Christmas 2010 Let's Get Organised

VK-2008

ok im a cheat have most of my xmas shopping in
i have 8 nieces/nephews ranging from birth to 8 years old
since they get sooo many toys i get them clothes
asda and tescos have had big sales on
i managed to get kids all their fave character pjs and a cool outfit for them, they have all got a dvd of fave programme/film yet agin on special in supermarkets
then when i was in poundland there was specials on sticker albums, colouring book and pencils
managed to stock up with the characters they all liked
the wee new born i am making a nappy cake its due in november and i got loads of baby gros and outfits in different sizes and neutral colours to help cuts costs

so all in all saved a fortune

for mum, mil, and sil, i have got loads of asda jewellery sets so far, earrings and necklaces. they all love candles so they have got their fave scented candles from tkmaxx yet again sale

the boys dad, fil and bro and bil have got tie and cufflink sets all matching from matalan reduced and mugs

still more to get for parents and siblings but getting there nearly done

wooooohoooooooooooooooo

hoping everyone finds a bargain

mind anyone shopping for toys have a browse in tesco they have a sale, and then they are doing double up on clubcard points woman in from of me was getting an 80quid toy half price to 40 and then clubcard vouchers made it 20 and really got vouchers because they were shopping so all in all it was really free if you ask me xxxx

Kaleidoscope27

TinyTink wrote: »

Hi all

I went into my local BHS today and all their accessories are really cheap almost 75% off and buy one get one free and an extra 20% off

I thought it was too good to be true so only picked up 2 things and sure enough when put through the check out £8 and £9 ring reduced to £2 each they went through at £1.60 for the 2 !!!

As you can imagine I went back through my list of people left to buy for and matched presents to people and covered presents for 4 people for £6.40 !! Bargain and they will never suspect as they look expensive gifts.

Happy shopping

Tiny Tink x

Sounds good! I'm gonna nip in BHS tomorrow in my lunch break, see if there's anything nice I can get for people

SugarSpun

I've been feeling very Christmassy/celebratey the last couple of days, and have:

-finished all the shopping
-collected all the emergency gifts together
-wrapped all the birthday gifts for birthdays between now and December (except one, which I only ordered two days ago )
-made a list of people to receive Christmas cards
-collected their addresses
-started planning Christmas breakfast/lunch/dinner
-ordered all the gifts my husband will be giving :rotfl:
-ordered all the birthday gifts I'll be giving next year :rotfl: - in my defence I found some amazing deals on dealextreme.com and covered all birthdays for £65ish.
-put my name down to help organise a charity bakesale happening in my town and made vague plans to make snowman soup/reindeer poop packages to sell because my baking is Not Great.

This afternoon I plan to finish wrapping the Christmas presents so they're done and out of the way :eek:

sammy_kaye18

Well there is only 132 days until Xmas - holy hell where did that time go????:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

Right so far my list looks like this

Dad

---

Grandad Hamper

---

* a grandad book
* a grandad mug
* a jigsaw of both kids from tesco
* 'I love my grandad' socks
* little bottle of red wine (maybe)
* dark choccies
* keyring

also saw something similiar to this [URL="[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v469/welshbird/frame.jpg[/IMG]"][/URL] in B&M so thinking I might make some of these for gifts too if i can get some nice pictures of the kids and one has a few spaces and they get bigger but are relatively cheap i think.
Although dad is a whizz with cameras etc so has photos online but for the more technology challenged it might be a good idea


Step mum

---

comfort hamper. ---- comfy socks, PJs, sweeties, mini bottle of wine, ethol austin smellies pouch, £10

Mum

---

comfort hamper. ---- comfy socks, PJs, sweeties, mini bottle of vodka, ethol austin smellies pouch, £10

Sister

---

healthy smoothie hamper. --- 3 x smoothie books, hand held blender, couple of ingredients,

Niece 1

---

no idea yet £10

Niece 2

---

no idea yet £10

---

Nan R

---

decorated diary, nightie,

framed picture of Benjamin and Holly as a joint gift. £10

Grandad R

---

pyjamas, home-made biscuits by benjamin, £10




Money gifts
Sister

---

token gift and £10

Brother

---

token gift and £10

Mitchell

---

selection box

Daniel

---

selection box


Other than that I then have boyfriend, ben and holly to buy for.

