We’ve been hard at work to add some frequently requested features that friends and family have been asking for to make Christmas even more fun with SneakySanta.com.  Our goal is to add to the joy and fun of Christmas while keeping things simple for friends and family of all ages to share gift ideas, draw names, and just generally add to the excitement of the Christmas season.  We are honored to know that we play a very small part in helping families and friends that may be spread out across the world get together for something fun during the holiday season.

We appreciate all feedback we get from those of you that use the site and we’ve added a few new features this year that were popular requests from many of you.  Any time we look at adding new things we strive to give it to you while still keeping things simple.  Here are the highlights of what we have added for 2011:

Multiple wishlists – This was far and away one of the most requested changes we were asked for.  You can now add wishlists under your own account for the kids,the pets, or even that grinchy spouse that refuses to log on to the computer.  This will make it much easier for you to share gift ideas and what could be more fun than sending a “Sneaky Message” from the dog!  To use this feature just click “Add Another Wishlist” at the bottom of your current wishlist, give it a name, and then throw some ideas on there.

Leave some names “out of the hat” – Along with the option to have multiple wishlists the person in charge of your group can easily choose to completely leave some people out of the name drawing if they choose to.  When the group leader clicks “Draw Names”, the first option they will see is to uncheck anyone they don’t want in the drawing.  This works great if you want to draw names for the adults, but leave the kids and the chihuahua out of the drawing.  Let’s face it, nobody wants the kind of presents that little “peaches” likes to leave on the carpet.

Improved invite/join process – We greatly simplified the process of joining a group when you receive an invite from someone.  You’ll have a clickable link with an invite code attached to it, and you’ll simply choose a password and a nickname for yourself and you’re in!  Easy is always better, and we work hard to put the complicated behind the scenes so that you can get to the fun without the headaches.

Dates on wishlist items – Families, coworkers, and friends that return from year to year wanted to know if wishlist items were new or leftovers from last year.  We now display the date an item was added just below each item so you can quickly tell if that Justin Bieber obsession was just a phase from last year or if it has staying power!

We have many updates we continue to work on to improve and enhance the fun of doing your Secret Santa at SneakySanta.com and as always we appreciate your feedback and the fact that you share your holidays with us.  Merry Christmas!!

Amazon.com announced today a new service for Kindle owners.  For owners that have the Prime Membership, you are now able to choose from thousands of books to borrow for free with no due dates! You can even choose from over 100 current and former bestsellers from the New York Times.  Choose a book from science fiction, biographies, and inspirational fiction to name a few.

Other features of Amazon’s Prime Membership are free two-day shipping on millions of products, and unlimited streaming of TV shows and movies. They  have about 13,000 movies and shows to choose from!   So for just $79 a year, you can take advantage of these features and the new Lending Library.

The Amazon.com Kindle e-reader is one of the most popular devices on the market today.  With their whisper-net technology you can download a book within seconds and start reading it instantly! They have a few new products in the Kindle line that range from just $79 for their basic e-reader to their new fire for $199. The basic e-reader will present ads and promotional offers but it is a fair trade for the lower price if it fits your budget.  The new Kindle Fire has a multi-touch screen that allows you to download books, apps, movies, songs, and of course games! The Kindle is an awesome product which is reflected in the more than 33,000 reviews the Kindle Keyboard model has!

So if you love to read, or have a reader in your Sneaky Santa wish list, check out the Kindle and its amazing features! Don’t forget to add it to your wish list this Christmas.  Merry Christmas!

Wouldn’t you like to bring a smile to a member of our armed forces this Christmas? With the help of A.C. Moore Stores you can bring a piece of home to our troops by creating a personalized Christmas card.  On November 12th from 1pm-3pm, A.C. Moore Stores will host a card making event for FREE! Just bring your creativity and bring joy to a service member this Christmas.  A.C. Moore teams up with EKSuccess Brands and Operation Christmas Cards to send cards to bases in Afghanistan, Japan, Iraq, Egypt and Germany.  You can find out more information in this press release. So grab a friend or the kids and have a good time making a service member’s Christmas special. Merry Christmas!

As the holiday season is quickly approaching us, charities may come to one’s mind more frequently. Here’s a  couple that would benefit from your charitable heart this season.

Samaritans Purse -  This charity is run by Franklin Graham, the son of Reverend Billy Graham.  During this holiday season their  “Operation Christmas Child” is in full swing.  You can pack a shoebox to give a child from all over the world.  You can go to their site, print a tag  and choose an age group and gender of a child your shoe box is for. Drop your box(es) off at a location near you. You can find a list on their site or mail directly to them and they take care of the rest! They deliver your package to a needy child from around the world. One thing we like about this site is you can “Follow your box” to see where in the world it is delivered! That’s exciting!  This is an awesome opportunity to “give back” this Christmas season.

The Salvation Army  – We’ve all seen the bell ringers at various retailers during the holiday season collecting our spare change each year.  The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Christmas Campaign started in San Francisco in 1891. It enables the Army to provide food, toys, and clothing to over 6 million people during the Christmas season and millions recovering from personal disasters nationwide.  It also helps those in poverty,  and gives utility and homeless assistance and other various social needs.

The Salvation Army also has the Angel Tree program.  This program allows you to choose an angel from a tree at various retailers and purchase a gift that a person in need has requested and return this item with the angel tag to the tree/retailer you got it from. The gifts are then given to the person(s) in need. This year they have joined with JC Penney to offer online angel adoptions. An individual, group, church, or company can adopt several angels together. You can go to  www.jcpenney.com/angel  to find out more information.

These are just a few samples of the charities that are local and worldwide. No matter where you live around the world there is always someone in need. So during this holiday season take time to be thankful for what you have and, if you’re able,  give back in money, time, or your skill. Merry Christmas!

Alan Schram has written an interesting article on canadianfinanceblog.com about preparing a budget for Christmas starting now, rather than in November or December when it is likely to late to get your finances in order. The tidbit I liked best was scratching a general list out of things you want to get for the people on your Christmas list so you can take advantage of any sales you see between now and then as well as reduce your overall shopping load come December. The only thing we’d add is to start thinking about setting up a secret santa group for your family and friends which is a great budget helper and adds to the fun of the Christmas season. Check out Alan’s article, Preparing For Christmas in June for more useful Christmas budget tips!