* Walking in a Winter Wonderland * - It's the 2015 Christmas Chatter Thread

Peppapig

Murie, when Ibought the AS paint, the lady in the shop said the key thing is not to paintfrom the tin because the longer it’s exposed to the air the thicker itgets. She advised using a spoon or ladleto decant some into a yoghurt pot and add water so it’s the consistency ofsingle cream then use that as a first coat. Do the same thing with the second coat but not quite so thin. When I first tried it I got paint everywhereand went back to using the tin but then I tried again and it’s so much better I’dalways decant and add water now. If yourub down with really fine sandpaper (320) it comes out feeling like glass. I haven’t waxed it yet though so fingerscrossed I don’t muck it up at the very end!

Ruth-honey, Asdahad the Nescafe gingerbread latte (pack of about 8 sachets) on offer for £1.50this week – I bought a box to put in a hamper.

MrsI you soundlike me. We seem to have so many to buyfor and I buy for DGD to give DD as she’s a single parent. We’ve cut down on the adults this year - £10limit this year and I think maybe just token pressies next year.

Feisty, to behonest in your position I think I’d just say no pressies for the adults andtoken pressies for the small children (the older ones aren’t children now – do theybuy for you and DH? I bet they don’t.) If the adults choose to still buy for you thenthat’s their choice, if they can afford it easily then they probably do itbecause they enjoy it. If they can’tafford it then hopefully they’ll follow your example. I don’t buy anyone for anniversaries, onlycards unless they’re big ones (25, 30, 40, 50 or 60 years) – to meanniversaries are personal between the two people involved and I never expectanyone to buy for our anniversary except DH lol. Whatever you decide, the main thing is thatyou and DH are happy with what you’re doing – the people that care about youwill understand and support you and the others aren’t worth stressing over.

Drops of JupiterI’m desperate to get to the Range – I’ve put it on my ‘must do’ list for thisweek along with taking a broken fridge and some carpet remnants to the tip!

Free I fullyintended to buy a turkey crown from M&S last year but I just couldn’t bringmyself to pay that much for one meal. :eek: I’vestill got my M&S vouchers that I got with my contents insurance but think I’llspend them on the smaller bits they do (biscuits, special bits etc). Might spend them on the many sales they’rebound to have between now and Christmas though lol.

Arthien thatCanadian shop sounds fabulous, glad you’re over your jetlag now. Can't help with the sloe gin though.


Had my flu jab yesterday and woke up with sore throat and sniffles today. I know there's no reason why they're connected because it's not a live vaccine but I'm still blaming the jab

Been getting ready for the winter this weekend – sort ofSpring Clean but in reverse. We’ve takenthe garden furniture apart and packed it away, thrown out the summer beddingthat’s more or less died, generally tidied up outside and washed the outsidesof all the window. It’s a sort ofnesting instinct with me, I love throwing everything open to welcome Spring butI also love battening down the hatches ready for Winter too.

OK so my ‘must do’ list for this week is now:

[*]Take stuff to the tip
[*]Go to the Range to see their Christmas things
[*]Get decs down and decide what will be used this year and what won’t
[*]Decorate the dining room end of the lounge (this one might be a bit optimistic)

Wish me luck

Treasurequeen

peppapig hope you feel a bit better tomorrow there are lot of colds going around at the moment. Have got my turkey joint from aldi on Thursday which is now stowed in the bottom of the chest freezer. Also got the last large tin of quality street in my local sainsburys which is stowed in the wardrobe (don't want anyone to find them and eat them early) have sorted my friends Christmas present managed to get two ring holders off of amazon. Which I will separate one for my friend and one for my aunt and split the cost between them ( will work out £4.90 each) just need to get a little something extra to go with them and then they are both sorted. :rotfl:

freespirit66

Evening everyone, i had a very successful trip to M&S today, i got the shortbread half price, plus they had massive tins of belgian chocolate biscuits half price from £15 to £7.50 and i got the bottle of bucks fizz for christmas morning, i saved £12, and the lady SA said that today was the last day for both offers, if anyone is going to an M&S this week could i be cheeky and ask that you let me know what this weeks offer is, many thanks! Asda was a different matter omg it stressed me out today, it was so so busy, i couldnt find half the stuff i was looking for (im glad this isnt my usual weekly shop) and then it came to much more than i was expecting :mad::mad: And i was so stressed i forgot to get 2 of the 3 christmas food bits But instead of buying the christmas mag i bought Thumper a lovely dinosaur fleece blanket for £5, the only blankets/fleeces i have are his baby ones and not very big, this one will keep us both warm when we have cuddles