Thinking i might treat Ben to see wrestling in Cardiff in November as he is a huge fan and its £100 for two tickets so will explain that santa wanted to give him a gift early then get him a load of WWE figures an bits and pieces as gifts.

Holly will be 6 months just so going to get her a play gym and a few little bits but nothing major - possibly £70 maximum

Owen - not a clue but hes into motocross now so giving me more options and will keep ears open!!!!

also kids will have a joint xmas eve hamper with things to do.

so if i start saving now i should be ok hopefully and will start buying once Ben is back in school in september

lazysheep

Well with the frankly miserable weather today and having read a story that says we're pretty much in for this kind of weather for the next few months I thought it was a good time to start proper xmas planning.

I have a very basic spreadsheet that means I can keep track of what I spend and any ideas I have (my memory is truly shocking) plus discounts so I can see what I have saved.

My parents get a hamper each year on a different theme so this year is a food one. They each get their preferred sweets/chocs and a basket of goodies between them. I don't get really posh things as they wouldn't know what to do with them but I get them nicer versions of what they normally use - nice teabags, biscuits, some wine etc. Budget of £25 per parent (normally approx £5 each on their chocs and the rest combined). The basket is always worth more than I spend because I buy when things are on offer etc.

My sister also gets a £25 budget but I normally get her loads of random things rather than go with a theme! Probably about £15 on her bf.

Mum has always sorted the presents for the grandparents from all 4 of us so I don't have to worry about that at least!! Cousins/Aunts/Uncles get a card but we've stopped with the presents as we're all older now.

Other than that I have work friends to buy for (usually a budget of £10-15 each) and their kids (small present each) and my bf - although I am pretty sure I need to add his sister and her bf into the mix since he's really bad with present buying!!

lazysheep

sammy_kaye18 wrote: »

Well there is only 132 days until Xmas - holy hell where did that time go????:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

Ohmygosh that number is not very big.... scary how fast this year has gone....

sammy_kaye18

lazysheep wrote: »

although I am pretty sure I need to add his sister and her bf into the mix since he's really bad with present buying!!

I usually have to do the same with OH. He gives me the money or takes me with him because its usually me who listens from now to what they want etc so i give him the list and he goes and gets. then i wrap them. or he gives me the money and i go and get and then wrap them so he in effect only shops for me and possibly his other son.

sammy_kaye18

am busy looking into wrestling items for my son

got ebay open and the wwe shop too for him so i can hopefully pick up a few bargains

also any sports mad kids or adults don't forget sports direct shop - got a football boot bag, football boots and shin pads put aside for ben for £23

carlamarie_2

everyone seems to be doing great!
i have added a couple more gifts to my list but money is so tight atm, so im really behind!

i have bought a bracelet from samanthalvsben on here for my niece, only ordered the other night so it hasnt come yet, but it loves gorg!! im going to try and find her a cheap jewellery box or make a jewellery roll and add some more cheapy jewellery from primark or claires.

also got my son a gross-out monster which is basically a soft monster which you can draw on and then pull out it eyeballs/kidneys/etc. sounds foul but he'll love it! that was only £5 reduced from £30 from the entertainer and its in a nice big box which will bump his pile up.

loupoppins

SugarSpun wrote: »

I've been feeling very Christmassy/celebratey the last couple of days, and have:

-finished all the shopping
-collected all the emergency gifts together
-wrapped all the birthday gifts for birthdays between now and December (except one, which I only ordered two days ago )
-made a list of people to receive Christmas cards
-collected their addresses
-started planning Christmas breakfast/lunch/dinner
-ordered all the gifts my husband will be giving :rotfl:
-ordered all the birthday gifts I'll be giving next year :rotfl: - in my defence I found some amazing deals on dealextreme.com and covered all birthdays for £65ish.
-put my name down to help organise a charity bakesale happening in my town and made vague plans to make snowman soup/reindeer poop packages to sell because my baking is Not Great.

This afternoon I plan to finish wrapping the Christmas presents so they're done and out of the way :eek:

Wow well done you! :T
I was feeling quite organised till I read this LOL:rotfl: