It's sign-up time for...
Do you know what time of year is coming upon us? That's right! It's Secret Santa time! This year marks PJ & Pixelation's 21st annual Secret Santa.
Unsure of how the Secret Santa works? You sign up here within the sign-up time. When sign-ups close you get assigned a random partner (giftee). Before the deadline you check their wishlist and make a pixel art gift for them. But SHH it's all a secret who you're pixelling for - you are the Secret Santa!!! When finished you send your gift to Mirre. In turn, somebody else (you don't know who) will be making a gift for you! Gifts will be revealed on December 27th on the forum, in the PJ News, and in a Twitch livestream hosted by Mirre.
Take a look at the previous years' Secret Santas here:
2024 - 2023 - 2022 - 2021 - 2020 - 2019 - 2018 - 2017 - 2016 - 2015 - 2014
2013 -
2012 -
2011 -
2010 -
2009 -
2008 -
2007 -
2006 -
2005
- Only sign up if you're sure that you'll be to able to complete your gift, by checking the dates below. If you don't complete your gift you won't be able to join next year's Secret Santa and make someone very sad. Also you will miss the unique Secret Santa profile award.
- Provide some indication of your likes/dislikes: this is important! You can be as specific or broad as you like, but be aware this is all your Santa has to go by if they don't know you!
- If you have at least a few pieces in your PJ gallery, your Secret Santa will know you better.
- You'll receive your partner's name via private message (gallery PM). Consider turning on email notification for this in your profile settings!
- Start making your gift, you have over a month!
- Submit a gift box to the gallery (not the artwork!), and send your gift artwork in a message to Mirre. See the submission guide below.
- Here's a sample post if you are somehow still lost. You can format however you want, however please include "I'm in!" or something similar in your post.
"Count me in!
I like:
hating fun, being a curmudgeon and getting free stuff!!!!
I do NOT like:
chocolate, childrens' smiles, and also Christmas (which probably makes things a bit awkward, really, but oh well)
Thanks! P.S. no spiders"
Submission Guide
Important!!! Follow these submission instructions carefully, to not spoil any surprises:
- When you've finished your gift, first choose Submit Pixel Art from the main site and upload your gift wrap (see Gift Wrap section below) as the preview (small) image and do not upload anything else. The description should only say “Secret Santa” and should not include the name of the person you’re gifting, at least until the official reveal.
- Note: For the Secret Santa purposes, you can upload the template gift wraps below. Still, custom wraps rock!
- Now, send your real gift to Mirre by PM or email. You can use imgur.com, or if you can't, you can send it in a DM to her on Discord or to linnaeahl@gmail.com. We will edit and change your pixel art submission with the real one, so we can reveal all presents at the same time. Please don't post your gift anywhere else before December 27th, that would spoil the surprise.
Dates
- November 7th ~ November 20th - Sign-ups in these weeks only! Send this post to your friends, share on Twitter or Bluesky and post in your Discords. If there's anyone you'd love to get a gift from, send them this thread!
- November 21st - A PM with your partner's name will be sent out to you; keep it a secret and start early!
- November 21st ~ December 24th - You have nearly a month to make and hand in a beautiful pixel present!
- December 17th - if not already all done, you need to send Mirre a WIP of what you are making by this date, to show that you're working on something.
- December 24th - Last day to send in your gift!
- December 27th - PRESENTS !!!
Feel free to ask questions under this post, or PM
Mirre if you're confused about anything or have any questions to ask after consulting the FAQ below.
Santa's Help Desk
What kind of gift do I make?
Anything you want, just so long as it involves pixel art. Tailor it to your partner's listed interests, or towards them and their work if you are familiar. Any subject you think will be well received is fair game. You can make them a mockup, animation, sprites; you name it! If you're worried about time, don't overly complicate things, relax and do what you do best.
But I'm quite likely to be embroiled in some sort of ~festive revelry~ around the end of December; can I still take part?
You can send your gift in as early as you like. The 24th is the deadline, but submissions will be accepted from the time you receive your partner's name via PM, up until the 24th. It's not fun to try and rush this stuff leading up to Christmas, getting it done with time to spare is highly recommended.
I'm not going to manage finishing my present in time, will I still be banned from next year's Secret Santa?
WIPs will be OK temporarily... It's better to have your WIP under the tree than nothing, but please finish quickly afterwards to avoid consequences. If you know you won't be able to finish, for whatever reason, let
Mirre know ASAP so that something else can be sorted out for your partner.
I think making a present for so-and-so would be really fun, I wish I was their Santa!
If you finish your present early, you're more than welcome to make gifts for multiple people. Spread the holiday cheer! But concentrate on your partner first.
Gift Wrap!
You can use one of these generic gift wraps as the preview icon of your gallery submission:
Alternatively: Make a custom wrapping for your gift; in this way you can have a bit of fun teasing the contents within. Just submit this in your gallery as the preview image. So it should be max 100x100 px. Here are a few examples from previous years... with a link to their gifts, for ideas. (you can't use these! come up with your own!)
Still awake? Read everything? Great!! If you sign up below before or on the 25th of November, you'll be added to this list. After you submit your gift, we'll mark you on our list with a little
