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Special occasions & other celebrations

Discover and share MoneySaving ideas for presents and decorations for all kinds of festivals and special occasions.

Post a picture of your Christmas tree
I apologise if there is already a thread for this but I could not see one My tree this year with assorted panda decorations :cool:
Christmas Party Games!!
I am having a party on Christmas day and I would be grateful for any suggestions on party games. I have a mental family so the wackier the better.
Gifts with a charity element
I don't mean like "a donation has been made in your name" I mean a physical gift I can wrap where some of the money goes to charity. There's an awkward relative and the only gift they've reacted positively to was a gift set where the money went to battersea. They seemed very excited about that. Have you guys seen anything…
Last minute decision
I have two great-nieces and a great- nephew that I have yet to buy for, aged 2, 4 and 6. Last year I spent quite a bit and posted them at considerable expense. Am not inclined to do the same again. I did not get a thank you for six months. (I would nt mind a text or email. It doesn't have to be a letter or card.) We have…
The healing Candle
Removed by snoop . sorry everyone
How much do you spend at Christmas?
When this time of the year comes up again I always ask friends etc what they are buying family/loved one's/partners etc for christmas or how much they are planning to spend etc, and when they ask me they always look in shock as to how much I spend on people:rotfl: Is there a line to be drawn on how much christmas should…
How to stop the same cheque going round and round every year
We have a relative that we never see. Every year she sends us a cheque for £30. We do likewise. It is my husband's relative, so I don't have that much involvement, but nor does he, to be honest. How do we bring this to an end. It's crazy.
Sorry mum! can't afford to buy a present this year!!
Good morning peeps!! Well with the festive season becoming more and more commercialised the pressure to give hits many a purse string! " Sorry mum, can't afford to buy you a present this year. " Words sadly uttered by my Carer who treats and respect me as Mum. With 3 million people lonely at Christmas, never receiving a…
How many Christmas cards have you received so far?
We've only got 15 as of today. My OH informs me that we are due another 43 if we get back all that we have sent.
Forfeits ideas needed for family pass the parcel
MoneySavingExpert insert: Hi everyone If you're joining us from Google welcome to the MSE Forum. We're a lovely, friendly bunch here. Please do join in! This discussion was started by poppet 10 years ago in 2007 but of course it's still as relevant in 2017 as it was then! Related on MSE Christmas Deals predictor Back to…
If you could give 'the fat old man with a beard' one present, what would it be?
What do you think Santa Claus needs? What do you think Father Christmas would like?
Diamonds Factory
Delete please
Magic Sets
Hi. Long time since I've been on here. One of our precious grandchildren is having a tough time at the moment. His mum and dad are wonderful and constantly try find ways to boost his self esteem. He has just discovered that he is good at modelling balloons and can't get enough of it, " I'm actually good at this" So santa…
How to know if wine is still servable
So I previously posted about how to choose wines for a New Year’s Eve party at home. Now I’ve decided (in true MSE style) to raid our cupboard full of wines and see what could be used from there! So the bottom of our ladder has several bottles of wines, some which we’ve bought, others which were gifted to us etc. Problem…
sharing christmas presents / joint gifts
Hi everyone, hope you are all doing well :j I've been thinking more seriously about Christmas this week and trying to get ideas for my youngest dd's - one will be 3 in Feb, one 5 in March. Everything i see i think they will both like! They both like the same characters, the same type of games etc. Have any of you given…
Sweets
Hi Not sure this is the best place to ask but here goes. I have been asked to put together a sweet bag for 61 children in the school l work in as a little gift for Christmas. Does anyone know where l can get sweets cheaply to fill them please. I have been to the supermarkets but with 61 to fill it works out really…
Aldi or Lidl Christmas trees
Has anyone had a real tree from Aldi or Lidl? I have seen Asda are doing them and my friends looks nice. I was just wondering if anyone had any experience. Thanks Lib
Fibre Optic Christmas decorations - replacement colour disks?
Is it possible to buy replacement colour disks for fibre optic decorations? I have a fibre optic plant which looks great but the colour disk is of a type that has a lot of rapidly changing patterns, what I'd prefer is one that gives a much slower changing pattern. Any ideas please anyone ? I can't seem to find anything…
How to wrap/present a selection of individual beauty products!
Hi, I'm giving a few people a selection of individual beauty products... Soap and glory shower gels, creams, scrubs etc. There's probably around 6-8 regular sized items per person. Does anyone have any ideas about how I can put them together to make a nice gift to wrap please? Obviously cheap is good and easy as I'm not…
christmas eve hamper ideas for 10 year old boy
Looking for suggestion of items to put in a Christmas eve hamper for 10 year old boy. Budget around £10 (might need to be a bit more this year) but for that I want 3-4 items :o Happy for the item(s) to be second hand. Previous years I have gone in poundland/B&M etc and got some cheap toy sets but hes too old for that now,…

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MSE News

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All State Pensioners in England and Wales will receive a Winter Fuel Payment this winter, though those who earn over £35,000 will see it clawed back through the tax system. It means nine million pensioners will get the £200 or £300 top-up. Here MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis shares his instant response and analysis, and we include answers to your key questions.
Winter Fuel Payments to be reinstated for millions – Martin Lewis explains how it'll work, what it means and if it's an improvement
All State Pensioners in England and Wales will receive a Winter Fuel Payments this winter, though those who earn over £35,000 will see it clawed back through the tax system. It means nine million pensioners will get the £200 or £300 top-up. Here MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis shares his instant response and analysis, and we include answers to your key questions.
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Winter Fuel Payments to be reinstated for millions – Martin Lewis explains how it'll work, what it means and if it's an improvement
Winter Fuel Payments will be reinstated to all pensioners in England and Wales this winter – but will be clawed back automatically from those earning over £35,000 a year, the Government has confirmed. It means nine million pensioners will get the £200 or £300 top-up. MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis shares his instant response and analysis.
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Winter Fuel Payments to be extended to pensioners earning £35,000 or less – here's what we know so far
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Winter Fuel Payments extension confirmed for this winter – watch Martin Lewis' instant response and his message to the Chancellor
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Forced onto a prepay energy meter? You may be due money back as 10,000s to be compensated
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Special occasions & other celebrations

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