CROWDPLEASER oh that is good to know that it is a big one and worth going, thankyou! I didnt realise you were a local, i have also been told there is a 4D cinema so we might squeeze a trip there as well!

MRSINVISIBLE oh wow no wonder they are spread all over your house :rotfl::rotfl:ooh when do they usually do 20% off, i will hold back then! Hope your skype was successful

FEISTY aww thankyou! I stopped my sisters buying for my kids as soon as they became 21, for birthdays and christmas, otherwise it just goes on and on and on, i know this sounds awful but i cant wait for my nieces and nephews to get to that age, (i have a bl**dy long time yet to go) it costs me £160 a year for birthdays and christmas and i just dont have the money, they are both well off families, kids get everything they want, and i struggle and from some of them dont even get a thankyou. So i would make a stand and say that is what you have decided and use the money saved for the baby! BTW i love the wallpaper

CLUMSY oh dear is that what people do? Surely people know how much they were originally in primark!!

DROPSOFJUPITER thankyou my lovely! oh i must sort out getting to one then pretty soon, i want to buy the stag head to decoupage from there it is half the price than HC

IRISHROSE yes i am fed up of people wanting everything for nothing too, DD1 put her kindle fire on there the other night for a very good price and within seconds someone offered her £10 less!!!! Yet they wont budge when they are selling something :mad: can i ask how much the HP dressing gowns were please?

KAYA ooh i forgot about lush christmas smellies mmmm must look online, hope you have had a lovely lazy day

P-PINCHER oh thankyou for that advice about the 3 for 2 that is handy to know, and also that the prices are the same, i actually never thought of that, not being able to pay online with a gift card i will have to investigate! I also do cleaning stuff/TRoll/Toiletries to last throughout January, OMO gave me that tip when i first came on here and i do it every year now then i know i am sorted when funds are doubly low

ARTHIEN glad you had a lovely time in Canada it is one of the places i have on my wishlist! Yes i have made Sloe Gin before, a good few years ago, it is lovely! I used barley sugar sweets instead of sugar, you need to wash, make sure all the stalks are off and !!!!! all your sloes, then add them to the gin with the barley sugar/sugar and put in cool dark place shaking every few days for the sweets to dissolve, leave as long as possible, then strain and bottle up

PEPPAPIG haha i know i cant bring myself to pay extortionate prices either for one meal!! I do like to get my value for money but then i want luxuries as well :rotfl::rotfl:Hope you get everything done that you want to this week

murie

Peppa- I have mixed up the paint in a small container and am working out of that. I will try putting another coat over it and see how that goes- if its still cr*p then they will be in the bin! They only cost £2.99 from B&M so I wont be too worried if I do end up binning them, but will make a note to not get involved with painting again! Your DD's cabinet sounds lovely, very classy. Can you post a photo when its done? Hope you feel better soon x


Well, Im on here late as I am usually in bed by 9.30. But DD's BF (recently reinstated BF!) has been up to stay with us over the weekend trying to mend bridges with the family) but set off to go back down to Brighton as its his first day back at Uni tomorrow. He has crashed on the motorway, rang DD who is in a panic cus she cant go and get him cus she has an 11pm curfew on her cars black box.He is stranded on the side of the M40 (no relay cover on RAC it transpires!) so had to get DS up, (who had just come in and gone up to bed after being at his girlfriends) so they have gone to fetch him. He is unhurt as it the car he went into, but he is really shaken (only had car since May). He admits he is at fault cus he indicated to pull out, the lorry in front of him pulled out without indicating- he panicked, slammed on the brakes and skidded, hitting another car. His car is a write off from pics he's sent. My kids have reached him now but they have to wait for the car to be recovered before they can bring him back (they are bout 100 miles away). Honestly why does it never rain when it pours??? Im thankful that everyone is all OK. but things were just starting to look up for them, one step forward 3 steps back!
Sorry to moan, just scared/frustrated/ relieved I suppose.


