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

freespirit66

Evening everyone,

nic2075 wrote: »

Thanks, I have been a bit of a negative nelly recently. I'm not usually this bad, but things all pile up until they push you don't they?
At the moment I've not ordered anything from it as it's so expensive :eek: even the Innotab which is £43 in Amazon is £65 or so in Littlewoods.
On a plus note my inlaws got back to me and have been invited to my sil for their Christmas dinner. I would love to have them, but if we had his mum and dad, then my sil would have to come, which adds and extra 7 bodies. So it will be the 10 of us plus my 8 month old nephew. Then my Inlaws are coming in Boxing Day for a light supper and see the kids open their pressies.
It means everyone is happy and not as much stress for us. My sisters are bring starters and pudding, my dad is buying the turkey and we will do the rest. They are all bringing a bottle too. :T

NIC you havent been a negative nelly :rotfl:like you say it all just gets on top of you, and its a hard time of year for you anyway, the first year is always the hardest my lovely, glad some of the stress has been taken away for christmas dinner, you can relax a bit now

marco1dog wrote: »

Nana I hope your friend is feeling a bit better what bad news just before Christmas.
Today in Morrisons I bought a lovely Christmas pet mat for under their water and food bowls. It has Merry Christmas and has a snowman, Santa and reindeer on it. The woman putting through my shopping thought it was lovely. It cost £3 and can be washed. It will go out on the 1st of December with all the decorations and doormats etc! It seems to be coming very quickly now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Aah i will look out for one of these MARCO1DOG thankyou

mandco wrote: »

nic littlewoods isn't too bad price wise if you keep an eye open for the offers they were doing 20% off toys which makes them more on par with elsewhere. I mostly use it for bigger buys as I can spread the cost interest free but occasionally get some good bargins in the offers/sales. goodluck on the job hunt
omo lol at ds must be a man thing could you image the panic if we left things to the last minute my lists have lists and I still worry I forgot something
picked up the snowglobe tin from M&S would actually make a lovely gift tin as all the labels are removable.
pre ordered a game for the ps4 at £20 bargin I thought as most are around £50 :eek:
finally managed to find some dvd gift boxes 3 for 99p so thats more thing off my list
think this cold weather is affecting everyone's guag its been so cold the last few days don't feel like doing much and its only nov
on another note I was rather shocked today to find a whole display of ann summers toys on sale in superdrug now I'm no prude and have no problem with them but did not find it appropriate that they were on display esp at toddler level

I am no prude but that really isnt good, what were they thinking!!

PINKNFLUFFY oh my lovely what an awful day you have had, your dad is being very selfish and unthoughtful towards you and your mum, let him stew in his own juices perhaps when christmas comes he will realise how much family should mean to him, we have all done silly things in the car when we are upset/stressed, and i too go to pieces instead of being practical and getting details sorted i resort to a pathetic mess! Not thinking of photos etc, you are so lucky to have such a wonderful DH, mine would shout and fume because i forgot to get a certain detail or didnt take a photo, which of course added more to my stress. Just have your glass of wine and watch something so you can just lose yourself in it and not think about anything else, this house too will be glad when this year is flipping over
QUIDSY oh no poor you, do they not do evenings, entrance after 6pm? Do you not have a friend who could pick DS up? What a shame!
CYMRUMAM oh that is great karma
FEISTY hope it was good news today for DH

