New Thrifty Gifty - Organised for Christmas and all ocassions 2010- Santas Challenges

MadamMim2013

cdsmiler wrote: »

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This Christmas we have Bethan’s 1st birthday a week before Christmas, and I wanted to ask all you Mummies (and Daddies?!) on here what toys you’d recommend? We’re only getting her one big pressie for her birthday, and one big one for Christmas (with a few bits in a stocking for Christmas morning) – mainly because she’s too young to know any different, will probably only be interested in the paper, and family will end up buying her SOOOOOOOO much!!

Well, I knew that my son (well both actually) would receive sooooo much stuff from others on their 1st xmas (& birthday.. youngests is on 28th Dec!!) that I deliberate didn't go for toys etc, I bought a very special tree decoration (angel) and had his name d.o.b and 1st Xmas engraved on it (second son's was a reindeer) For thier birthdays it was a moneybox.. again engraved that they could keep forever... just an idea??
You could still get a token toy gift too.... :cheesy:

sarahf191979

Morning Everyone, and welcome to all the newbies, its nice to see some new faces joining in. I keep going AWOL its not thats I'm forgetting you all just so busy with this workplacement and the kids being on holiday :eek: never have five minutes and when I do someone wants me for something LOL.. Things are going to get more manic for me now as I have been offered a full time job from the placement, which I'm buzzing about but my routine is so off at the moment and need to get a new one sorted soon or I'm going to be rushing rounf like a headless chicken,

Well everyone is doing so well, love all the christmassy ideas, its not long now, cant wait now this year I'm beging to get that christmassy feeling again.

Take care everyone
Sarah
x

cdsmiler

elysia2003 wrote: »

I'm not sure if they still do them as DD2 is nearly 8 now. I bought her a ride on scooter thing. This had a rocking base (like rocking horse). This came off and on so you could use with or without. It had a frame around to stop baby falling out. It had electronic toys to play with at the front where steering wheel would be. It had a parental handle so you could push and take her for walks. When she grew out of that, all the handle and frame came off and she could scoot it on her own. It was well used from 1 - 3.

Edited to add: Found one. This one is very basic but you get the idea.

HTH.

That's fab, thank you elysia!!

susan & mary - I can't take credit for that rhyme though, I pinched it off here somewhere about a year ago!! Susan - if it's for a female, could you rhyme box with fox?! lol

rufus - the teddy bears sound lovely.

fedupandskint - where did you get your mini pudding bowls?? Are you going to make puddings and give them as gifts? If so, how are you planning on packaging them?

MrsGibbs - great ideas, but we got a lovely photo christmas bauble last year (as she was born before christmas, but we weren't sure she was going to be!! lol So missed out on most of the 'babies first christmas' stuff!), and my Aunt bought her a lovely silver money box. Hmmmm. Could get something engraved for her first birthday though. But what?
Oh and toy suggestions are still great as we can put them on her Chrsitmas/Birthday list for others to choose from!! lol

Sarah - Thats great news about the job!! You going to take it?! And more importantly can you log on to here from work?! lol (I'm a bit lucky in that respect....)

Oh had a mare last night. Copying photos off an SD card onto my laptop, and I was rushing.... It's hubby's SD card and he asked me to clear it off once I was done. So, convinced I'd copied everything off, I highlight it all and delete. Well, my laptop deletes faster than copying, and suddenly everything's deleted and my laptop is shouting saying it can't find the last 60 photos to copy over!!! ARGH! Lovely photos of Bethan with wallabies in west wales were included in those 60!!! Panic. Little cry. Ate serving of trifle. Got my bum in gear and managed to find a free piece of software (completely legal!) that could find the deleted files and restore them for me!!! Phew...... So, if any of you are ever in the situation where you've deleted stuff, especially off a data card or stick, or it's become corrupted and damaged, don't worry, there's ways to get most, if not all, back!!!

Clare x

fedupandskint

cdsmiler wrote: »

fedupandskint - where did you get your mini pudding bowls?? Are you going to make puddings and give them as gifts? If so, how are you planning on packaging them?

Hi Clare, I'm going to use Delia's recipe and scale it down and use that for 4 sm pudding gifts which I will steam to stage one. Once they have reached this stage they can be stored for a while. The recipe is in both Christmas books and I think its been slightly updated in the newer version released last year. I'll then wrap them up in muslin cloth and then pop into a cello bag and tie with ribbon and attach a card with cooking instructions on eg steam for 1hr.

If you want the recipe/instructions just PM me

I bought the mini bowls from Sainsbugs yesterday 4 for £5 and looked quite similar to the ones from Lakeland. Not sure if they are good quality but got them now!

