Although it’s only a couple of days before the start of December, advent competitions are already starting to build up and some have already started. Back in the day the start of advent season was an exciting one as we’d go off in search of the competitions. These days it’s a lot less stressful as finding the comps is in the hands of the comping community, but that doesn’t mean we’re sitting back and relaxing (at least not until a couple of days into December).
Are you ready for the advent competitions this year? Not long to go now – Santa is on his way… #AdventCalendar #advent #competitions #prizes – please RT 🙂 pic.twitter.com/Ufo9QRRSEL
— Loquax (@loquax) November 21, 2017
50 Comps In 2002
This in fact will be our 20th advent comping season and how things have changed. There were no such thing as trackers, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Mind you there weren’t as many competitions either. Back in 2002 we had around 50 advents listed on the site (Wayback Machine). Does anyone remember any of those that were listed? And did you win any prizes? Fast forward to 2017 and we’re anticipating you’ll have several hundred advent competitions, 12 Days of Christmas competitions and pretty much anything else in between to wade through for the most part of December. The Loquax Advent tracker is in play and this will help you not only keep track of your entries but also allow you to hide any of the comps that you’re not keen on. Our listing options also allow you to order the comps as you please – personally I prefer sitename as it seems a tad more organised. But how do you go about squeezing in these umpteen million advent competitions in between parties, shopping and sleeping?
Don’t Panic!!
The key is not to panic or get overwhelmed by them. The festive season is meant to be a fun time so have fun. It’s not the end of the world if you don’t enter every advent, or if you miss a day, or if a competition isn’t working, or you’re not up for it. Grab a mince pie and a sherry and enjoy a bit of Christmas. Now some of you will completely ignore that and work yourself up into a tizzy, probably even not sleep until 4am on the 1st December as you desperately want to enter every comp – OK – that’s your bag, but here’s some useful tips to assist you on your advent journey.
Not every competition will start at 00.01am
With so many comps now on social media, it’s more than likely a lot of comps will start at 8am to 9am. After a few days you’ll be able to have an idea of start times so you’re not wasting time visiting comps that haven’t opened their advent doors. Some comps on social media may also take the weekends off.
Check the closing dates
People get very enthusiastic at advent and will post links for anything remotely linked to the time of year – even if the competition was last years. Just keep an eye on the closing dates, especially in the first few days. You don’t want to waste your time entering comps from 2010!
Check the terms
It’s boring but important for advents just like any other competition. Some advents may only require you to enter once, some may allow multiple entries, some may give you extra time to enter, others may require you to collect the prize or just be for local residents. Just be aware that not every advent competition runs the same way.
Not everything goes like clockwork
You may be ready at 00.01am each day to start your adventing but websites may rely on other people to do their thing. Sometimes they forget to do it, or the site breaks, or something goes wrong. Move on and revisit another time.
Look out for offers
Some sites get listed as having an advent, but it turns out they’re just dishing out daily offers. Curse them and then write a letter to Santa so that he can put the swines on the naughty list. Then let us know so that it can be removed from the advent list.
Be Selective
On the 1st day of December you’ll probably enter anything and everything… by the 5th you should have narrowed down your options to stuff you want to win. Selectivity is the key to keeping your advent list mean and keen.
Sharing is caring
Compers like to say they share but the reality is only a wonderful few actually do and that’s no different on Loquax now than a few years ago. If you spot a competition (advent or not) and it’s not on the site then please post it up. It takes less than a minute but it could make one of your fellow users a winner. That’d be nice for Christmas wouldn’t it? The more folks that share then the more comps you have to choose from.
Share your wins
Don’t forget to let fellow compers know if you’ve won an advent. It’d be good to know which comps are dishing out the goodies – and which ones aren’t.
Don’t neglect Christmas
Make sure you’re not spending all of December 1st to 24th comping 24/7 just to get those advents done. Competitions are everywhere these days so so what if you don’t do them? There’s always another day of comping just round the corner. Don’t miss out on other festive fun with friends and family.
Have fun
The key to enjoyable comping is to have fun – treat the advents exactly the same, perhaps even more so! Stock up on chocolate, mince pies, cripss, nuts, sherry, vodka and christmas treats – you’re going to need them to get you through the next few weeks. Have fun and good luck with the advent competitions. Let us know your tips for advent comping in the box below.