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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.

I want to make my own santa letter ??
HI Guys I am looking to make my own Santa letters. I normally use Open Office for my spreadsheets and letters etc but I want something a little more detailed more than Open Office offer. I want to put borders and pictures on etc like I used to be able to on Microsoft Publisher. I know I can buy a cheap letter online but I…
Fun and quirky gift wrapping ideas?
My husband wants Steam vouchers for Christmas. Steam is an online service for buying video games, and I'm happy to get him something he wants. But vouchers are boring for unwrapping on Christmas morning, and these are especially lame - not even proper gift cards, they just come as codes printed on receipts. I'm going to…
Best Mincemeat for mince pies?
Hi, I'm making some mince pies and wondered what mincemeat everyone buys? Where from? I don't want to spend too much as I'm on a budget! Thanks Annaxxx :xmastree:
What colour tinsel?
I know I know, some love tinsel and some hate. The OH is in the 'love' camp. I had the colour scheme all worked out, white tree, white fireplace garland with white snowflakes on the windows. Warm white lights everywhere and purple and gold baubles on the tree along with a purple ribbon garland and gold bead chains, and…
Christmas gifts - 12 days of Xmas theme
Hi All Myself and my sister are looking for ideas for our parents (dad and step mum) to do with the 12 days of christmas and we are looking for any ideas please 12 Drummers Drumming 11 Pipers Piping 10 Lords-a-Leaping 9 Ladies Dancing 8 Maids-a-Milking 7 Swans-a-Swimming 6 Geese-a-Laying 5 Gold Rings 4 Colly Birds 3 French…
Ikea Christmas Tree
This offer for a £25 tree with £20 voucher starts on 6th December. I can see MSE has guessed the date for the Christmas Deals Predictor - not sure how to contact someone to update it... :money: http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/about_ikea/campaigns/xmas_tree.html
Impressive but not too expensive Xmas dinner ideas?
Ideas/recipes needed please. First Xmas dinner for new man PLUS new man's parents (eek). His mum is super duper cook so feeling a bit intimidated - I'm not bad but sometimes things come up fantastic, sometimes only ok, so need something foolproof. I'd love to knock her socks off, in a nice way. Not turkey. Something a bit…
Gift baskets
i have been looking at some of the fab baskets and ideas on the board and am wondering is it too late to start making one now(well i need 2 really) one for dd aged 15 and one for dd 13 i am thinking make up, smellies etc but am ansure of where to start i would like them to come in at about £20 each
Christmas eve hamper/present for children
Hi everyone,:wave: i was wondering if anyone else does a christmas eve hamper/box for there children? and what you put in it? ive done one a few years now, which i give them on the morning of christmas eve, i have 4 children (5, 7, 9 and 13) and so far i have: xmas elf hats (99p ) 16 sheets activity pack (99p) this…
Present for photography lover?
My Dad likes books and photography. So I'm thinking of getting him a book about photography:) I know nothing about it so I wonder if someone could recommend, I just had a look on Amazon saw some that are a few years old. Would they be outdated? Oh its digital photography not manual.
Gifts for an allotment lover
My parents have just got their 1st allotment and are absolutely loving it. What useful things can I buy them for Christmas?
Which food colouring
One of our daughters loves to cook and bake. I have decided to buy her some food colouring for Christmas. I know she loves the bright colours. Can anyone offer suggestions as to which colouring would work best for her. She has 3 little children so get to do lots of baking with them. I only want to spend £15 so this is to…
A Christmas tip if you are worse off financially than your relatives and friends
.... and you don't want to lose face Tell everyone you want money towards a special trip or something, then don't go, but use that money to buy their presents with . Say later what a great time you had on your day out ( which you did not actually go on)
Best value magazine subscriptions websites?
Hi all, So this year I'm looking into getting my Dad a subscription to Sky At Night magazine for Xmas as he is heavily into his astronomy (he even built his own observatory in the back garden!) Best price I've found so far is £41 for 12 issues, but I reckon there must be somewhere it may be going cheaper than that. So…
Christmas 2013 Local Events Calendar
Hi All :santa2: As an addition to the Christmas threads running; https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4357703 https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4605757 I thought this thread would be a good place to list all the local events & happening leading up to & during Christmas 2013. Please keep it relevant…
gifts for a boy into taekwondo
Any ideas related to this theme? Thank you! He is 13 btw.
A gift for Grandmas under £5.
I'm buying for three grandmothers this year - all of different ages, 60's, 70's and 80's. They are all fairly "trendy" for their ages, so white musk or lavender toiletries won't be for them ;) They don't know each other, so to simplify matters (and keep my budget down) I'm trying to buy the same thing. I've already bought…
Outdoor etagerie for Christmas display
As I mentioned in an earlier post, my outdoor tree that I usually put in the porch is looking pretty awful so I was considering buying an artificial outdoor tree. I can't find one anywhere so I am considering buying a plant etagerie onto which I could put some hardy plants, ivy etc. and put some natural Christmas items on…
Charity Christmas Cards
Apologies if a similar post is already elsewhere: I usually make my own Christmas cards but due to time constraints this year, I thought instead that I would buy some charity cards to help support some charities. However nowhere on any of their websites can I find any indication of how much of the purchase cost goes…
Grotto Help!
I am building a grotto for a school fair...limited funds as always! Can anyone help me work out how to make the actual grotto? The room is not high enough for a full sized gazebo to stand in...I hoped it would be so we could turn that into the grotto...but no. How can I make a freestanding grotto!? Thanks folks for any…

