Thrifty Gifty - Organised for Christmas and all ocassions 2009- Santas Challenges

mum2one

New email today - very interesting considering my last one to them I pointed out that over half the stock I had ordered had since been sold out.

Item DescriptionQuantity Price EachTotal PriceStatusLADIES BOOT BY PENN – BABY BLUE 1 £3.99 £3.99 Despatched ADRIANNE 72" CURTAINS PINK 1 £0.00 £0.00 Despatched ADRIANNE 72" CURTAINS PINK 1 £1.99 £1.99 Despatched BUDDHA TEA LIGHT GARDEN 1 £1.99 £1.99 Despatched ANGEL & DEVIL PINK SLEEPSET LARGE 1 £1.99 £1.99 Despatched PLAYBOY GEO CURTAINS 66 X 54" PINK 1 £6.99 £6.99 Despatched GOLFERS BEST TOOL 1 £1.00 £1.00 Despatched MESH SANTA LIGHT 1 £1.00 £1.00 Despatched DOLPHIN AND FISH DESIGN BATH MAT 1 £1.99 £1.99 Despatched MAKE UP BAG WITH BRUSHES 5 £1.00 £5.00 Despatched VODKA GLASS 2 £1.00 £2.00 Out of Stock - Refunded VODKA GLASS 10 £1.00 £10.00 Despatched Postage & Packing £3.99 Offer Applied -£5.78 Total £38.14 Despatched: Your items have been despatched by secure courier, and will be with you in the next 2-3 working days (For Larger Items; please allow 14 working days for delivery from the date ordered).

Out Of Stock – to be refunded: We are unable to supply this item, because we no longer have any stock. A refund will be sent to your payment card in the next 2-3 working days. If all your items are out of stock, we will also credit your carriage costs.

Replacement Item In Progress: We have processed the order for your replacement item and sent the details through to our warehouse for your goods to be despatched.

Refunded: A full refund for this item has been sent to the debit or credit card you used when you placed your order.

Out of Stock – Refunded: A full refund for this item has been sent to the debit or credit card you used when you placed your order.


We hope you will shop again with halfcost very soon.

If you have any queries, please e-mail us at [EMAIL="customercare@halfcost.co.uk"]customercare@halfcost.co.uk[/EMAIL] Yours sincerely Pat Matthews Customer Care Manager

Could be an interesting parcel x

Tigger888

rufusd!!!2 wrote: »

Sorted out my gifts again last night and have put some in gift bags and sealed them up. Looking for a green gift bag (should be able to findone of those nearer Xmas) and a purple one as some of my presents were colour themed. Found red gold blue and pink in 99p stores.

Thank you - I am doing colour themed gifts for my mum, niece, MIL and SIL and hadn't thought about putting their bits in bags - brilliant idea!

I have managed to give our bedroom a very good tidy and this week i am concentrating on our two downstairs rooms. Also managed to write ten Christmas cards last night - very pleased with myself! :j

mum2one

Hows the Santas Challenge coming on, whos found the most unuseful item in their cupboard, or that packet of food that should of been eat by the year 2000!

I can not believe how much junk we found in just one cupbaord, booklets going back to 3 microwaves ago, all the plactic cookware that was brought for the microwave cooking - collecting dust........ so off to the charity shop it went......
xx

ragz_2

mum2one wrote: »

Hows the Santas Challenge coming on, whos found the most unuseful item in their cupboard, or that packet of food that should of been eat by the year 2000!

I can not believe how much junk we found in just one cupbaord, booklets going back to 3 microwaves ago, all the plactic cookware that was brought for the microwave cooking - collecting dust........ so off to the charity shop it went......
xx

I have done 2 top cupboards and the pantry, also unpacked a box of kitchen stuff that hadn't been done since we moved.
Oldest item in my pantry was an open bag of pearl barley that has moved house with us 3 times and went out of date January 2007! :rotfl:

paddingtondoo

I still have one cupboard to do but the oldest use by date I found was May 2005! There were also several things from 2007! :eek:
Will update once I've done the last cupboard :rotfl:

mary-op

Shame on me ............lacking in the clearing of cupboards......... too busy creating loads of mess as I pretend to be 'crafting'...............lol
Transformed old cork memo board now.............It has coaster calendar, coaster post it note pad on one side and two little pots..............one for pens, one for drawing pins.
Oh, and I covered my little hat box at last...........:j

Now I'm doing dinner and I''m all behind myself..........lol

mum2one

Traditional Xmas Cake -

Makes 1 round 23cm cake or 1 square 23cm cake

Ingredients

1/2 kilo mixed fruit
1/2 kilo sultanas
1/2 kilo currants
250g glace cherries
200ml rum,brandy or sherry
290g plain flour
2 tsp ground mixed spice
225g butter
225g soft brown sugar
5 large eggs
zest of 1 med orange
zest of 1 lemon
150g ground almonds.

