To save money/look good, what have you switched and passed off ......

cristin

Will everybody here promise not to tell a soul about this ....... but I have kept really posh water bottles (you know the Italian ones) and just kept filling them up with ordinary spring water. Have done this loads of times and nobody has ever said anything. Wouldn't work for the fizzy water though.... too much of a difference in taste. The other trick I would love to try, but haven't got round to yet, is getting really posh empty wine bottles (red?) and filling them up with cheaper wines. Has anybody done this successfully?

Queenie

I had a Tiffany gift bag ... ... popped an "ordinary" gift into it; the recipient was sooooo delighted with her "Tiffany" gift and was boasting for months!! I didn't have the heart to tell her the truth.

We decant Tesco Value Ketchup into a Heinz squeezy bottle - I can't tell the difference, because I don't like the stuff ... but when the kid's friends come for tea, they blather on the 'Heinz' and tell me how it's the *only* brand they'll eat and hate their Nans tesco rubbish! :whistle:

We had friends round for dinner one year when my dd worked in a local Hotel; we bought some plonk and my dd was mortified that we planned to serve it ... she came home with an empty *posh* wine bottle and insisted we decant our el cheapo into it! Hadn't realised I'd raised such a snob

I've served roast rabbit and passed it off as chicken; heart I've convinced the kids was "beef", liver I've passed off as "tender lamb" and, when my eldest informed me he didn't like "fresh" cream, used to get it anyway and told it was "dairy" cream. (I sound really awful to my kids, don't I LOL )

Queenie

:hello: Welcome cristin - I was typing as you posted .. yes, we've done the wine thing ... successfully!!

MATH

Queenie wrote:

I had a Tiffany gift bag ... ... popped an "ordinary" gift into it; the recipient was sooooo delighted with her "Tiffany" gift and was boasting for months!! I didn't have the heart to tell her the truth.

We decant Tesco Value Ketchup into a Heinz squeezy bottle - I can't tell the difference, because I don't like the stuff ... but when the kid's friends come for tea, they blather on the 'Heinz' and tell me how it's the *only* brand they'll eat and hate their Nans tesco rubbish! :whistle:

We had friends round for dinner one year when my dd worked in a local Hotel; we bought some plonk and my dd was mortified that we planned to serve it ... she came home with an empty *posh* wine bottle and insisted we decant our el cheapo into it! Hadn't realised I'd raised such a snob

I've served roast rabbit and passed it off as chicken; heart I've convinced the kids was "beef", liver I've passed off as "tender lamb" and, when my eldest informed me he didn't like "fresh" cream, used to get it anyway and told it was "dairy" cream. (I sound really awful to my kids, don't I LOL )

:rotfl: You're so sorted Queenie ya kidz don't stand a chance heheheh
Why can't I get away with it with my kidz? I served chilli with spicy potato cubes on top the other day and my daughter said she didn't like them
"of course you do, they're just like chips" I said.
"Except they're not fried" chipped in my oldest
"or long and thin" added my youngest
"and chips arn't covered in this spicy muck" complained my daughter
"In fact they're absolutly nothing like chips" my youngest decided
"He's lying, he just tells ya they're like chips to get you to eat them" my oldest said.

They all pushed their plates away:mad:

furrypig

I now puree lots of veg the kids hate to mix with meat to make it go further and get them to eat it. Worked tonight as they didn't like the mushrooms or onions in the sausage hot pot so pureed them and my daughter even tole my son there were no muchrooms in it this time tee hee hee!
I have looked very good/ generous with some of my sale pressie from M & S and Boots, my mum even said I should stop buying her so many presents!! Have loads of birthday and Christmas presents already for this year.

Queenie

MATH wrote:

Why can't I get away with it with my kidz? I served chilli with spicy potato cubes on top the other day and my daughter said she didn't like them
"of course you do, they're just like chips" I said.
"Except they're not fried" chipped in my oldest
"or long and thin" added my youngest
"and chips arn't covered in this spicy muck" complained my daughter
"In fact they're absolutly nothing like chips" my youngest decided
"He's lying, he just tells ya they're like chips to get you to eat them" my oldest said.

They all pushed their plates away:mad:

It's because they *knew* you was fibbing

Queenie

Must share this, it's a classic (not money saving, but most definately sanity saving) ...

My mum was widowed and left with 5 young kids - (we must have been a handful!) - I can recall one summer, laying in bed trying to get to sleep, and the evening seemed to drag on for aaaaaages!!! I told my Mum the next day and she explained, "Oh it was the longest day, that's why"

When she was dying, one of my brothers was visiting and I could hear them having a real ole belly laugh together, I asked what was so funny ...

..... they were laughing about how she would turn all the clocks back by 2hrs if she was feeling really weary when we were kids so she could send us to bed early w/out us realising!! Thing was, my bro's had all sussed her out ... and that was the first I *knew* about it!

badgermonkey

That's hilarious, Queenie! And very enterprising of your mother, I must say. Think how much money she saved by not having to entertain you all!

My year 11 class once put the clock forward 15 minutes so I let them out hideously early. I wasn't quite so amused (although quite glad to see the back of them).

elona

Instead of struggling to put cheap wine into an expensive bottle - put it in a decanter- and accidentally leave the posh bottle in plain sight.

I got a beautiful top for my daughter in charity shop for £1 yesterday but knew she would turn her nose up if she knew - so put it in gift bag - waited till her sister came home and showed her the top - she loved it - top is being posted to sister today and younger sister would love to borrow it!

I bought breadmaker last week and it is in constant use.

Almost cried when DD said "I really look forward to seeing what is on the table now I come home, since Mum started making lasagne in the slow cooker and making home made pizza and bread!"

Best of all is that she did not know that I could hear her!!!:j

Queenie

Awwww, elona - how sweet!!! She's a great girl to appreciate your efforts!