiers, should know that due to security issues, USPS won't accept the mail unless it is addressed to a specific soldier (snopes.com did an article about this here. Another solution to contact soldiers is mentioned here. And you can easily send cards electronically through this site.

Ways to Get Help if it's Been a Difficult Year

People in this community may help you some, but there's only so much they can do. Salvation Army who distributes toys for kids, as well as meals and necessities for anyone. They also have hundreds of toys ready for local children. Get in touch with your local chapter if you think they can help. Toys For Tots also give away thousands of kids' toys. Loads of local churches do toy/clothing/food deliveries during the holidays as well. Let them know you need help! Please, don't feel bad about asking. Everyone needs help from time to time, and these organizations really do want to help. Don't be embarrassed, and don't delay. The sooner they have your name on the list, the more they can help!

Mix CDs

When you request mix CDs, please specify if you can use/play MP3 CDs or only 'regular' CDs. If you can play MP3's, people can include more songs on a CD they send you, but they don't want to send you MP3s if you can't use them.

Gratitude

Please remember that the holiday_thanks community is there for you to post your thanks, as well as open threads. Sometimes even anonymous gifters like to be thanked! Even more important, many people just want to know that their gifts have been received okay. So please, PLEASE thank your gifters!