Organised Christmas 2008.. The countdown has begun!

itsybitsygoth

My budget Christmas table.... this will be my first Christmas with just me and my OH so I wanted it to be special but I'm incredibly skint so couldn't spend a fortune on decorations etc. A bit of creativity and voila! a very elegant (and very Goth) Christmas table

Table cloth- £4 Asda
Napkins/Placemats- £2 for 4 Asda (The spare napkins are wrapped around my usual placemats)
Candle Sticks- £2.99 the pair Quality Save
Candles- £1 each, Poundland
Glasses- £5 for 2 Wikinsons
Silver Ribbon- £1 for 2.7m Primark
Star Confetti- £0.97 Asda

And the table runner is one of my evening shawls.

jamtart6

thats gorgeous itsybitsygoth

pinkladymel

The nightmare before christmas is technically a christmas film as it was released in November but I love to watch it on halloween to sneak a bit of christmas in early It is 15 years old now and I wish I had seen it when it first came out but 2 years ago we went to see a special 3d release at the IMAX cinema and I was so happy I cried!

I really love NBC, if you look you will see I have movie posters on my wall and everything :S

Alphabet stickers:
They have some of the foam thickers:http://www.qvcuk.com/ukqic/qvcapp.aspx/app.detail/params.item.587055/walk.yah.UKCO-UK73
and some of the felt ones:
http://www.qvcuk.com/ukqic/qvcapp.aspx/app.detail/params.item.586140/walk.yah.UKCL-UK48

They may seem a lot of money but it depends what kind of things you like. I do work for magazines and this is how I got into buying the branded names but since I used them I love how they look and the quality. I'm the kind of girl that hasn't had any new clothes for 5 years and spends more on stickers then hair cuts :S

Will I get bored of the decs? No way! My and Dh are a really sickly happy lovey dovey family who love christmas Last year they went up on halloween and this year I restrained until 14th november. Last year I fretted that I had put them up too early but as I was taking them down in January I realised that christmas is only once a year and if you love something, why not have the magic for as long as you like and make the most of it. This year I really intend to!

I have bought all my presents in the sales and now I am booking some special days out and saving for the jan sales.

I can't wait to see everyones decs Thanks so much for all the comments and it is so lovely to share my christmas with people just like me in weird and wonderful ways. You have really made me so festive this year.

Starting from tomorrow, I am getting heavily back on the organising prompts so we can get on track so be prepared

pinkladymel

I LOVE it itsybitsygoth it looks so luxurious!! Don't get gravy on yer shawl

RoxieW

morning all

today -
execise
clean sofas
go to sainsburys for snowman soup bits (and try not to spend a fortune on other bits as i always do when going to sainsburys!!)

hope everyones ok today - am abit lost with the xmas organising - what should i be doing now? I've done the decluttering and am on to the buying/making stage - but I feel like I'm missing something!!

pinkladymel

:xmastree:37 days (5 weeks 2 days) Until Christmas!:xmastree:

Wow, where did the time go since we first started the countdown? Some of us have stuck ridgidly to an Organizedchristmas.com plan (oh how I am jealous) and others (ahem.. myself) have fallen to the wayside and donned dusters in an attempt to just make the best difference they can. Either way.. I look around.. and we all seem to be looking really good and best of all.. very festive

Take the time to just allow yourself a big congratulations :T

I'm lost.. What should I be doing now?
A few people (including myself) feel like this so I will be looking through the past week on organizedchristmas and making a sort of checklist here of the latest things:

• Remember to feed your freezer! Create a stockpile of standy Christmas dinners to avoid feeling over-worked and spending too much on fast food over the Christmas period.
• More Importantly.. Clean out the fridge/freezer! and print out a handy little freezer inventory to remember what you already have.
• If you can, remember to give to charity. Whether it be a shoebox campaign (we have a great thread on here) or just a donation. I'm sure we have a toy or gift we bought just because it was cheap. The kids will hardly play with it.. How about donating it to less fortunate children this year and really living the christmas spirit?
• Print yourself out a shopping list and stock up on all of the staples so you don't get caught out this season!
• REMEMBER to give yourself a little status check so that you know if you are infront or behind and can sleep easier at night,feeling smug!
• Organise your pantry for easy cooking.

I can't believe Christmas came around so fast this year but together we can have our best ever!
Don't forget to share all of your tips and recipes so those less skilled (myself hehe) can share and learn x

:santa2:MERRY CHRISTMAS!!:santa2:

Beki

I've done -

* half of my decorations now (only have the ceiling ones to put up)
* have cleaned and tidied the whole house
* had dd's 3 best friends over to stay and we coloured in canvas bags for presents for their mums/nans/dads etc - fab night actually
* made up my best friend's new baby hamper (he was born this morning - 9lb exactly, and apparently gooooorgeous )
* made my mum's advent hamper
* made up a poem for my nan's and uncle's advent hampers (see below)
* bought quite a few presents, and bits and bobs to go in hampers etc

poem to go in nan's and uncle's advent hampers -

Advent’s just for kids, some say.

But if you love Christmas you’ll find a way,

To bring some sparkle into December,

To make it a month for you to remember.

Empty these goodies into a bowl,

And you will be closer to your goal.

As Christmas draws closer and near,

Open these presents with festive cheer.

Although it must be a dreadful wait,

Only open them on the corresponding date.

Though excited you may be,

Only open in order – 1, 2 ,3.

We hope this puts a smile on your face,

And a sprinkle of magic into your place.

With lots of love from us to you,

From Beki, Al, Shola, and Bailey too.

xxxx

jb28

I'm trying to get organised early this Christmas and I've just bought a subscription to Candis magazine as a Christmas gift and it is wonderful. Contains loads of advice on saving money, recipes, consumer advice, gardening, health - absolutely everything. Plus when you subscribe you become eligable for all sorts of discounts on insurance, days out, family holidays, electrical goods and loads more. Check it out at www.candis.co.uk. Also they've got a Christmas offer on til 11 Dec where if you subscribe you get a free Champneys spa gift worth £20, and if you want you can subscribe for a friend and you keep the gift to give to someone else as another Christmas present. I love it now so take a look!
Jayne

RoxieW

thanks for that mel - cleaning out the fridge is definately on my list. cupboards will get done at some point as we're having new kitchen fitted before kitchen - nightmare! so pointless doing it until then when i have to empty all cupboards anyways.

so...

got some sonwy soup bits from sainos but they were out of white choc chips - i'm blaming the snowy soup thread!
exercise was got by walking to supermarket - although had one of my funny 'turns' while there and now hubby has gone all freaked out and i'm not meant to be doing anything else for rest of day. poor filthy sofas will have to wait.
so this week -
fridge
sofas
more snowy soups
sort out some money stuff (paying a lump of mortgage)
ironing boooooooooooooo
christmas shopping at weekend - yey!
oh yeah - i forgot - clean bunnies cage boooooooooo

RoxieW

beki - cleaned your whole house!! - hats off to ya woman - that took me about 3 weeks and now it needs doing again!