Nanamia

Freespirit I managed to find the energy to open my parcels haha, love it that the presents I'd ordered online have started to arrive Then got a phone call from DD, DGD2 would like to pop in on her way home from swimming and of course ended up staying for lunch. DD took her home (so I could have a little siesta) and then brought her back for tea and a sleepover. Thursday is our day with DGD2 as DD is at work So mostly busy with Nana duties ha. Did do a few more minutes of my cull (craft stuff) and have just remembered there is more stuff in a cupboard downstairs, really hoping that'll be it all sorted tomorrow. Then just need to find a place to keep the remainder of the stuff! Then tidy the cake decorating stuff and work out where to store that. DS is sending over some spends to sort my bedroom out so need to be able to clear it completely to have the floor laid. Don't know if I've recovered enough yet from the living room! xxx (off to google another nigella recipe) xxx
Nic don't feel bad about the catalogue, I think most of us have used them at some point in our lives. It's good to know that you could order from it if you needed too, it'll take the pressure off, I hope. We are do what we have to do xxx
Kelly well done on your makes, I'm dying to get started but need some order in the chaos first. Can you post a piccie? I've not seen any houses myself yet but have heard that some are decorated X
Linky aww, Mia is obviously being very well cared for and loved that its showing already Getting excited now xxx
Marco thank you my lovely, tests, tests and more tests. I think the stubbornness that stopped him going into hospital as an inpatient has slowed stuff slightly but we are very, very well situated for excellent care here in Manchester.
Mandco arha can I say I've a seasonal disorder or maybe virus then instead of being damn right lazy? That would probably make me feel better haha. I'd have been shocked too, to see Anne summers in superdrug! I was shocked today to receive an email from them advertising a store opening!! Somebody is selling on my email address ? xxx
Pinknfluffy aaaaw my lovely, what a blooming time you are having. Argh the bump sounds like its not going anywhere (fingers crossed) blinking thing! And your Dad, where on earth does he get his cheek. Oh do not get me started, to go through your Mum too! I'm hoping he has a blooming large flee in his ear tonight! I do hope that rose went down smoothly.. Take a big deep breath, noooooo deeper, you can almost smell 2014 now. Hope you manage to sleep well xxx
Andrewsmum, Loobylous mice for the cat charity are very cute aren't they X
Quidsy I'm hoping that the lovelies will be full of inspiration, tales and photos to share when they get back from the show xxx
Cymrumam I'm smiling to myself thinking of the karma. How right you are xxx
Feisty and Mr Feisty sending love and hugs, I know you did say that there was a chance they'd keep Mr Feisty in so do try and get some rest my lovely xxx

Nanamia

Surprise surprise our posts have crossed again Freespirit sometimes I think we share the same brain haha xxx

freespirit66

Nanamia wrote: »

Freespirit I managed to find the energy to open my parcels haha, love it that the presents I'd ordered online have started to arrive Then got a phone call from DD, DGD2 would like to pop in on her way home from swimming and of course ended up staying for lunch. DD took her home (so I could have a little siesta) and then brought her back for tea and a sleepover. Thursday is our day with DGD2 as DD is at work So mostly busy with Nana duties ha. Did do a few more minutes of my cull (craft stuff) and have just remembered there is more stuff in a cupboard downstairs, really hoping that'll be it all sorted tomorrow. Then just need to find a place to keep the remainder of the stuff! Then tidy the cake decorating stuff and work out where to store that. DS is sending over some spends to sort my bedroom out so need to be able to clear it completely to have the floor laid. Don't know if I've recovered enough yet from the living room! xxx (off to google another nigella recipe) xxx

Aah bless DGD2 wanting to see her NANA glad you are nearly at the end of your craft cull :rotfl:if i dont get back into it i think i will end up having to do that as well, its such a waste all the bits sitting down there but i know if i did get rid i would suddenly fancy crafting again and i will never have the money to replace it all again. I bet you have lots of cake decorating stuff too :rotfl:Oh what a lovely gesture of DS to help you redo your bedroom, you arent starting this side of christmas are you???? I bet the LR is still a novelty isnt it when you walk in the room!

Nanamia wrote: »

Surprise surprise our posts have crossed again Freespirit sometimes I think we share the same brain haha xxx

NANA you wouldnt want a share of this brain im telling you :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:Night x

Nanamia

Ha you do make me chuckle. DGD2 well both of them really are the cutest things ever, we are so, so lucky Yep my craft cull is so nearly there now BFF and I shared a lot of our purchases as we were both card making at the time. The amount of money we spent, I really can't think about to be honest. I looked at putting the stuff on eBay as a few job lots but so many people are doing similar that the stuff wasn't going for that much. That's why I thought the psychiatric unit would be a better idea, I rang and explained etc and they were delighted. The lady I spoke to said that art therapy was a great tool for them so I'm very happy that the stash is going to a good home.
Blessed too with DS, he always said he'd 'look after us' and bless him he is. Now that he's in a position to, he's not forgotten. Not wanting to leave out DD, she's a blessing too xxx

Money_maker

Own_My_Own wrote: »

And if anyone is going to the Ideal Xmas show before the weekend I want details. I hate going to the unknown. ( like can we take food in ? ) We were thinking of getting some sandwiches in Marks on Saturday as I have a feeling it will be very expensive there on Sunday.

