𝙈𝘼𝙔𝙃𝙀𝙈 𝙋𝙇𝙐𝙎.

team dynamics / writing:

this lasts canonically for one full day set in leavenworth, wa on dec 19th, but in the group, the process will take place from december 11th until january 2nd.

the characters will be utilizing a local cooking school, surrounded by an abundance of ingredients and having access to all the tools and resources they could possibly need (more details on this in a later post).

once you’re paired, you’ll collaborate with your teammate throughout the event. we encourage you to reach out to them via texts or private posts to discuss your game plan and then dive into writing.

this can be as casual or as detailed as you’d like. think about how your characters will approach the challenges—whether they’re bickering about ingredients, fumbling over instructions, or becoming a surprisingly good team, it’s all about the story you want to tell!

the heart of this event is the writing! while creating your dishes and gingerbread houses, focus on character interactions, funny mishaps, and kitchen chaos. remember, this is a WRITING EVENT—it’s about telling a story.

keep your replies SHORT, mostly dialogue-heavy to maintain the flow of the thread. replies don’t need to be overly long—shorter replies with fun banter are encouraged to keep the momentum going!

emphasize the process over the result. nothing has to be perfect—in fact, we want to see some creative disasters!

the challenges:

round 1: create a dish (either a main or a side) using a random set of three mystery ingredients unique to your team, given when you are paired by us.

round 2: build a gingerbread house together. embrace the chaos and imperfections—messy frosting and leaning walls are all part of the charm!

focus your writing on the process: brainstorming, cooking, decorating, and the inevitable mishaps along the way. let your characters’ personalities and interactions take center stage.

submission details

deadline: all submissions must be posted by 10pm CST on january 2nd, 2025. the friendmas event will take place on january 3rd, 2025, giving us time to remind anyone who hasn't posted and ensure everything is good to go!

requirements:

pick one person from the team to post the dish and gingerbread house you’ve prepared, tagging both of your names with a description of your dish and how the mystery ingredients were used.

it's optional, but feel free to share how each of you contributed to creating the dish.

a photo of your completed dish.

a photo of your gingerbread house.

important: for photos, you can use pinterest or similar platforms for inspiration, but please avoid using overly polished, professional images. pick something realistic that fits the messy, holiday vibes of the event. nothing will be perfect, so just do your best.

feast highlights:

being that polls only allow 12 options on tumblr and we’re not sure the number of teams we will have, what we will probably end up doing is randomizing 1st, 2nd and 3rd place via generator to determine the winning team for the culinary clash.

first place will receive a bragging rights trophy to keep until the next event culinary clash event.

bring your tackiest christmas sweater! we’ll hold a group vote for the ugliest sweater, too, with a small prize for the winner.

the dishes and gingerbread houses created during the event will be the stars of the feast. your characters can “sample” these dishes, laugh about the process, and share the holiday spirit.

there will also be plenty of additional food to enjoy for everyone attending.

future events if culinary clash is a hit, we plan to host more of these events throughout the year, each with new twists and themes. the winning team will remain paired for the next event, keeping their trophy until another team dethrones them. if a member of a winning team departs (either by removal or choice), the remaining player retains the trophy and can continue with a new partner.

final reminders:

embrace the chaos: this event is all about fun, sharing ideas, collaborative writing and creativity. nothing has to be perfect, let your characters’ quirks and mishaps make the experience memorable.

focus on the writing: keep threads lively with character interactions and dialogue. this is a great chance to explore dynamics and have fun in a festive setting.

team dynamics / writing:

this lasts canonically for one full day set in leavenworth, wa on dec 19th, but in the group, the process will take place from december 11th until january 2nd.

the characters will be utilizing a local cooking school, surrounded by an abundance of ingredients and having access to all the tools and resources they could possibly need (more details on this in a later post).

once you’re paired, you’ll collaborate with your teammate throughout the event. we encourage you to reach out to them via texts or private posts to discuss your game plan and then dive into writing.

