A Gift For Alizée, Grégoire, Annily and Baby Maggy!

[Bamagirl]

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Hello Everyone!

I know we all want to congratulate Alizée and Grégoire on the birth of their daughter, Maggy. We wish all the very best for them and their family!

Our members are taking a collection to purchase a gift for the baby. So far, we have agreed to buy a gift certificate at a store in Ajaccio which was recommended by a friend of the family. We will send the gift certificate at the end of the year, since we realize that now is a very busy time for all of them.

For anyone who would like to contribute to the gift certificate, our member Scruffydog777 has agreed to take charge of collecting and keeping track of the fundsScruffydog777 can be 100% trusted to handle this task, so don't hesitate to contact him.

Several members have already donated, and so far, most people have found that donating through PayPal has been the most convenient option. Just send Scruffydog777 a private message with your e-mail address and the amount you wish to contribute, and he will send you a bill for that amount through PayPal. If you prefer to make your contribution using a different method, just let him know and that can be worked out.

Along with the gift certificate, we would also like to send a card. On the card we can include the names of members (real or forum) who like to be acknowledged, or the countries they are from, or perhaps both. We will include anyone who wants to wish them well, even if they are not able to donate.

We will continue to discuss these plans here, over the next few weeks, and everyone's thoughts are welcome.


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[CleverCowboy]

Scruffy, I am definitely in. You will be hearing from me.

Since we are looking to deliver the gift after Christmas, why don't we decide on a cutoff date for donations? December 23rd? That gives us 4 weeks from today.

Also, since the gift certificate will be in Euros and most of us are in the US, the conversion rate will apply.

The nerd in me just had to look up the EUR/USD FX daily chart.

The USD looks most likely to strengthen against the Euro to the end of the year. Right now it costs $1.10 to buy 1 Euro and maybe will improve a penny or two by the end of December, but it's going in the right direction.

[Aragorn97]

Originally Posted by CleverCowboy

it's going in the right direction.

Ehm...


Edit:

Originally Posted by Bamagirl

Our members are taking a collection to purchase a gift for the baby. So far, we have agreed to buy a gift certificate at a store in Ajaccio which was recommended by a friend of the family. We will send the gift certificate at the end of the year, since we realize that now is a very busy time for all of them.

...

Along with the gift certificate, we would also like to send a card. On the card we can include the names of members (real or forum) who like to be acknowledged, or the countries they are from, or perhaps both. We will include anyone who wants to wish them well, even if they are not able to donate.

I agree with this. The gift would be perceived as truly heartfelt.
Anyway are you thinking to send it before or after New year's day?

[Bamagirl]

Originally Posted by Aragorn97

I agree with this. The gift would be perceived as truly heartfelt.
Anyway are you thinking to send it before or after New year's day?

We are thinking soon after New Year’s Day.

[Scruffydog777]

Originally Posted by Bamagirl

We are thinking soon after New Year’s Day.

Yes a few of us discussed this and we felt if we sent a gift soon after the birth, it would get buried amongst all the visits and gifts she will be getting in the next few weeks. That brings us close to Christmas and all the hoopla that goes along with it. So we figured it would be best to wait until after the first of the year. With a baby, you have constantly changing sizes, wants and needs so we're sure a gift in January would be just as much appreciated as a gift now.

[Aragorn97]

Originally Posted by Bamagirl

We are thinking soon after New Year’s Day.

Originally Posted by Scruffydog777

Yes a few of us discussed this and we felt if we sent a gift soon after the birth, it would get buried amongst all the visits and gifts she will be getting in the next few weeks. That brings us close to Christmas and all the hoopla that goes along with it. So we figured it would be best to wait until after the first of the year. With a baby, you have constantly changing sizes, wants and needs so we're sure a gift in January would be just as much appreciated as a gift now.

[CleverCowboy]

I though I would give an update.

I inquired with Chonchon from their web site. First hurdle was seeing if anybody there speaks English. My inquiry was in English but included a French translation. The initial contact was to find out if they even had gift certificates, what method of payment they accept, and the purpose of the gift certificate. I debated on whether to use Alizee's name or just say "a resident of Ajaccio". I decided to go ahead and mention Alizee.

After a few days, I received this response from somebody named Johanna. I don't know if she is the owner or not.

Of course we can generate a gift voucher for you, we know well Alizée and Grégoire, she's a deerest friend to us. We accept Paypal of course !
This is our Paypal address : xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

You can send the amount of your choice, as soon as we receive it we generate the gift voucher and we call Alizée and Grégoire to tell them.
We can write a wishes card for you with you name and the name of all the participants.

So, things are looking good and Johanna will help make this happen.

She will also personalize the wishes card with the names of all the participants. I had responded to Johanna that we probably would like first name, forum name, city and country for each participant.

Even if all you can afford is 5 Euro, please consider making a donation so that we can fill up the card with names.

[Bamagirl]

Originally Posted by CleverCowboy

So, things are looking good and Johanna will help make this happen.

Great news! Thanks, CleverCowboy. And I want to add that even if you are not able to contribute financially, please let Scruffydog777 know if you’d like your name to be included to wish them all well!

[Shepherd]

Since we are probably going to be dealing in cash, I would be more comfortable sending the gift directly to the dance studio, which we have the address to. And I would prefer sending a gift certificate from a baby store because I would like the money spent specifically on the baby, not something else. Unless Scruffy is familiar with Joanna and is willing to vouch for her. To send cash to a stranger while having no way to verify that the gift was delivered makes me uncomfortable. We know Alizee will not confirm receiving anything we send, so we have to trust these strangers completely. I would rather send a money order to the Dance Studio with a note saying it is for the baby. What we send to the Dance Studio has to be signed for.

[Mr Coucou]

Shepherd is right about not sending cash to a stranger. Send it directly to the studio.