*The Holly and the Ivy* and the You Know What 2013 Chatter Thread.

quidsy

My targets are on my countdown spreadsheet. This week was to buy last non ds kids pressie (done), reindeer poo and sweet and salt popcorn for ds eve hamper. Other tasks is to start wrapping what I have and plastic bag them by persons/family so they dont get dusty in the loft.

debndot

once we finish last weeks list do we need to post it or just say its done? I have a bit more to finish.
this weeks target is to list the items i need to make food presents for hampers and buy what i can(hopefully all, cost depending)
my do something Christmassy will probably be getting my table runner and mats done while little man has a nap each day and hopefully his stocking too.
Hanley glad your ok,pinknfluffy sorry it didn't go well with your dad, it is awful when there is seperations in the family, we now have a huge extended family due to it but luckily everybody now gets on tho it wasn't like that to start with.
off to look at the next website now as i somehow missed their Christmas bits. Hope everyone has a great day x

mrsinvisible

Cars? Brakes? Lego? [EMAIL="Bloo@y"]Bloo@y[/EMAIL] Ell, Narrow escape, and reward eh? Seriously hun, a real tena lady moment.
Right this weeks target is to a)(in very small apologetic script) finish my lists, nearly done, just the food one left. b) order Olivias House Lego for DGD c) write all cards which need posted even the abroad ones. Note to self, this includes writing the addresses on the envelopes and the correct postage and a date to post them noted on the calendar. d) feel lego bags and try to get an elf and/or a gingerbread man.
OOOOh am having my first trip to a' the range' shop tomorrow, courtesy of DGS dad and other Grandma, really excited about it and have drained my 50p money box of its £42 in case I see anything good.
Forgot to say that DDs [EMAIL="Av@n"]Av@n[/EMAIL] party raised her £105 so her Christmas shopping fund is healthy.
Nanamia, the trophy is a Pool one, he was a very good player, and yes it was an honour.

princesskitty29

Yay all caught up.

Pinksteps I find Ipsos really good for surveys, I've also had a few samples from them to test which was great. If you have a Nectar card you should sign up to 'Adpoints', where you get points for watching adverts/film trailers. You do end up watching the same ones over but it's an easy way to build up points.

Freespirit glad to hear the drain situation is sorted!

I haven't done much for Christmas this weekend so far, yesterday we were out at Homebase and Carpetright etc again picking up stuff for our new bathroom. We did quickly pop into town and I got a Balti dish for a friends curry hamper and a tube on Nivea Soft for my Grandma's stocking from the 99p shop. On Friday I also picked up some after dinner mints to stash away. I can't really stash away food for Christmas as we go to our parents and they insist on doing it, but I do have a dinner party for friends so thought it would be a good idea to stash some bits away for that as it can turn out quite expensive buying it all in one go.

I popped into Primark on Friday and agree with others that the ladies jumpers aren't great. I found a lovely Christmas blanket in there, it was patterned one side and furry on the other, it looked really warm and would be perfect for our CE hamper. It was £10, this surprised me and stopped me from buying it there and then, although it's not really that expensive so I don't know why! Now I've had time to think about it I think I will go back and get it. I don't know if anyone else is like me but I always end up not buying things because I think I can get them cheaper elsewhere, then ages go by and I still haven't got what I wanted!

princesskitty29

The excitement is definitely building, this thread was fairly quiet over the summer, now the pace is really picking up! We're now at the stage when if you don't read for an hour another 10 pages have gone by! :rotfl:

I'm looking forward to all the Christmas catalogues coming out now, Lakeland sent me one the other day. Bit expensive but nice to look through.

