Meet at the posted coordinates at 0900-0930 for this is a flash-Mob with a twist: it is also a gift exchange! You do not have to participate in the gift exchange in order to log the event as a find, but if you do desire to participate in the gift exchange, please follow the rules below.
Welcome to our sixth annual Boxing Day flash-mob!
This time of year can be difficult for a lot of people, with culture clashes, family issues, and expectations management all offering their own unique challenges simultaneously. Take a few minutes to set those worries aside; if you are reading this, then you have a family with whom you share a common interest in geocaching, and they will gather here on Boxing Day for a few minutes to give you a hug!
From Wikipedia:
"Boxing Day is traditionally the day following Christmas Day, when servants and tradesmen would receive gifts from their bosses or employers, known as a "Christmas box". Today, Boxing Day is better known as a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and some other Commonwealth nations.
In South Africa, Boxing Day was renamed to Day of Goodwill in 1994. In Ireland, the day is known as St. Stephen's Day (Irish: Lá Fhéile Stiofáin) or the Day of the Wren (Irish: Lá an Dreoilín). In many European countries, including notably Germany, Poland, Scandinavia and the Netherlands, 26 December is celebrated as the Second Christmas Day.
In Canada, Boxing Day takes place on 26 December and is a federal public holiday. In Ontario, Boxing Day is a statutory holiday where all full-time workers receive time off with pay."
We thought it might be fun to start up our own geocaching Boxing Day tradition, hence this event!
Bison Tube Gift Exchange Guidelines:
1) Prior to coming to the event, we would like you to hide a gift (a never-to-be published Boxing Day Cache) to be exchanged with another geocacher somewhere within 10 miles of the coordinates of this event. The gift can be whatever you like... gift card, unactivated geocoins, TB dog tags, swag items, cache containers, etc. Please use your own judgement in selecting your gift items and make sure that they are under 20 dollars in value. You may place your gift items in an inexpensive cache container (i.e., tupperware, lock n' lock, tin, etc.) and hide it to be found later that day. Make sure your gift container is weather resistant and critter-proof. Don't forget to mark a waypoint for your hidden gift for step 2.
TO BE CLEAR, YOU ARE NOT PLACING AN OFFICIAL, PUBLISHED HIDE FOR THIS EVENT. YOU ARE MERELY HIDING THE PRESENT AS YOU WOULD HIDE A GEOCACHE.
2) Bring a Bison Tube to the flash mob event if you are participating in the exchange. Inside the Bison tube, place a slip of paper with the coordinates of the Boxing Day cache you hid for another cacher to find. In addition, it would be a good idea to write your geocaching name and cell phone number or email address on the paper, just in case the Boxing Day seeker needs a little help to find their Boxing Day Cache.
3) At the event, the bison tubes will be placed in a bucket and mixed up. Everyone who places a bison tube in the bucket will then be able to randomly choose another bison tube from the bucket. For those families with multiple cachers, you may bring more than one bison tube but there must be one Boxing Day Cache hidden for each bison tube placed in the bowl.
4) After the Bison Tube Exchange, we will all sign the event log, hug each other, and take a group photo.
5) After the group photo, the event will be over and you may disperse to go find your Boxing Day Cache!! Remember... the entire cache is yours to keep, including the container; so make sure you take everything with you after the hunt. These containers are not to be left behind or published as a regular cache. Leave nothing behind but your footsteps!
6) When you log the event as attended, please thank the cacher who hid your Boxing Day Cache for the gift. You may share what your Boxing Day Cache contained if you like and feel free to post pictures of the Boxing Day Cache, too. You can even post a picture of the hiding spot, since this is not a regular cache hide.
Additional Thoughts...
You can be as creative as you want in hiding your Boxing Day Cache, but please use common sense; a good rule of thumb is to use the Groundspeak guidelines when you place your Boxing Day hide. You can make it a traditional type cache, or you can make it a puzzle-cache or multi-cache to make the hunt more fun. Use your imagination! Keep in mind though, the "write-up" needs to fit in the Bison Tube!
Remember... the bison tube exchange is a 30 minute event, so don't be late!
If you have any questions regarding the rules, feel free to email us, we will update this site to clarify any confusing points.
In the interest of full disclosure, we should note that this is not our original idea; we saw it listed as an event some time ago, and thought it sounded fun, so we copied it. Sadly, at this point, we have no idea who originated it, but we hope, like us, you really appreciate their great idea!