Even though for me it was a flop, the secret santa event was great for me and I'd love to see it again next year. The Origin-Gone-Steam™ idea of Escrow was a probable cause for the disappointment some of the participants experienced. Maybe, given some addition features, we will indeed see this event next year although I myself can't think of anyway to ensure the success of the event without excluding users or some sort of filtering system.
Just know that by gifting something or attempting to gift something, you have excluded yourself from the section of the scrap.tf community that were the weaker links in this chain. You are the people that contributed to making this event work. If you gifted something but didn't get anything back, you repaired the chain and thanks to you, your recipient is enjoying christmas with a nice new item or more to add to their TF2 inventory and you made their experience in this event a success.
For those that tried to gift but had their items returned to them, you still played part in the success and you should thank Gaben that someone that ruined secret santa for someone else didn't receive the items you were generous enough to give away. You are not the one at fault and if you still feel you are missing out on the charitable festivity, you should maybe consider raffling one of those items away. Either way, I suggest that you put your disappointment aside and enjoy your day. I was hopeful for this event so I personally thank you for your contribution to making it succeed and I'm sure thousands of users, donors and staff would thank you too. Merry Christmas everyone~💘
TL:DR Version:
I'm Proud Of You, Merry Christmas