Yes, think you can take your own food in. We bought a sausage roll and buns when there but only cos we did the 1st floor first. Hot drinks are pricey but very welcome so a cold drink in a bag will be a good idea too.

Make sure you line your stomach before doing the food & drink section on the 1st floor as we had so many samples we were practically sozzled:rotfl:
It also gets hot in there, particularly after the aforementioned samples...

Coming off the tube and walking up to it was like 'wow, wow, wow', snow on the ground, snowy Christmas trees, it was snowing (yes!) - really setting the scene. The doormen were in green livery, Christmas tunes playing - my struggle to get Christmassy was over and I had a huge smile plastered on my face for hours (not all due to aforementioned alcoholic samples).

If you're going this week then enjoy it immensly like we did. One day is not enough time to take it all in. Don't miss the catwalk show with the models, music and dancing. Worth the entrance fee just for that.

Ruth_honey

Ideal home show-late night is tomorrow (Thursday) until 9pm. Other days are 10-6pm.

Superdrug-when I worked in Ann Summers, all the vibes etc were in an over 18s area at the back of the shop, so I'm surprised Superdrug can put that kind of thing out on the shop floor now. Maybe the rules have changed?

Have been watching Christmas films in bed every night for a few nights, but I keep falling asleep part way through! I see about 20-30 minutes, then I nod off nicely...lol! Don't dream of snow and reindeers, though...

Nanamia

Money maker Oooh you've set such a beautiful scene in my head, thank you. Sounds perfect X
Ruth I keep forgetting about the Christmas films. Will somebody please shout out if Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special is on again. X

Freespirit bookmarked the cheesecake recipe, sounds yum. What maple syrup do you use? What I really mean is does it need a decent one? xxx

Ruth_honey

Nanamia wrote: »

Money maker Oooh you've set such a beautiful scene in my head, thank you. Sounds perfect X
Ruth I keep forgetting about the Christmas films. Will somebody please shout out if Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special is on again. X

Freespirit bookmarked the cheesecake recipe, sounds yum. What maple syrup do you use? What I really mean is does it need a decent one? xxx

It's not mentioned on the Sky planner, so not on in the next week. It's available used (v.good condition) on amazon for under £2 if you enjoy it that much...

tin_can

mrsinvisible wrote: »

Re Christmas dinner, when my three were smallies, my dh was in the merchant navy and usually absent on all important occasions (you know, present at the conception but absent at births and early morning feeds and teething) so I used to do Christmas pud on Christmas day so that I had time to spend with them all day, and made Christmas dinner on boxing day, as Christmas eve was a busy day full of excitement and fun things, like last emergency visit to santa and the crib service. It also extended Christmas for an extra day.
Nana Hugs to you and your friend, also b-e-g to you and yours.
Feisty, (here I have sat and looked at this screen unable to put into words how I feel for you, I was so sure it was the right thing for you both to do, I hope that the ideas you have been given work and this time next year you are telling a better tale) keep your chin up honey, more than hugs to you and DH.
Baby boo so sorry that you came home to rotten news, l hope something turns up for dh soon.
Junior j glad you are back, good news from your tribunal, (dear lord, what a society we live in when l am saying it is good news that you are ill enough to qualify for esa support group!) but you know what l mean.xxx
Now, my mse type news, the wrinklies Christmas fair has been cancelled, but my lovely friend (the one whose house we decorated) has taken samples of the items l made to show her friends and clients -she is a mobile beauty therapist- and has not only sold all l had made, but has got me loads of orders for more!
Off to York tomorrow, only packing toothbrush knickers and nighty so l will have room in my case for a lot more s-h-o-p-p-I-n-g-. Now where is the coffee xxxxxx

there's a christmas shop in york called the christmas angel open all year hope you have a good time in york