NOT BUYING IT! 2015 - A consumer holiday

I_want_a_baby

Thriftwizard - the tartan blankets sound so cosy and homely!

I have wanted a blue patchwork bedspread for our bedroom for as long as I can remember. I have a lovely pink flowery bedspread which I have over just a sheet for the spring/summer. But I really wanted a blue patchwork bedspread for the autumn/winter days to make my room feel cosy.

We don't have our room 'themed' like lots of our friends do, just cream walls, brown carpet and furniture of a matching set that we bought piece by piece when we could afford it.

Our bedding and sheets are a mismatch, I bought cheap microfibre sheets that were cheap because they were bright blue and bright green, the duvet sets were a nice enough pattern but bought because they were in the sale. So the bedspread covers it all and the simple thing of a nicely made bed brings me joy every day.

I almost bought a blue patchwork spread a few months back at ikea for £65 but we had more important things to buy and I couldn't justify the cost.

I am sure that the universe provides for you if you show you have patience. Yesterday my cousin posted a blue patchwork bedspread with four pillowshams on a local Facebook page for £8 - I can't tell you how happy I am!

I keep going to look at it and it makes me smile every time you walk into the room.

This is slightly off topic from all the posts about time being most important (which I completely agree with). But I just think that all the time spent waiting to get one means I appreciate it so much more now. It wasn't a need though as I already had a bedspread. I think these will be the purchases I struggle with next year.

However I think I don't have many 'wants' in life so as long as I wait long enough to know it is something I genuinely do want and find it second hand for not a lot then I am happy.

Anyway off for now, a day of cups of tea, seeing my sister who has bought a wooden bauble each for my children to paint, drying the washing by the fire and wrapping the last of the presents.

I have such a lovely feeling about this Christmas, my sister and her husband are coming back from Germany to spend Christmas with us, I have managed to come in around £100 under budget (the first time ever) and I am looking forward to a Christmas done our way.

Twinkling lights, smelly candles, winter walks, a few nice treats, board games, open fires, hot chocolate and over a week of relaxing with no pressures on us. After a year of every evening and weekend spent renovating our new home just to be together as a family with a break from the jobs will be amazing!

And then the new year of pulling our belts in, using what we have, trying new homemade recipes, crafting rather than buying, finding fun for free, appreciating what we have, growing our own, making do and mend, shopping at markets and locally and walking away from the stress of mainstream living. I can't tell you how excited this makes me!

Best wishes all, speak soon.

IWAB x

Gracie_1827

Great thread. I've been going through my cupboards & drawers searching out stuff that I no longer use and will be dropping them off at a charity shop tomorrow. I tend not to buy a lot of clothes but keep good stuff for years.
My New Years actions (I don't make resolutions) will be to make Barnardos my charity shop destination to give and buy from.
I'm also going to reduce my material and wool stash and knit things for Barnardos and a local Impact charity. I'm trying to find a baby unit that will accept baby hats that I'm knitting.

CAFCGirl

Good day to all,

I was IT today, I was the anti'scrooge, I was the epitome of Christmas cheer - as much as one can be in S'burys anyway!
DS was in my arms, hes 4 and I'm under 5 ft4 so its a struggle, but anyway, he was on my hip, hand on my shoulder, other hand in mine and we were dancing around to the Christmas music, and he giggled and giggled, we spun and we shimmied (on the uncrowded aisles), we stepped aside for people, and sang together...... Husband was pushing the trolley and collecting what we needed.
We had one person tut at us, we carried on and her husband said to her 'There was no need to tut, I think that's wonderful to see. THEY'RE not stressed about their shopping! Maybe you should try it'

He smiled at me, waved at my son who waved back, and then he danced! A grown man - no child to blame it on, gave it a shimmy, and his wife laughed and gave me an apologetic smile.

DS and I carried off up the aisle to Santa Baby.....

Part of me thinks, my actions gave them both pause for thought and maybe, just maybe have altered how their morning filling up their trolley will go, hell maybe even their day now they've avoided the stress induced rage of supermarket shopping at Christmas time....

lessonlearned

That was lovely. I wish I'd been there:D

All it takes is one person - I bet you brightened up The day for a few people. Lovely that the man joined in too.

Reading it brought a smile to my face and a small happy tear.

