News Flash

Stand-by Ornament Makers: keep an eye on your in boxes, there are a few people out there whose ornaments have not arrived. We are investigating and we may need to re-assign. It is always disappointing when people or the postal service don't come through, but we are doing our best to make it right. If for some reason you have not sent out your ornament please contact the Swap Team right away at rememberingswaps@gmail.com.

A few more...

Here are a few more! If your ornament has still not arrived with today's mail and you have not heard anything from its maker, please contact us at rememberingswaps@gmail.com; we will do our best to get to the bottom of it!

New Arrivals!

Here are some new arrivals....remember it's ok if you have still not received yours, it is still just a little over a week since our shipping deadline, and there are probably a few folks out there who were a little late getting theirs out. That being said, if you have not heard/received anything by this friday, 12/18... please message us privately on Facebook or send an email to rememberingswaps@gmail.com, and we will investigate.

More beautiful ornaments making their way to their new homes.

The first ornaments have begun arriving!

Check them out! More arriving each day! 
"...completely in love with my ornament.." "..Every year I am honored and amazed by the thoughtfulness of these moms..." "...the most beautiful ornament I've received..." It really brings joy to read the happy messages from parents when they receive their baby's ornament. Nice job so far everyone! If you haven't received yours yet, please be patient, it should be on its way soon!

 

Ornaments should be shipping today, December 7th

Greetings, Ornament Swappers! Today is shipping day! we hope you have crafted something awesome and have found your way to the post office with it. Sending your ornament today will ensure that it arrives at its destination in plenty of time for the holidays. As a courtesy, send an email to your recipient to let them know it's coming. When you receive your ornament, we'd love to see pics! (email to us or FB message). If you don't want to share publicly, that's ok, but, if possible a private acknowledgement to the person who made your ornament is always appreciated; they like to know you have received it. Thank you!

Shipping date is approaching quickly!

Just a few more days to get your ornament(s) ready for shipping! All ornaments should be hitting the postal system by Monday December 7th along with a quick email to let your lucky recipient know to expect their package (or tell them if you are running a little late). Then we will look forward to your photos of the ornaments you receive! (Makers, please let recipients be the ones to post & share pics! thank you!) You can message or email pics to us & we will share them on our page & blog.

So by now, everyone should have received their Swap assignments... now it is time to get crafting! We highly recommend not putting it off, as our shipping date, December 7th, has a way of creeping up on you! There is also no rule that says you need to wait to ship until December 7th, it is perfectly ok to ship early... Have fun with it! Plenty of great crafting ideas all over the web, and of course there is always Pinterest...find ornament ideas here

Sorry we missed you

Sorry if you missed us this holiday season. Activity for the 2016 Remembering Together Holiday Ornament Swap will begin towards the end of October or early November, 2016. 

If you missed us this year please put us in your calendar as we would love for you to participate next year.

If you are new to our Remembering Together Holiday Ornament Swap (have not participated in the past or did not get to join the 2015 Swap) and would like to be part of the 2016 Swap send us an email to rememberingswaps@gmail.com and let us know that you would like to be notified when the 2016 Swap is gearing up again.

Registration is Now Closed

Registration is now closed for the 2015 Remembering Together Holiday Ornament Swap. Thank you to all of you gracious and thoughtful people for participating in the Swap.

Please watch your email for your Swap assignment. It should be in your inbox no later than November 19th. Ornaments are to be in the mail no later than December 7th. Thanks to all of you who will be working towards this goal.

Happy crafting everyone.

Calling for More Participants in Canada, Australia, UK and Europe

The response from the United States has been very significant this year. We will have an easy job of making matches/assignments in this region. We would love to be able to raise our numbers in Canada, Australia, UK and Europe. This way we can be sure that every match is a new one without having to duplicate any from past years. And of course, we would be grateful to provide more families with newer or older losses a way to have their babies treasured over the holidays.

If you know of anyone who has had a babyloss and you live in one of these regions please forward our Swap information to them and let them know about us. Sign up closes on Nov. 15 (6 pm EST).

Warm Regards,
The Swap Team

2015 Registration Closing Soon!

Registration for the 2015 Remembering Together Ornament Swap will be closing soon! If you have not yet registered, you need to do so by this Sunday, November 15th, 6pm EST. If you know anyone who might be interested in joining the Swap, let them know to sign up now!

Thanks to everyone who has  submitted and confirmed their registration so far. Once registration closes, you should be receiving your Swap assignment within 3 - 4 days (no later than November 19th). Then it will be time to begin crafting! The ornament Mail-Out date will be December 7th.