Freespirit- I don't eat steak at all , that's why Im treating myself to lobster tails. I very rarely eat red meat (as in maybe once a a year if I HAVE to)- I don't like the texture. OH and I couldn't be more different in our taste in food- he is a real caveman, has to have meat at every meal whereas I only really eat fish (which he only eats if its covered in batter and comes from a chippy!) Although I am partial to a chicken madras on Friday nights!


Night everyone

murie

Oh and Feisty I echo what others have said, I would be inclined to stop buying for them too.

mrs-moneypenny

Morning all, I do hope everyone is as well as can be, hugs where needed, I've only skim read as I've got to get on with the ironing pile.

mrsinvisible

Morning everyone, l do sloe gin and sloe vodka Frees description is perfect, the result is smooth and utterly delicious, but if you overindulge, the hangovers are horrendous! (apparently. Of course l don't know from first hand experience, you know!).
Got the shortbread biscuits yesterday, so the hampers are well started, and a couple of 'family gifts' too.
Now, choices, do l clean the bathroom, or wash the kitchen floor, or sort out the tip that is my living room? l know, l'll phone DD for a gossip, much more enjoyable!

pixtotts

Feisty - I love grey and yellow together, be sure to show us pictures when your done!! x

freespirit66 - I bet the blanket you got Thumper matches my sheets! As an apparently fully grown adult I bought dinosaur sheets from asda :rotfl::D

Dumpling & IrishRose12 - What is the harry potter dressing gown like? I didn't know there was one ! I might need

I have been so busy I just haven't had the time to get on here again . I had 2 last minute table top sales, which were meh, I have my first Christmas shopping morning this weekend for the local brownies, and I've ordered a card reader! so that is rather exciting, I'm just lacking in things to take so that's all day every day this week, make make make make
Hope everyone is well, and hopefully I'll be back sooner this time x x

murie

Over on the freebie board there is a link to a free pretty floral shopping bag from dotcomgiftshop. Maybe useful for anyone doing pamper hampers?

MoneyMission2015

FeistyFidget wrote: »

Freespirit your framed scrabble tiles are beautiful!

Msgigglewick thanks my lovely, in the interest of keeping to a budget, we've gone with a lighter grey and charcoal, I wanted the yellow to brighten it all up as we've gone for this wallpaper on the accent wall;

I did consider adding a splash of yellow to the curtains and even have access to my sewing machine, but I don't know if I can be bothered with the extra stress lol.

I need some advice from you lovelies, our finances are about to be quartered with me on maternity and I really want to have the benefit of being at home with little one as much as possible for the first few years so this will be long term. We have one family of 6 that we buy for every year as they buy for us, there are the parents, two smaller children and two over twenty children, even cutting the bill to £10 a head it is adding to £120 for birthdays and christmas each year (plus anniversary gift for the parents). The problem is that I have broached the subject with the parents before about cutting down the spend and they've reacted okay but said they'd still buy for us which makes things awkward so we've just carried on buying. Now that their oldest children are 20 and almost 22 it's got me at the point of whether I should just buy a token gift for the 4 adults and usual £10 each for the littlies. How would you cope with this scenario?

These colours are gorgeous feisty, they look so good together.

How about doing them a family movie night in hamper or something that they could enjoy together over the Christmas holidays? That way it should work out relatively cheap per head but there will be a few things for them to enjoy and then nobody is left out. You could put a DVD, some sort of trivia/board game, bottle of wine for the adults and soft drink for the kids, chocolates, crisps. I've done something similar in the past for my dad & stepmum and it went down really well, everybody loved the idea.