This is just the very thing my husband would do. He could make even the most stressful shopping trip fun, like you he would dance in the aisles, crack jokes with complete strangers, flirt like mad with the check out girls. All the staff in our local Sainsburys and ASDA knew him. :rotfl:

I bet your little boy loved it.

lessonlearned

Maybe we should all converge on a supermarket and create a Christmas flash mob....:rotfl:

carolbee

Oh how lovely, my dad too would have done that!

Can you go on tour?

Needhelpsaving

Hi everyone - I am hoping to join you all in this quest for being more conscious of my spending in 2015. I have tried to become a bit more frugal over the last few weeks, but am having a bit of a 1 step forward, 2 steps back situation - particularly around food spending.

Re Black Friday sales, I was quite pleased that I managed to play a game with the retailers on this. I bought my bf and brother jumpers for Xmas at £35 each. When I got home the next day, they had the same tops with 40% off - I returned both of the £35 ones to store because 'they didn't fit' and re-ordered them for £24.50 each with free delivery. I don't agree with fist fights over old stock tv's, but what I would say is don't write them off altogether just be more mindful.

Saying that, I will be reading for more guidance and tips as well as a new website I found called slow your home - I have found it quite fascinating.

fuddle

CAFCGirl wrote: »

Good day to all,

I was IT today, I was the anti'scrooge, I was the epitome of Christmas cheer - as much as one can be in S'burys anyway!
DS was in my arms, hes 4 and I'm under 5 ft4 so its a struggle, but anyway, he was on my hip, hand on my shoulder, other hand in mine and we were dancing around to the Christmas music, and he giggled and giggled, we spun and we shimmied (on the uncrowded aisles), we stepped aside for people, and sang together...... Husband was pushing the trolley and collecting what we needed.
We had one person tut at us, we carried on and her husband said to her 'There was no need to tut, I think that's wonderful to see. THEY'RE not stressed about their shopping! Maybe you should try it'

He smiled at me, waved at my son who waved back, and then he danced! A grown man - no child to blame it on, gave it a shimmy, and his wife laughed and gave me an apologetic smile.

DS and I carried off up the aisle to Santa Baby.....

Part of me thinks, my actions gave them both pause for thought and maybe, just maybe have altered how their morning filling up their trolley will go, hell maybe even their day now they've avoided the stress induced rage of supermarket shopping at Christmas time....

That was lovely to read. We've not had anything in the way of Christmas preps this weekend because we've been so busy in the home but it has reminded me that I mustn't scold myself over the lack of festivities for my girls.

It's interesting that I am conflicted. DH and I enjoy the real festivities to begin around winter solstice but even so I am a little concerned that no Christmas 'build up' has occurred. I guess I am still, however much I resist, under the influence of consumerism and marketing :cool:

GreyQueen

fuddle, I think this christmas build-up is something which has only occured in the past 20-odd years. Yeah, there used to be nativity plays, the school christmas party but that was it, pre-Christmas eve.

I was in a chazzer yesterday, earwigging on two women who obviously knew each other. One was a teaching assistant and was itemising what they were doing for the children in the next week and frankly I lost the plot after about a half-dozen special Christmas-themed activities.

Gordon Bennett, no wonder people often feel a bit flattened by the reality of Christmas, nothing can live up to the hype which is out there, and the kids as well as the adults are liable to feel a bit done when it comes down to pressies, a few big dinners and some booze.

Hype leads to unrealistic expectations, and unrealistic expenditures, and unrealistic efforting, which leads inexorably to exhaustion, irritability and financial woes. We need to stand firm against the tide of engineered expectations and make our personal christmases relevant to us and to those we love.

I have some lovely vignettes in my head about christmases past. Such as the first christmas with a certain stray cat we'd adopted. She had a ribbon rosette put on her collar, not something we'd normally do to a cat, but we had a random rosette and she was nearby and looking interested. She sat on the sideboard, bolt upright with her chest puffed out, as if to say Look at meeee!!!! Seemed to be beaming with joy.

Or another christmas scene with Halfwit, a six-month old kitten and the neighbour's kitten of the same age under the tree. Neither youngster had ever seen anything like a shiny bauble and sat there batting it to and fro between them, very solemnly.

This year, I'd love to have a real iron frost, so we can go walking near the gravel pits where its a monochomatic wilderness in sepia tones of gunmetal, griege and pure dazzling white. Seldom seen, but magical.

Dee2

Yes yes and yes GreyQueen - what you said! The paragraph about hype leading to unrealistic expectations and efforting. (I WILL work out how to do quotes) I know I've been guilty of that - when what really is important is spending time with family and friends and making them welcome.