An alternative if newbs really want to participate that I thought of is sending their gift to whomever is running it very early (say before the end of November, before santas are even picked out) so that their recipient is picked out and the person running it can take care of all the shipping, so there's no worry of it being sent late. It does involve extra cost of shipping and put some extra stress on the person running it, though... Not sure if its worth it, but its a thought.