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

lunar_sea

I used to be the same for picking up barains lunar sea - what I have done is a list of what kind of things I want to buy everyone in a small notebook ie: brother: dog hamper, BIL: car hamper and the budget next to it so if I am buying something I have to know who it is for before I get to the cash register.

Bargains can be deceptive in that way - if you're not going to use it, no matter how good a buy it is still a waste of money.

If you are in the habit of it though you might have some previous bargains stashed away waiting to be used? Why not have a look through if so and see if any could be used this year.

I dont think I do have anything worth giving stashed away unfortunately, though I will have a good look when Im sorting through my cupboards.

My local Poundland has got Sky Lanterns in stock, I have been pricing them up on the internet as my son wanted one to set off at Christmas in memory of his grandad who he lost earlier in the year, the cheapest i could find was £3.99 plus postage so it worked out a lot cheaper. It says on the packet that they can also be used as a quieter alternative to fireworks too!

3_cheeky_princesses

Hello all

MumOne will get my secret santa pm'd to you by the morning latest if that is ok X

Also has anyone seen these! I know we are meant to be thrifty but they are soooo cute!

http://www.play.com/Gadgets/Gadgets/4-/11535894/Happy-Sack-Christmas-Pudding-Bin-Bags/Product.html

Will pop back later my children are chasing the poor dog at the mo!

mary-op

Oh eck............not sure my new specs are quite right.........could just me adapting to them. I've always had varifocals but these have a graduated tint from top to bottom...............maybe its that.........
Managed to do pooh bear photo album wearing them anyway so thats another thing done all bar two photos I'd forgotten about............:rolleyes: -typical numpty me..........lol
OH not so good today...............went for a lie down this afternoon, most unlike him but we've both lost a couple of nights half way decent sleep so maybe its that.
Found little christmas decoration in a cupboard I bought some weeks back................flowerpot, painted cream, fircone in the top with some plastic ivy round it................think I'll have a go at a few of those.........got the flowerpots and fircones..and some artificial greenery.
Laptop keeps cutting out on me.................:eek: keep getting told I can't be connected so if I'm missing for any length of time I'm maybe somewhere in cyberspace,,,or at least trying to be.............:rotfl:

NickyBo_2

3_cheeky_princesses wrote: »

Hello all

MumOne will get my secret santa pm'd to you by the morning latest if that is ok X

Also has anyone seen these! I know we are meant to be thrifty but they are soooo cute!

http://www.play.com/Gadgets/Gadgets/4-/11535894/Happy-Sack-Christmas-Pudding-Bin-Bags/Product.html

Will pop back later my children are chasing the poor dog at the mo!

I love those!! I'd love to see the binman's face when they load those into their lorry :rotfl:

fedupandskint

Just thought I'd play my part in this month's Santas Challenge and share my hamper ideas and prices.

Birthday Hamper Make Travelling Easier and Relax when at Home

Laptop bag £20 (£40)
Travel Bath Cream 50p (£2.95)
Face Masks for men stressed skin 49p (99p)
Organic Lip Balm £1 (£4.95)
Razors £2.10
LCD Travel Alarm Clock £3.99
Hand Sanitizer Gel 39p
Men's Hankerchiefs pack of 7 £1.99
LED USB Laptop Light Attachment 99p
Travel Mouthwash 89p
Travel Sponges £1
Umbrella £9 (was a nice one!)
Sweetie Jar £1 jar £2 sweets
Strawberry Liquorice 69p
Eye mask and ear plugs £1.99

Relax at Home
Yankee Candle Tart Burner and 2 tarts £8.35
Shorts and T-Shirt set £4.99

Total = £61.87
Original price in brackets

My favourite shop was Home Bargains which had some bargains indeed! Thegift was very well received and I put all the travel stuff in the laptop bag and put a bow on and the rest in one of the bargain hat boxes from Mr T which worked out about £1

Easily adapted for other budgets as the main expense was the laptop bag which was a main part of the present

Christmas planned hamper ideas

Food Hamper
Marmalade (made)
Chutney (made)
Christmas Chutney (made)
Pickled Onions (to make)
Chilli Jam (to make)
Chilli Oil (to make)
Spice Oil (to make)
Jar of Honey
Pack of pine nuts
Pack of cashews
Red/Green Curry paste packs
Oatcakes

The main expense will be the oil and vinegars. The Chutneys didn't cost much as for the Christmas one I had most of the stuff in from the Christmas Cake and could use it up. Aldi do some cheap vinegars which I will try next. I'll be looking in the international supermarket for pack of cashews and pine nuts which tend to be better value than the supermarkets.

I don't think the cost will come anywhere near to buying a food hamper from one of the stores

I saved a lot of jars and bottles to reuse for the oils and pickles and had some labels and cellophane covers in the cupboards

For the sweetie jars - Mr S has loads of chocolate eclair bags and swizzles on offer for Halloween which I have used to fill the jars

Hope this helps

tq16

mum2one wrote: »

Guess who nearly had a very embarrasing incident, was shopping in Evans, and this skirt + boots jumped out at me.... in the changing rm, heard the fire alarm, next minute voice shouts ..... Ladies we need to evacuate..the fire alarms going off....." luckly just my trainers were off, luckly false alarm!!

Bargain shopping

POUNDLAND -
reducing their Halloween items 75p,
Lovely tie + cuff links set £1 (boxed)
Ipod cover set, leather strap + matching keyring boxed - 75p

Thats dds headmaster sorted out, and the Ipod set for my tutor, may need an extension in the future!!

Hope everyones ok, dds doing her magic, got my new dongle set up,so over the next few days ur "santas partners info will come"

If I could have ur choices back by 20th Nov, then can start the forwarding stage, xx

very exicted, everytime I get an answer back, I keep thinking I wonder if they'd like that, or that would suit xx, dd was telling the Lady in Argos that mummy was doing a secret santa, she had visions of us all invading the one store!! xx

Sorry being rubbish- can you remind me is it 3 options I need to choose? Thanks

JordanShannon

Hi ladies,

Have been paid!!! YAY:j so have been doing some Christmas retail therapy

Ipoints have been sending me emails from vistaprint, ie claim your free personalised calendar etc...
So i brought my "free" calendar (paid £5 toward it for P&P and it to be printed on special glossy paper) for mum and brought my "free" personalised pen for my auntie (only paid for P&P):D

Also brought Jelly Belly Strawberry Jam & Liquorice 100g bag each- off eBay. Using these for my Tin of Coal.

I'm going shopping on Saturday with Father so i will pop into Wilko's, Boots and Hobbycraft

Have a raging toothache and have neuralgia (sp??) so need to book an emergency appointment as i can't sleep properly and the right side of my face has doubled, making me look like a lop sided hampster :rotfl:

She's making a list.... no really i'm off to make a list of the bits and bobs i've got to get

Even mum feels like it's Christmas, she's taking part in the 6-week run up to Christmas- aided by me

JS
xxxx

djstar80

Well, what a horrible few days I have had - don't know where to start! :mad: As you know, my little one was really ill with a sick bug last week, then on saturday my oldest came down with it but she also had a really high temp as well. At one point it was 39.6!:shocked: Luckily this was the one taken by the doctor as if I had just told the gp that she had a temp of 39.6 he would of probably thought that I had taken it wrong or something. That was really worrying as if it had gotten much higher she would of had to go to hospital so sunday morning I've got her in the bath and I'm sponging her down with luke warm water, Faith is trying to climb into the bath (and is still being very clingy and grizzly from being ill herself) and then hubby starts being sick too!
My only saviour was walking down to sainsburys (in the rain) to get some basics as had run out of bread, milk etc to walk in and see a big rack full of xmas magazines!! :j Wish I could of brought them all lol, but managed to resist and just got the one :whistle:
I then woke up monday morning and couldn't get out of bed! I have ME which I have been managing quite well recently but all the stress of the last week and other things going on in my life has just floored me so had the doctor out and he recommended me spending the next 1 - 2 weeks in bed to give my body and brain some time to recover and restore my batteries. So monday afternoon I'm sitting in bed and think 'oh I can pop online and check the mse boards' and my internet had stopped working!:eek:
Didn't get it fixed until late this afternoon and it turned out to be the stupid boy in the t-mobile shop hadn't loaded the money on the dongal correctly! Anyway, rant over lol! How is everyone else doing?

Ragz - Thanks for Faiths well wishes and good luck wishes for the house. Lol about the tin of chocs :rotfl: I was just as bad as I ate one of the choc oranges that I had brought for the kids stockings!

3cheekyprincesses - Thanks for the good luck wishes for the house. By the way, I'm loving those bin bags! So cute and festive! :xmassmile

Mum2one - Poor you on friday with all your bad luck! ((hugs)) and there must be something about you and fire alarms at the moment what with evans as well lol! :laugh:
Thanks for Faiths get well wishes and good luck wishes for the house too.

I am happy to say that our house seems to be germ free now (touch wood) and hopefully we have now gotten them out the way so we will all be well for xmas!

We're still number one on the list for the house and it closes tomorrow night at midnight - so it's looking good!

Santa Challenge!
Well as most of our things are in storage I can't sort out the bedrooms and cupboards etc until we move which is such a pain as it would have been so good to have gotten it all done now, but can't be helped so have gotten off lightly with this challenge for now.

As for the xmas arrangements I have been through my diary sorting out all the letters I've had from the schools etc and have a jam packed dec with plays, carol concerts, parties and the xmas fair etc..
I've sorted out when I will see most of my friends and family over the festive period apart from my best friend (so I really need to talk to her about that!) We're staying home on xmas day and then visiting family on boxing day.

Phone number list - do you know I'm ashamed to say that I'm 29 years old and I had never thought of this before so thank you mum2one! It's lucky I've never needed a doctor or similar over xmas as I don't know what I would of done!

Hamper ideas - chocolate lovers hamper
movie night
craft hamper
Theme hamper ie. hannah montana, night garden...
If I think of any more I will post them.

Can I also just say a big thank you to mum2one and everyone else for making me feel so welcome on this thread. :heartsmil I normally just follow threads and never post but I feel so at home here that you can't shut me up lol!

Right, now going to curl up in bed and finish reading my xmas mag! :rudolf:

jamtart6

oh djstar! that sounds so bad! hope everyone is well again soon - wasnt swine flu they had was it?

irishgirl62

i got a message tonight from work we all to to get swine flu jabs next wed! not compulsory but after getting the text about it we were in a clients house and had to call the ambulance the paramedics arrived and said his temperature is high and he has a cough we are not allowed to take him to the hospital! and told us that over half of the paramedics refused to take the swine flu jab cos its new and rushed thru and dont want to be told in ten years time sorry you have cancer or other medical problems cos of the swine flu jab!
it made me think! cos their attitude was if we are healthy we can survive the swine flu