What christmas advice would you give?

Tracey2609

Try to save money during the year for Christmas presents and food (obviously you can buy things when they are on special offer etc), but keep a note as you spend - I think that most people would be surprised at how quickly it all adds up (the odd 99p bargain here and there). Set yourself a budget and try to stick to it. Keep all the receipts for your purchases - we brought our son a TV/DVD last year (which he managed to get a DVD stuck in two weeks ago) - I found the receipt for it in my Christmas Planner (it was still in warranty and has been sent away to be fixed FOC - woohooo). I've been using this website for the past four years - it's an American site, but has lots of tips for a stress free Christmas. http://christmas.organizedhome.com/

Well_Preserved

Encourage children to give gifts themselves as soon as they can - homemade is great- so that they learn the pleasures of giving as well as getting; that will stand them in good stead as they grow up. I think Christmas is a great opportunity to experience the development in relationships that comes from doing things together - far more powerful than from getting stuff, though of course we all like to give our children nice things!

Encourage children to send thank- you notes to those who've given them gifts.

Moany_Tony

Gleek wrote: »

Think I've already mentioned this, but if you don't have a car to keep popping back to and sticking stuff in the boot - target the busiest or worst laid out shops first... for us that's poundworld, primark, claires accessories.

It does mean a bit of to-ing and fro-ing but I do think if I ever have to deal with a poundworld when my hands are full of other shops bags, the shop is full and the queue is stretching right down one aisle, along the back of the store and starting to creep down the first aisle again... I may scream :rotfl: You couldn't even properly look around it as the queue was taking up whole aisles and the other aisles were packed full of people which is why if I have to go in it I try and be outside it for 9am otherwise you've no chance. It really is an incredibly badly laid out store.

Our primark is a jumble sale at the best of times - never mind Christmas!

jackomdj

[QUOTE=mrs marty;48671565

Christmas eve - kids love sprinkling magic food out for other reindeers as only rudolph comes in the house lol so I mix together glitter with porridge oats and put in foods bags bargains![/QUOTE]

Glitter is not good for the birds but you can substitute it with coloured sugar (we make ours by mixing sugar and food colouring)

Beetlemama

For new parents - don't buy anything more than a single small thing and an outfit for the under 1's, they completely don't care and can't really play with it. Get babies clothes and chew toys (same basic principal as for dogs), seriously, we were new parents once too and we shelled out fortunes on things he chewed and ignored.

Get 1-3 year olds a good age appropriate gift in a big cardboard box. Put the toy away for when they've finished playing with the box (around March).

School age kids are the best ever, they're easy, they know what they want and will tell you - but by the time you have these you no longer need advice from other people about what to do with them.

My best advice is - don't spend a year in the kitchen missing any fun that might be going on, meat gets shoved in and you'll see it in an hour or six (depending on the size), vegetables come in bags from Iceland, as do sausages wrapped in bacon and roast potatoes - they just need 3 minutes attention while you open the oven and stick them in or put them in a pan and turn it on. Once the little things start cooking, set the oven timer at 10 minute intervals, so whatever you are doing it keeps reminding you to go look at it and make sure it's all ok. I start mine as soon as the frozen roast potatoes go in. All the vegetables go in the three tier steamer.

Christmas puddings come in plastic bowls from ASDA, Sainsburys, Tescos, Morrisons etc and no longer need an hour or more of perilous boiling balanced on a saucer in an ever ready-to-boil-dry pan. Poke a hole in the top and nuke it for 3 minutes. It taste exactly the same - but any left over ends up like a power ball, so just eat it in one go.

Take the credit gracefully for anything that emerges successfully from your kitchen as if you had spend 16 hours making it.