this can be as casual or as detailed as you’d like. think about how your characters will approach the challenges—whether they’re bickering about ingredients, fumbling over instructions, or becoming a surprisingly good team, it’s all about the story you want to tell!

the heart of this event is the writing! while creating your dishes and gingerbread houses, focus on character interactions, funny mishaps, and kitchen chaos. remember, this is a WRITING EVENT—it’s about telling a story.

keep your replies SHORT, mostly dialogue-heavy to maintain the flow of the thread. replies don’t need to be overly long—shorter replies with fun banter are encouraged to keep the momentum going!

emphasize the process over the result. nothing has to be perfect—in fact, we want to see some creative disasters!

the challenges:

round 1: create a dish (either a main or a side) using a random set of three mystery ingredients unique to your team, given when you are paired by us.

round 2: build a gingerbread house together. embrace the chaos and imperfections—messy frosting and leaning walls are all part of the charm!

focus your writing on the process: brainstorming, cooking, decorating, and the inevitable mishaps along the way. let your characters’ personalities and interactions take center stage.

submission details

deadline: all submissions must be posted by 10pm CST on january 2nd, 2025. the friendmas event will take place on january 3rd, 2025, giving us time to remind anyone who hasn't posted and ensure everything is good to go!

requirements:

pick one person from the team to post the dish and gingerbread house you’ve prepared, tagging both of your names with a description of your dish and how the mystery ingredients were used.

it's optional, but feel free to share how each of you contributed to creating the dish.

a photo of your completed dish.

a photo of your gingerbread house.

important: for photos, you can use pinterest or similar platforms for inspiration, but please avoid using overly polished, professional images. pick something realistic that fits the messy, holiday vibes of the event. nothing will be perfect, so just do your best.

feast highlights:

being that polls only allow 12 options on tumblr and we’re not sure the number of teams we will have, what we will probably end up doing is randomizing 1st, 2nd and 3rd place via generator to determine the winning team for the culinary clash.

first place will receive a bragging rights trophy to keep until the next event culinary clash event.

bring your tackiest christmas sweater! we’ll hold a group vote for the ugliest sweater, too, with a small prize for the winner.

the dishes and gingerbread houses created during the event will be the stars of the feast. your characters can “sample” these dishes, laugh about the process, and share the holiday spirit.

there will also be plenty of additional food to enjoy for everyone attending.

future events if culinary clash is a hit, we plan to host more of these events throughout the year, each with new twists and themes. the winning team will remain paired for the next event, keeping their trophy until another team dethrones them. if a member of a winning team departs (either by removal or choice), the remaining player retains the trophy and can continue with a new partner.

final reminders:

embrace the chaos: this event is all about fun, sharing ideas, collaborative writing and creativity. nothing has to be perfect, let your characters’ quirks and mishaps make the experience memorable.

focus on the writing: keep threads lively with character interactions and dialogue. this is a great chance to explore dynamics and have fun in a festive setting.

team dynamics / writing:

this lasts canonically for one full day set in leavenworth, wa on dec 19th, but in the group, the process will take place from december 11th until january 2nd.

the characters will be utilizing a local cooking school, surrounded by an abundance of ingredients and having access to all the tools and resources they could possibly need (more details on this in a later post).

once you’re paired, you’ll collaborate with your teammate throughout the event. we encourage you to reach out to them via texts or private posts to discuss your game plan and then dive into writing.

this can be as casual or as detailed as you’d like. think about how your characters will approach the challenges—whether they’re bickering about ingredients, fumbling over instructions, or becoming a surprisingly good team, it’s all about the story you want to tell!

the heart of this event is the writing! while creating your dishes and gingerbread houses, focus on character interactions, funny mishaps, and kitchen chaos. remember, this is a WRITING EVENT—it’s about telling a story.

keep your replies SHORT, mostly dialogue-heavy to maintain the flow of the thread. replies don’t need to be overly long—shorter replies with fun banter are encouraged to keep the momentum going!

emphasize the process over the result. nothing has to be perfect—in fact, we want to see some creative disasters!

the challenges:

round 1: create a dish (either a main or a side) using a random set of three mystery ingredients unique to your team, given when you are paired by us.