Spendless

Hi everyone, just caught up reading. The furby savings are slightly reduced as she wanted a pair of earrings I refused to buy for her because clip-ons are expensive (she doesn't have/want pierced ears) and easily lost! So she had to use her pocket money.;)

In Claire's they had 3 gondolas with item 5 for £5. Items were hair accessories, ear-rings (pierced!) necklaces, bangles. I picked up a homework planner amongst the 5 items.:D Very tempted to put it in teenage son's stocking but it's pink and girly which I think would just add insult to injury.:rotfl: My best 'bargain' I think I picked though was seeing the schoolfriends of DD in there with their parents and us arranging for them all to walk to school together. :TDD has lacked confidence to do this before. Only thing is, I forgot I was taking the train to work tomorrow -oops! Hopefully they call for her in time for me to make it to station on time. Might need to send my supervisor a warning e-mail just in case.

In 99p shop there were 1D secret diarys, pencil sets, A4 notebook with them on the cover and posters. Can't believe how much there was, DD had requested a 1D shopping day about a month ago and we could find naff all.

Boots has started putting some of their Christmas stock out. :xmastree: People who don't want to know about an event that happens 3 months away cos it's too early, bemuse me. I've yet to hear anyone in Jan say 'don't talk about your summer hols, it's too far away, enjoy the season you're in'

The Happymeals in McD's currently have a small game in them. Ours was a battleship game, though there are others. Might be handy for stocking fillers for kids or maybe as the filling for a homemade cracker, though the ship we got was quite wide.


In poundland I picked up some items with pics of Russian Dolls on them (cosmetic bag, magnetic shopping list, oven glove). MIL, aunt and DD all love Russian dolls so I pick these sort of items up and distribute them out nearer the time.

I was teaching DD how to be a savvy shopper (which worked till she got the ear-ring/furby dilemma!) so she was thrilled to discover that she could buy 2 lipglosses in poundland ('So' brand) whereas one in Boots and Superdrug was £3.;)



As I am working full-time next week, communting by public transport, sorting out car and have DD to pick up from childcare my challenge is purely to tidy our bedroom. That's where all my presents, cards, wrapping etc all live and could do with getting straight.

autumngirl

For anyone interested in the silver/gold coloured metal stag heads that have been mentioned, I've seen these in TK Maxx recently. Can't remember how much but they were really reasonable.

That patchwork Debenhams one is really impressive though - not seen one like that before. I've seen decopatch papier mache type stags head which you can cover with fabric but they're around £30 eeek!

msgigglewick

Nanamia. Yeah i had treats but avoided dairy milk as i knew once i started i wouldn't stop lol... its taken me a week and a half to eat this bar which proved to me i no longer comfort eat in the way i used too.


Dh bought me the new baileys last night, had a very small glass tastes like melted choc with the kick of baileys after...quite yummy lol expensive though.

Lol at lego feelers got a feeling i might be to blame for this one teehee.

murie

Blimey! Leave you lot alone without checking in for a day (ish) and I've had an epic read to catch up!!
Nothing Christmassy doing her but I did put an extra £5 on my asda savings card yesterday.

Hanley25-wow! That was CLOSE! Glad you were all ok x

OMO- I've sort of got my list sorted:o

Had everyone over yesterday so haven't got round to much but I did do a trail run with the Tesco 20p jar of mincemeat that I got a moth or so again-I LOVE the smell of mince pies cooking! (love scoffing them too)

We're out to lunch today so this will be another unproductive day. But first I HAVE to mow the lawn-garden looks like a wilderness! OH doesn't 'do'gardening- he would dig/mow/flatten all my plants if I let him out there_ this is based on years of experience! I shall be cream crackered afterwards but its gotta be done-the dog keeps looking at me when she goes in the garden as if to say-come on mom get a shake on!:rotfl:

Hope everyone enjoy their Sunday! No doubt I'll have another epic read when I check back on here tomorrow.

autumngirl

Spendless wrote: »

People who don't want to know about an event that happens 3 months away cos it's too early, bemuse me. I've yet to hear anyone in Jan say 'don't talk about your summer hols, it's too far away, enjoy the season you're in'

That is such a good point! I've had to put up with my colleagues talking about their holidays non-stop for up to a whole year before they actually happen.....for some reason that's acceptable but talking about Christmas isn't, and that's a holiday that everyone is involved in. Why can't everyone be more like us, eh?! *sigh*