Old Style preparations for Christmas 2012!!!!!

optimistic

Thanks to a post on another thread, tesco have Elizabeth Shaw mints half price tomorrrow (£1.84), could be a useful stocking filler if plenty of date

SIRENS

Ohh I loved this thread last year but stumbled across it a little late in the day, this year i am taking full advantage of all the tips:D

I have done some present buying already, mainly bits for the kids, have a list on my ipad and a list if ideas (password protected to stop little nosey eyes and fingers)

Also was only thinking of the Christmas Elf last week and considering getting another Elf to go with ours, And also making a mischeif list for him.

fuddle

SIRENS wrote: »

Also was only thinking of the Christmas Elf last week and considering getting another Elf to go with ours, And also making a mischeif list for him.

Oh please tell me more about the mischievous christmas elf, what happens?

Boodle

Thanks for sharing ideas everyone

I am making hampers for people, plus a book or giftset for closer family members on top of that. I intend to make a sweet herbal jelly, a chutney, and a berry gin + some bought oat biscuits and a nice box of crackers. I have some ginger green tea from AF that I could parcel up with cellophane to add to the boxes. All in a xmas-papered shoe box, with cellophane and ribbon.

The children usually get a main present then around 3 extras like books or clothes, then the stocking fillers. We were given 2 bags of freebies taken from kids magazines by a newsagent - they had come from issues that are unsold and returned. I kept them back to fill Xmas stockings with, along with choc coins and a breakfast bar + UHT smoothie or flavoured soya milk from santa which I found last year was the trick to get them to eat something a bit more filling than sweets first thing lol. Gonna ask close family to pitch in for a second-hand piano for the main pressy, and mean to crochet a square and pom-poms to attach to a plain cushion cover for their beds as one of the extra pressies this year - its finding time and inclination to get those done though!

All in all, we should hopefully keep it under the £100 mark, not including the piano which includes xmas paper, labels, etc.

Xmas Day meal plan is:
Melon, Avocado and Watercress Salad with Marie Rose Sauce
Whole Roasted Pumpkin with Pear and Cranberry Stuffing (based on 2 different Nigella recipes), the veg probably roasted parsnip and carrot, mashed potato, red cabbage and sprouts with gravy.
Dark Chocolate Fruit Cake (based on another Nigella recipe) with nice coffee or cuppa

Tea will probs be pate sarnies, hm festive sausage rolls, pickled onions, crisps, carrot sticks, mince pies and apple pies, plus leftover cake from lunchtime. The days before and after will be at family houses, so the week's food shop shouldn't be much more than our usual.

Roll on Xmas!

kiss_me_now9

Think I'm going to do my Uni's christmas market this year again - did it last year but we left it to the very last minute to get our stock up so it was a bit of a rush and not much fun! I'd like to do cards and other crafty bits on it, trouble is last year out of all the stalls about 35% of them were card ones so there's a lot of competition. But I suppose any we don't sell we can use ourselves to send or give to a charity shop.

BluePumpkin

Really interested in this thread- already subscribed!

I'm thinking of doing hampers for everyone this year, which I've never done before. Do you use baskets to put everything in? I was wondering where the best place to get the baskets is- I figure charity shops are worth a go, but I thought it was worth asking the question as you all know so much

Kittikins

Boodle wrote: »

Thanks for sharing ideas everyone

Gonna ask close family to pitch in for a second-hand piano for the main pressy

Try asking on your local freecycle/freegle boards, in my area we often have pianos going begging. I received and then gave away a piano on there (moved to a smaller house so now have a keyboard).

Your christmas dinner sounds deeelish

bossymoo

fuddle wrote: »

Oh please tell me more about the mischievous christmas elf, what happens?

Basically, you make or buy an elf toy, who comes to stay during advent, he keeps a check on boys and girls to report back to Santa on Xmas eve, if they have been good or bad. But he can be a bit naughty himself. Sometimes they can be found with an empty packet of biscuits, or having unravelled a ball of string or wool etc.

Whatever you like, but the idea is to make the run up to Xmas fun and not just about shopping and gifts.

This link offers more ideas:

http://christmas.organizedhome.com/gifts-crafts-gift-tags/magic-elf

Possession

Last year I got mine from a car boot fair - paid about £7 in total for about 10 baskets. I also used a couple of smart boxes I had from super cheap hamper deals. This year I bought a basket set in the Jan sales from Argos, and I definitely won't be buying any of the hamper deals, even when they get really cheap. But I know people have used shoe boxes or even fruit boxes from the supermarket, and covered them in wrapping paper. Don't go too big as they look better with a bit of height.

Here are some of mine from last year:

BluePumpkin wrote: »

Really interested in this thread- already subscribed!

I'm thinking of doing hampers for everyone this year, which I've never done before. Do you use baskets to put everything in? I was wondering where the best place to get the baskets is- I figure charity shops are worth a go, but I thought it was worth asking the question as you all know so much

angeltreats

I was in Sainsburys at the end of last week and they played that Mariah Carey song, All I Want For Christmas Is You! I had to have a giggle.

Bit early for me to start planning. Except I've been looking at my jam jar stash and wondering when to start making chutneys... and thinking that perhaps this year I'll make the Christmas cake in July or August