round 2: build a gingerbread house together. embrace the chaos and imperfections—messy frosting and leaning walls are all part of the charm!

focus your writing on the process: brainstorming, cooking, decorating, and the inevitable mishaps along the way. let your characters’ personalities and interactions take center stage.

submission details

deadline: all submissions must be posted by 10pm CST on january 2nd, 2025. the friendmas event will take place on january 3rd, 2025, giving us time to remind anyone who hasn't posted and ensure everything is good to go!

requirements:

pick one person from the team to post the dish and gingerbread house you’ve prepared, tagging both of your names with a description of your dish and how the mystery ingredients were used.

it's optional, but feel free to share how each of you contributed to creating the dish.

a photo of your completed dish.

a photo of your gingerbread house.

important: for photos, you can use pinterest or similar platforms for inspiration, but please avoid using overly polished, professional images. pick something realistic that fits the messy, holiday vibes of the event. nothing will be perfect, so just do your best.

feast highlights:

being that polls only allow 12 options on tumblr and we’re not sure the number of teams we will have, what we will probably end up doing is randomizing 1st, 2nd and 3rd place via generator to determine the winning team for the culinary clash.

first place will receive a bragging rights trophy to keep until the next event culinary clash event.

bring your tackiest christmas sweater! we’ll hold a group vote for the ugliest sweater, too, with a small prize for the winner.

the dishes and gingerbread houses created during the event will be the stars of the feast. your characters can “sample” these dishes, laugh about the process, and share the holiday spirit.

there will also be plenty of additional food to enjoy for everyone attending.

future events if culinary clash is a hit, we plan to host more of these events throughout the year, each with new twists and themes. the winning team will remain paired for the next event, keeping their trophy until another team dethrones them. if a member of a winning team departs (either by removal or choice), the remaining player retains the trophy and can continue with a new partner.

final reminders:

embrace the chaos: this event is all about fun, sharing ideas, collaborative writing and creativity. nothing has to be perfect, let your characters’ quirks and mishaps make the experience memorable.

focus on the writing: keep threads lively with character interactions and dialogue. this is a great chance to explore dynamics and have fun in a festive setting.

being paired: you’ll receive a message on december 5th from @mayhemevents (to keep our main dm box tidy and for important messages) with your secret santa match. while you shouldn’t reveal who you have, it might be nice to casually connect with each other and take the opportunity to get to know one another a bit more. don’t be suspicious.

gifting: you are required to give your secret santa three gifts: 1. something comforting 2. something for their home 3. a sweet treat

no gift cards, subscriptions, money, or overly extravagant gifts. while there's no specific budget, please keep it practical.

post your three gifts to your secret santa on your blog on the 12th, no later than 11pm cst, and be sure to tag them when revealing yourself as their secret santa.

general reminders:

please only sign up if you are able to queue by or be online the 12th to post your gifts. signing up and being inactive for long periods or not following through with gift giving goes against the holiday spirit.

as this is a voluntary event, you will be temporarily banned from participating in future opt-in events if you don’t follow through.

that being said, if you’re unable to participate or run into any issues, please let us know as soon as possible so we can make adjustments and avoid any disappointment. it’s totally fine as long as you give us a heads-up in advance. things happen.

it doesn’t matter what time zone in, as long as you can queue your posts on the 12th! early or late, your call!

examples for gifts:

something comforting – think of something that brings warmth or relaxation. (e.g. not limited to: a cozy blanket, a scented candle, a book, journals, something inspiring, mug, items related to self-care, sleep masks, or soothing teas.)

something for their home – this could be anything that adds a personal touch or practical item to their space, like a decorative item or random gadget. (e.g. not limited to: candles, something related to their favorite hobby, colors; be creative.)

sweet treat – a delicious treat to satisfy their sweet tooth, whether it’s chocolates, cookies, or a special snack.

don’t just pick one thing from each of these lists for your ss, tailor it towards them. these are simply meant to be ideas.

copy and paste the following into your blog and fill it out, then tag #m.secretsanta: