my bargain christmas 2009

legio11

this year we have very little extra money that is not already signposted to bills etc so decided we would do christmas as cheap as possible starting with my 2.5 year old son, he has become obssesed with ben 10 and scooby doo but as many of you probably know they are not cheap items lol i have spent £35 on him and the list includes

27 ben 10 figures £10 ebay (these retail at £5 each)
selection of scooby doo monsters £5 ebay
action sportacus from lazy town 50p carboot sale
10 books from carboot sale £1
£80 worth of boden clothes for nothing thanks to there refer a friend scheme recently
a stretchy scooby doo (won in comp)
couple of dvds from carboot sale

there are other little bits as well from carboot sales and charity shops.

Now a couple of my friends think im mean not spending a fortune on him for christmas but the only thing missing from his gifts are the packaging he is having far more than what i would normally have been able to afford by doing it this way. Should i be ashamed to tell people we are doing a second hand xmas??? when ever they come to our house they are always saying what lovely things we have but none of it is bought new i just bargain hunt lol

For family they are all having body shop items from the recent glitch we have got £170 worth of items for £26 couple of these items are being put back for DP's daughters birthdays next year

I have even started on his birthday presents for next year thanks to charity shop bargains.


What has been your best bargain christmas present this year???

xxx

bonty44

legio11 wrote: »

Should i be ashamed to tell people we are doing a second hand xmas???

Not at all, no you shouldn't ... well done you on all your bargains!

li'l_p

No, not at all. Too many people go beserk at Christmas spending beyond their means, just to ensure their children have all the latest toys & clothes. The problem is that the kids end up having far too much stuff most of which doesn't get played with; its not appreciated and just ends up at the back of the cupboards and at boot sales come the summer months!

Good for you - I am sure your son will be equally as pleased had you bought them new! He will still get the same enjoyment out of playing with them and if they DO end up at the back of the cupboard, you know you haven't spent the earth on them and not feel so guilty about it. Also toys quickly become outdated so before you know it he will be onto the next craze...

craftygranny

Good for you hun . I agree with li'l p kids get far too much stuff and it ends up at the back of a cupboard . My grandkids got so much last year we found 2 huge boxes still unopened in our garage 2 weeks ago. This year they are all getting so much less.
Everyone comments on my home too and my fab furniture etc and much of it is bargains from e bay bought new or as new or the clearance section of ikea.
I have friends who think it's all about how much you spend and i sit and laugh at them spending money they can't afford because they won't look at a bargain as they are somehow inferior . More fool them .
You go girl and i hope you have a really good christmas you deserve it . It's the thought that counts and your child will be overjoyed by what he has . If others are so shallow it's all about the packaging well what does it say about them.

scotrae

Our boys have never noticed or worried about Santa bringing charity shop videos, books etc. One of them is getting a Freecycled 'football' dressing gown this year too! I've got a second-hand jigsaw mat off ebay for my mum also.

We all love the 6ft Christmas tree which I got on our local Swapit/Flogit site too, for a bargain £15 - great quality.

There's another post going ('So, so far this Christmas...' , where I've described some of the new bargains that I've got this time thanks to MSE tips.

I'm aiming to go into the charity shops ahead of our late school pickup tomorrow, as my son spotted some books he wanted the other day.

We should feel proud of our economies! Enjoy a merry Christmas!

legio11

thank you everyone for kind comments, yes my friends all look down there noses at carboots and charity shops and think nothing of spending £150 on new outfit although they havent got any presents for kids and complaining of being skint (makes me laugh) im very very proud of my bargain ways and mostly thanks to this site lol.

savingmummy

I would rather see a child happy, parents proud to have made that child happy then a child deprived because mum and dad got in debt for xmas.
2.5 is a lovely age and he will love them who cares how much they were or where they came from - excellent bargains and finds!!
I have been buying since July in poundland and the likes so no big deals here either - my children are young and have no value of money.

Your friends are jealous that your comfortably enjoying xmas, i bet they have spent too much (imo anyway lol!).

barbie_babe

I have four children and i have bought ds games and books second hand for thier stockings. I am only getting them a stocking each this year and giving them some cash each to spend in sales. I told them this (youngest ten oldest 15)and they are all fine about it. The youngest said dont worry mum i am not bothered about having loads of presents on christmas day as long we are all together as a family. how sweet.

legio11

thank you savingmummy, i have sorted out all my sons toys the last month and sold lots on ebay and carboots etc and have made £180 which is going towards couple family treats/days out and the rest in paypal will hopefully be used in the boots 75% sale to get ds birthday presents lol x

legio11

barbie babe your children sound lovely, i want to teach my son the real value of christmas isnt about fancy new toys but spending the quality time together enjoying ourselves we have spent 6 hours this week doing arts and crafts and he has loved every minute of it

RustyFlange

Legio11 - Please don't feel bad as I think you have done fantastically well and all your friends will be jealous that your bin/recycling box is empty come christmas day when theirs is overflowing!! ... also your son will be able to get stuck in straight away!!

My DD is 2 and for her birthday this year (May) OH was out of work and had been for 4 months! I spent hours trawling ebay and other places to look for things she would like! I paid £17 for £180 worth of things mainly on ebay!!! My biggest bargain was a winnie the pooh treehouse kitchen, I won it for £12 and the postage was abotu £4 but when it arrived it was cracked, I emailed the seller and he told me he would refund in full and I could dispose/repair as I saw fit! I put it all together and the cracks are well hidden thus giving DD a lovely toy for free!!