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

nic2075

Thanks freespirit. :A Xx

I will have a go at it. I love rocky road. I go a bit mad with the baking on the run up to Christmas. I thinks mainly because I see everyone on here doing it and I think I should be too lol. X

junior_j

Nic - I was just about to say I might start cooking and freezing before Christmas too lol not that I've ever done it before!

Tribunal went fine within 5 minutes he judged apologised for me even having to be there so I still get my ESA nice to not have to fight just because this disease is rare

However I feel shattered debating a nap lol

I can't watch much television because I'm going to Scotland on Monday so want everything downloaded on my iPad to watch on the coach x

pigpen

Morgy9 wrote: »

For those with young children or lots of lego presents - interesting discussion on lego thread about having Xmas dinner on Xmas Eve evening (like Swedish, Polish and Germans I guess) but not for cultural or religious reasons but because they want to enjoy xmas presents with their children. Rather then kids in living room and parents in kitchen slaving over a meal the kids won't remember, but they will remember if they got to play with their presents with their parents or not. Especially if they have a toy they have desparately wanted but need adult supervision.
!

We have Christmas dinner on Christmas eve.. Christmas day is for chocolate and cakes and biscuits and slobbing on the sofa.. Who wants to eat food after a whole selection pack of sweets?? It is the one day of the year we do this and it makes the day memorable.. I make sure they have fruit in their stocking and before bed and sometimes toast too!

mandco

junior-j good to hear your feeling better and that the tribunal went well
chrissyg sorry things didnt work out for dd
choccymousse I would give it to them as an extra joint/family pressie

we've always had xmas dinner xmas eve ever since I had to share xmas day works really well for us and makes for a much more relaxing day

not done much xmas prep this wk but did book a week away for next yr as haven are doing £25 low deposit/monthly payment scheme and the price was pretty good for during school holidays

will have to pop to m&s for the snowglobe biscuit tin been keeping an eye out for it to go 1/2 price so thanks for the heads up as they sold out of the xmas trees

Peppapig

JuniorJ, glad to see you posting again and congrats on the tribunal outcome - nice to see good sense does prevail sometimes.

His Missus - Liked your cards. I'm with you on the money v presents debate. I made a rule this year that money is fine for birthday pressies but nobody is getting money for Christmas. I'm determined not to be done out of the fun of shopping for pressies!!!

Nana, sorry to hear about DSs friend - it must have upset you all as he's like your own family. Will send all the positive vibes I can find.

Nic - Freespirit has said it perfectly, that woman doesn't deserve your time or energy. Such a shame that she's setting such a bad example for her daughter and upsetting your DD as a result. Hope it all works out for you.

Chrissy - sorry to hear DD is having these problems after everything but your idea sounds great and will give her a taste of independence but still allow her colleagues to feel confident to manage in the event that she has a seizure.

Apologies if I've missed anyone - hugs to all that need them.

Had a lovely, if tiring, day with DGS today (he's 2). Have wrapped all the pressies that I've finished and the spare bedroom looks like Santa's grotto now. Still got quite a few in various stages of completion so hoping to move forward on this quite a lot this week. Determined to get finished before DGS2 arrives. Even midwife has now said she doesn't think he'll hang on until his expected date.

Finally saw John Lewis ad yesterday - really cute but must admit I still prefer the snowman one from last year. Have seen the M&S ad and the Tesco one but not the Coke one - I either watch stuff after recording it so I fast forward through the ads and have missed it or I watch the wrong channels

debndot

Hi all, I haven't had much time to catch up recently so Christmassy hugs to all.
I have perfected a christmas cake recipe and made 2, so 8 more to get done, really need to get a wriggle on.
Have nearly finished my December hamper just a couple of bits to get then wrap it, my other present hampers are in progress not too much to finish them other than baking goodies.
Have had so much going on, we've decided to close our business as dh was offered his old job back designing kitchens which he loved and pays much better than trying to run a gardening business through the winter, but it does mean my only job now will be my cake business, which I have barely bothered with this year and looking after ds. It does mean moving next year is a reality now though, yeay :-)
So I am now de-cluttering the house and cleaning ready for christmas and hopefully to make moving easier.
Hope everyone is ok and hopefully will have more time for christmas bits now, I do love reading what everyone has been up to, thank you all for your posts x