HM goods plan is 2 x cakes, 4 mini puddings and 1 larger pud, then onto jams, chutneys and flavoured oils and vinegars later on

elysia2003

So glad you found the missing photos Clare. Has she got a bangle? You could have one engraved. For my god daughter's christening in May, she was only just one too, I bought her a diamond necklace. There is a range especially for children called D for Diamonds. Don't buy from a jewellers - they are better prices from ebay jewellers - and still new of course! There are bangles, necklaces, earrings etc. The chains are shorter and if you find a design that's not to babyish, like a star or a heart, she could put it on a longer chain when she's teenage. Just a thought!

I didn't get any diamonds until I was 35/36. DD1 was 11, and DD2 was 6.

elysia2003

Thanks Fedup. I was in Sainsburys yesterday (after you posted all your bargains) and I never found anything.

Could you please pm the recipe too. Perhaps if you type it into word, you could copy and paste to save typing out too many times.

I might have to do a tomato chutney too this year, as all the tomatoes we've grown seem to be ripening at the same time. :eek:

cdsmiler

fedupandskint wrote: »

Hi Clare, I'm going to use Delia's recipe and scale it down and use that for 4 sm pudding gifts which I will steam to stage one. Once they have reached this stage they can be stored for a while. The recipe is in both Christmas books and I think its been slightly updated in the newer version released last year. I'll then wrap them up in muslin cloth and then pop into a cello bag and tie with ribbon and attach a card with cooking instructions on eg steam for 1hr.

If you want the recipe/instructions just PM me

I bought the mini bowls from Sainsbugs yesterday 4 for £5 and looked quite similar to the ones from Lakeland. Not sure if they are good quality but got them now!

HM goods plan is 2 x cakes, 4 mini puddings and 1 larger pud, then onto jams, chutneys and flavoured oils and vinegars later on

You're fab! lol I know the recipe - I have the old Delia Christmas book (love it!). Hmmmm. Will think about this. Also had the idea of doing mini Christmas cakes in my head for a while, so will think about it some more. Time is my problem at the moment!! lol

Actually, the Delia Xmas pud recipe makes me laugh, purely because of my Nan. She's 90 this year (28th Dec!) and fantastic for her age. Lives alone (but 10 minute walk from my aunt!), goes walking, travelling, bakes....she's amazing. Well for all my life she's always made the Christmas puddings and my parents would get one from her a few days or weeks before Christmas ready for the big day. Anyway, me and my Dad (who bakes the Christmas cake each year!!) were discussing who would take over the Christmas pudding making once my Nan either decides to stop or has passed on. So we thought it best to ask her her own special recipe she uses...it's only the blinking Delia one!!! lol There we were thinking she had some sort of hand-me-down recipe.....!! lol

Anyway, thinking of doing jam this year again, and going to look for a nice onion recipe. If my Mum grows masses of tomatoes, I might do a tomato chutney too.....

elysia2003 wrote: »

So glad you found the missing photos Clare. Has she got a bangle? You could have one engraved. For my god daughter's christening in May, she was only just one too, I bought her a diamond necklace. There is a range especially for children called D for Diamonds. Don't buy from a jewellers - they are better prices from ebay jewellers - and still new of course! There are bangles, necklaces, earrings etc. The chains are shorter and if you find a design that's not to babyish, like a star or a heart, she could put it on a longer chain when she's teenage. Just a thought!

I didn't get any diamonds until I was 35/36. DD1 was 11, and DD2 was 6.

Good ideas.... will mention this to hubby tonight. We're probably not getting her christened, so that type of gift would be good.... Thanks elysia!!

You're all so fab, you know that?!

Clare x

fedupandskint

No worries Elysia - I'll pop it over to you later on!

mary-op

Hello all :j
Sarah -well done on the work placement :T

clare -glad you got your files back and thanks for the tip on how to do it:T

Checked my stash upstairs this morning and looks like I'm almost there (apart from tubs of ''snowball'' sweets and little extras like that-cobweb chaser -mustn't forget that) and now sons girlfriend is no more thats two lots of stuff going to me I think................lol:rotfl: Present to myself:T

Just need to think of something special for grandchildrens 18th at christmas and some odds and sods for the grandson...........grandaughters easy but grandson not so..........not into jewellry or anything like that so its never easy.

fedupandskint

My order from Sainsbugs arrived today which was brill

The garden hand tool set is great which is 4 stainless steel tools with wooden handles which look sturdy and great and are straight off into the gardening hampers

The only things left are 2 gardening books from book people and a garden stool then I think that's it!

I just wanted to mention the garden tool set incase anyone else was looking for something similar and it is 4 tools for £12.49 at half price