Celebrate the Season
by Maeve
eBay Staff Member

For this month's article, I asked members who post on the Town Square Discussion Board, "What types of things do you do to celebrate the Holidays with other eBay members?"

Here are some of the responses. I hope that their thoughts will give all of you some ideas to reach out to friends you've met on eBay.

"One of the ways we share is sending e-cards during the holidays. It keeps us in touch with each other and friends who seldom post now days." peak_concepts

"I belong to a few boards that do a simple ornament exchange; sometimes they are store-bought, and sometimes they are homemade." *blonde*ambition*

"There are a lot of people who are alone during the holidays. Some people feel extreme depression during this time. So I think it is great that peeps can come here to talk to each other." riverlyrain

"There are folk with nowhere to go and if we can be a part of a small bit of cheer then even better." froggy63

"It's amazing how a person can come in here and be themselves or who ever they want to be and engage in all kinds of fun. You can bet I will remember my friends during the holidays. For no matter what some folks may think, you can make dear friends on these boards and just because it's a cyberworld, the real folks are behind the screen." momscats2001

"By making festive auction pages, sending a Christmas card in the package, coming to the message boards to wish everyone a Happy Holiday and maybe chat with someone who might be alone, sending out cyber greeting cards to those that you may not know well and so on…" wigglzzzz

"I am a regular on the Furby Board, and we do 'Secret Santa' - those who want to participate e-mail who ever volunteers to coordinate. Then names are drawn & we let the people know who they are Secret Santa for, we always use the volunteers address for a return address so the surprise isn't spoiled! We pick a deadline to have gifts in by, then we have an on-line party & unwrap! It's loads of fun!" tamtam2216

"At Christmas I always send a Christmas card and an extra coordinating gift to go with my auction items. I also sent cards to my repeat customers and a few friends on the (discussion board) threads." treasureon

"I tend to try to use the kindness of eBayers to help others celebrate. Some trust me enough to get baseball equipment to needy teams and/or kids. The looks on their faces are celebration of the best kind." fungoe8

"This place was a special part of my Christmas last year. Most of my relatives live in the UK, so having lots of friends on TownSquare well and truly makes up for that. I've found so many people here that have taken me to their hearts in a way I wouldn't have thought possible. So much so that they were willing to let this Aussie/Brit come half way across the world and stay in their homes. I don't for one minute think that genuine friendships made in cyberspace are in the minority, far from it. I'm proud to be part of this community and hope the friendship and caring shown here everyday continues for a long long time." rosiefuture

"Last year, some of us shared small gifts through the mail. At first, I'd get something nice in the mail and think, 'Oh, I need to run out shopping'. Then I realized that that TownSquare'er sent me that 'just because', without any expectation of receiving a reciprocal gift. After that, I sent out several small gifts that I'd run across that made me think of certain friends. I didn't intentionally make a difference or prefer one to the other, cause this year; the things may be geared toward entirely different people. I'm not afraid to be a friend or make a friend, wherever I find one. Yes, eBay is a business, but people run it, use it, play in it, depend on it, and enjoy it. I really like people." buttons44

"I have established a few personal relationships and they have fit right nicely into my real life. They are after all real as well. I plan on touching each of them in a very personal way this Holiday season. After all, a smile and a heartfelt wish goes a long way..." dagnee