Your thoughts and compassion towards another family's loss is a gift unto itself. We hope this year's Swap brings a little joy to your family's holiday. Thank you for your participation!

Welcome to the 2015 Remembering Together Holiday Ornament Swap!

Greetings!

If you would like to participate in the 2015 Remembering Together Holiday Ornament Swap, now is the time to sign up! Please Click Here to register.

Registration will close on Sunday, November 15th (6 pm EST), and you will receive your Swap assignment(s) no later than Thursday, November 19th. We ask that you mail out your ornament(s) by December 7th, so that all ornaments reach their intended families before the holidays.

After you submit your registration form, please watch for a confirmation email from us; a quick reply to that email is required to complete your registration. Please put our email address in your Contacts so you do not miss it! You will not be registered if you do not reply to this email.

Questions? Click Here for more info and/or scroll down to read previous posts.

We look forward to having you a part of this year's Remembering Together Holiday Ornament Swap!

Best Wishes,

The Swap Team

One of 2014's beautiful
creations...

Registration for the 2015 Remembering Together Holiday Ornament Swap is opening soon!

The Remembering Together Holiday Ornament Swap is back for a sixth holiday season! By participating in the Swap, you will receive a holiday ornament with your baby’s name on it, handmade with love by a fellow bereaved mother/father or family. In turn, you will also get to craft a handmade ornament honoring another family’s lost child. We will be posting the link to our registration form right here on the blog in just a couple of days...

A very important part of the Swap is the “making” process. We want all participants to be creative and put their hearts into the ornaments they give. There are some helpful suggestions under the FAQs to help start the creative process.

Important dates of this year's Swap:

November 1st, 2015 - Registration/Sign Up opens

November 15th, 2015 - Registration/Sign Up closes (6 pm EST)

November 19th, 2015 - Registrants receive swap assignment

December 7th, 2015 - Ornament shipping date

The shipping date is very important! In past years, the Swap team has received too many emails from ornament makers indicating something had “come up” preventing them from completing their ornament on time or at all. Please think carefully before signing up about whether you have the time and/or financial resources to commit to participating in the Swap. As much as you may be disappointed to not participate, the parent/family who does not receive their ornament will be even more disappointed as well as hurt. By registering, you are making a commitment to another family. Please be honest with yourself about whether you will be able to honor this commitment, because to another parent/family, it means a lot!

Many answers to your questions can be found in the FAQs. If not, please email The Swap Team at rememberingswaps@gmail.com and we will do our best to answer them.

We are opening up registration for the 2015 Remembering Together Holiday Ornament Swap very soon.

You will be able to register/sign up on November 1st. Please come back and visit this page and look for the registration form/sign up on the right hand side. 

Until then...

We are gearing up for our 2015 Remembering Together Holiday Ornament Swap. We are looking forward to our 6th annual Swap.
Stay tuned for more information coming soon.

2014 Swap Wrap Up

Wow, all of a sudden it's the middle of January. I'm sorry it's taken so long to wrap things up for the 2014 Swap, but all the things that got put on hold in the lead up to Christmas demanded their share of my attention right after. This is going to be a long post so please stick with me.

There were so many beautiful ornaments created this year in honor of our babies. I hope that all of you had the chance to see the ones that were shared on the FB page.

I know some people did not receive the ornaments they should have and again I apologize and thank you for your patience while we tried to get things straightened out. We will continue to try to make sure that it doesn't happen to anyone else in the future.

A huge thank you goes out to all those who volunteered to make extra ornaments in December when circumstances prevented some families from making their ornaments. Your generosity is greatly appreciated by me and those who received your ornaments.

Thank you to all the participants for sharing your talents with each other and and helping make each of the last 4 holiday seasons a little brighter. While there have been challenges each year, I know the majority of  people have done their best to live up to their commitments and have appreciated the efforts of those making the ornaments and the organizers. I am grateful to Jenni, the founder of the swap, for starting the swap and for entrusting me with the responsibility to keep it going.

I'd like to introduce the new co-organizers of the Remembering Together Swap, Rebecca and Brynna. They have been working hard along with me on this year's swap and have made my last swap as organizer much more relaxed and enjoyable. I know they will do a great job of organizing the swap next year and in years to come.  The swap is in good hands and I hope the swap will continue to grow and get better each year. I plan to be around to support the new organizers and to participate and I hope you all will too.

Cara