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MSE News

Martin Lewis: How to call your bank with just three digits – as 'anti-scam' phone number called over a million times
One million calls have been made to the '159' anti-scam phone number since its launch in 2021, new figures reveal today (Wednesday 30 April). MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis – one of the well-known faces most used in scams – explains how to call your bank by dialling just these three numbers.
Revealed: Holland & Barrett's supposedly cheaper 'Subscribe & Save' often costs more – it's promised a review after our investigation
Holland & Barrett's 'Subscribe & Save' scheme claims to offer regular shoppers "the best value" – but it failed to do so in the majority of cases MoneySavingExpert.com checked over a five month period. The retailer has now promised to review the scheme after our research found it was often more expensive.
Don't get your passport by post – 360,000 paid more than needed last year
If your passport is due for renewal, apply online if you can – it'll save you £12.50. More than 7 million Brits did just that last year – but over 360,000 missed out on savings by using a paper form instead, MoneySavingExpert.com can reveal.
Sainsbury’s Bank customer? NatWest takes over this week – here's what it means for savers and borrowers
Sainsbury's Bank's savings, credit cards and loans will be taken over by NatWest from Thursday 1 May. For most, this means little will change for now as the Sainsbury's Bank brand will remain, though it's expected to be phased out towards the end of this year. However, if you've over £85,000 saved across both banks, it's worth considering moving any excess elsewhere to ensure your cash remains protected.
Chase customer? Check if you can get its newly boosted 4.8% easy-access saver
If you've got a Chase account, check if you can boost your easy-access savings to 4.8% – made up of a 1.8% AER fixed six-month bonus plus its standard 3% variable rate. Chase says over 2 million customers can get the boost, which would top our normal savings tables if it were open to all, though it's beaten by the top easy-access cash ISAs.
NatWest to complete takeover of Sainsbury's Bank this week – here's what it means for savers and borrowers
Sainsbury's Bank's savings, credit cards and loans will be taken over by NatWest from Thursday 1 May. For most, this means little will change for now as the Sainsbury's Bank brand will remain, though it's expected to be phased out towards the end of this year. However, if you've over £85,000 saved across both banks, it's worth considering moving any excess elsewhere to ensure your cash remains protected.
Martin Lewis: Is the £20,000 cash ISA limit about to be killed off? What savers should be doing now
Plans to cut the £20,000 cash ISA limit later this year are being considered by the Government. In his latest video, MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis explains what's likely to happen, what the changes would mean for savers and what you should be doing now.
NatWest to complete takeover of Sainsbury's Bank this week – here's what it means for savers and borrowers
Sainsbury's Bank's savings, credit cards and loans will be taken over by NatWest from 1 May. For most, this means little change for now as the Sainsbury’s brand will remain, though it's expected to be phased out towards the end of this year. However, if you've over £85,000 saved across both banks, you'll need to move any excess elsewhere to ensure your cash remains protected.
NatWest to complete takeover of Sainsbury's Bank this week – here's what it means for savers and borrowers
From Thursday 1 May, Sainsbury's Bank credit cards, loans and savings accounts will be run by NatWest as part of a deal between the two banks. You'll be moved to NatWest in the future, likely towards the end of this year, but for now the Sainsbury's Bank brand will remain and you can continue to use its products and services as before.

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Special occasions & other celebrations

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