Utensils etc
Large mixing bowl
string
baking paper
deep 23 cm cake tin / square or round depending on shape.

Method.

1. Put all the dried fruit (bar cherries), in a large mixing bowl, add liquor, (you can use orange juice instead).

2. Cover with clingfilm, leave for 24 hrs stirring ocassionally.

3. Line the tin with 3 layers of baking paper, wrap outsides with double layer, of brown paper. Preheat over to Gas 2, 150C or 130C if fan oven.

4. Rinse the cherries in warm water, pat dry with kitchen paper. Cut each one in half,

5. Sift the flour and mixed spice together, (use seperate bowl),

6. Cream butter and sugar together, beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and adding a tablespoon of flour mix with each one.

7. Finely grate the zest of the orange + lemon, stir into the creamed mixture.

8. Stir in the rest of the flour mix, ground almonds, cherries and the dried fruit + alcohol mix. Mix well.

9. Put mixture into desired tin, pat top with damp fingertips.

10. Bake for 1 hour, reduce oven temperature to 140C / 120C (fan oven), gas 1 and bake for a further 3 hours or until a skewer in centre comes out clean.

Can cover tops with foil if browning too quickly.

11. Remove cake from cake tins, and cool completely on a rack, (leave baking paper on)

12. wrap in foil and store in a tin,

13. after a week, unwrap and pierce with a skewer, drizzle over 2 tablepsoons liquor,, wrap and store.

14. Repeat twice over 2 more weeks.

digressing slightly......
but the square cake is ideal to use as presents/ in hamper, as cut the cake into half, then half the other way, (leaving 4 quaters), and can be iced and rewrapped up.

xx

fedupandskint

mum2one wrote: »

Hows the Santas Challenge coming on [/QUOTE]

I have cleared out 2 kitchen cupboards and cleaned them, I still have the 2 big cupboards to do this weekend which are full of pots and pans.

Still have the food cupboard to do which I will leave for another weekend - it is packed full!

Present list is upto date and mum's and brother's are half completed with just the other half to order from Amazon - should be quite straightforward.

Christmas Eve Hampers all sorted now and just need to make up the snowman soup closer to the time alongside some baking treats.

Just OH present to sort - will see what he wants, thought about a nice stir fry food hamper for part of it - not sure what else he wants. Better see how the birthday hamper goes down, I get the feeling I'll get a funny look and 'oh that's nice dear' reaction which means 'why did you get me this?' !

sunrise27_2

wow you are all soooooooooooooooo organised
I start my shopping for christmas in January and picked up quite a few bargains
I'm trying to train my children into being organised for christmas , my 20 year old son has been saving £25 a month and buying bits and pieces throughout the year , my 17 year old daughter has just got a part time job so shes' started hers as well ( she's making mini hampers for her cousins , a football themed one for the boys, girly make up ones for the girls, dolls bits and pieces for her youngest cousin who is 18 months and a creative one for her second youngest cousin who is 3 ) she's picking up lots of bargains. big football shaped memo boards £1.50 in wilkinsons, a man utd money box in poundland and lots of mini bottles of shampoo etc in wilkinsons.
shes bought lots of creative bits in poundland as well
I'm well on the way as I bought lots of things in January , got some real bargains in the big boots sale and also in Debenhams
I'm making dvd night in hampers for my children and their other halves , just found out that for £12 worth of tesco vouchers I can get 12 dvd rentals in blockbusters so they'll be going in their hampers, along with pringles, popcorn, some drink and I've just bought 2 big tins of sweets in tescos ( buy one get one free ) that I will split up and put in various hampers
I'm making a romantic night in hamper for my brother and sister in law who have the 2 very young children, I'm going to get candles, I've got the bath crystals , got the chocolates, going to get a bottle of wine ( got a really love bottle holder in the factory shop in January for £1 ) and I'm going to make some babysitting vouchers for them from us
not a bargain but I'm going to get a ticket to go and see Oliver for hubby , I don't want to see it but his friend does so his wife is going to get him a ticket for christmas so they can go together
my daughters boyfriend has just bought a car so I'm going to get a bucket and make him up a clean the car kit and also get him a subscription to top gear magazine again using my tesco vouchers

mum2one

Just wrote a recipie for a light xmas cake and hit delete instead of send!!

So will rewrite and put on 2mor.

Hope everyone ok, those cupboards sound like their coming on well.

My plans for rest of week.

get light xmas cake recipie on
Get drinks recipies on
Resort out xmas list, got lists in different stages, need to get them to the same
Finish and adjustments

start making dd birthday bags, pass the parcel etc at weekend.

keep bailey entertained while the new cooker comes on Saturday, very sad exicted about haveing a glass door and light on the oven.

get my ingredients ready for mince pies and xmas cakes... thou have to confess use packet pastry mix, in all honestly the packet mix just as cheap as mixing pastry, and I have hot hands......

Next week the great bedroom tidy out, and get anything ready for ebay.... xx