FeistyFidget

junior_j wrote: »

Feisty I can only echo what other lovelies have said about publicising your business handing out leaflets and posters , putting posters in windows. , plastering it over Facebook and twitter and craft blogs!

You could also choose one of your products and do a competition like. "Like and share to be in with a chance of winning X item" ect , can u send me the Facebook link and I will try to get your more followers, do you sell via Facebook ect? Sorry if you've answered all my questions previously my brain is like a sieve

Started to get nervous about my tribunal , my mums going with me for suoport!

Thanks junior, we are trying to sell on Facebook, but so far we don't have much success I'm trying to promote like mad, it's too early to see if it is working. We tried speaking to the landlord today, and he just seemed hopeful we would leave some of the stock behind! He didn't mention negotiating the rent, even when dh pointed out we'd found dozens of places with high footfall, toilets, running water and heating that were hundreds of pounds cheaper a month!

freespirit66 wrote: »

1st task of the week done, made Nigellas Christmas Rocky Road just setting in fridge then can go in freezer :xmassmile

I'm hoping to fill the freezer with baked goods ready for Christmas

junior_j wrote: »

Nic - I was just about to say I might start cooking and freezing before Christmas too lol not that I've ever done it before!

Tribunal went fine within 5 minutes he judged apologised for me even having to be there so I still get my ESA nice to not have to fight just because this disease is rare

However I feel shattered debating a nap lol

I can't watch much television because I'm going to Scotland on Monday so want everything downloaded on my iPad to watch on the coach x

I'm so glad everything went okay I hope you had a well deserved nap !

Nana I'm so sorry to hear about ds friend sending positive thoughts and hope xxx

blue_eyed_girl

juniorj j - so pleased that the tribunal went well for you. :T



Hope you don't mind but I thought I would share a pic I've taken of my 12 Days of Xmas cross stitch.






b_e_g

MrsChristmas

Lol! freespirit66 Being the real Mrs Christmas would just be the dream job wouldn't it?! :snow_grin
Well done on getting your Christmas Rocky Road made & popped away. Inspired, I took a look on Nigella's website for the recipe & am going to give this a go myself ... felt a bit rotten about not making a cake this year (too expensive to justify as only me & DS eat it) but I'm sure EVERYONE would like a piece of that!
That, a homemade chocolate log, mince pies & a gingerbread house (I'm hopefully going to find & follow a more extravagant design this year. There are some amazing pictures on google)

& yes thanks, I am really chuffed with my bathroom so far, still some bits to go in there, just running the last of the autumn coloured soaps & shampoos down before replacing them with more festive looking ones. Nothing special, most things can be picked up from the £shop or Wilkos but I think it all adds to the effect.

Before I go, made a quick dash around the £shop before work (always think of you guys when I'm in there! ) & found red ... I want to say laser cut in a Nordic design .... rectangle & circle felt place mats.
I saw similar in DOTCOMgiftshop but these are obviously £1! So I picked up 7 rectangles (that's how many of us will be eating dinner) & 1 circle.
Below these were some red charger plates too so I grabbed one of them as well as this will sit nicely on top of the circular place mat, add a trio of candles, surround with a wreath 'et voila' a centrepiece for a few pounds :rudolf:

Wish you all a lovely evening & look forward to reading more of your posts & festive adventures over the next few days X

mkgirl1981

Hey everyone I was in asda last night and they had a few christmas novels in, I know some people were looking for them - I can't remember what they were called but might be worth a look if your going