Christmas 16 mega index/christmas chat!!!

TopsyMum

Love,love,love this thread!!! So thankyou 😀👌
Been saving all year and just starting to buy things now.....and planning what else I'm buying too!
Going to go back and read every post so far and enjoy digging in to all the links and starting to plot my food too!

Floss

Handbag59 wrote: »

On FB I saw a Christmas related post suggesting a different advent calendar idea. Have a box that you put something into each day to give to the food bank, they suggested dropping it off on Christmas eve but I think that would be too late!

I love this idea - will start it mid-November so the box is full for distribution before Christmas.

smeeth

Handbag59 wrote: »

On FB I saw a Christmas related post suggesting a different advent calendar idea. Have a box that you put something into each day to give to the food bank, they suggested dropping it off on Christmas eve but I think that would be too late!

I would agree about this being too late, last year ours did a sort of special Christmas hamper about a week before so I would suggest that as the latest drop off.

crazy-cat-lady_2

I don't know where the nearest food bank is to us to donate sadly.

The supermarkets near us usually do drop points where you can leave things and they get passed on though. Not sure if other people have these too. They have one where you can donate cat or dog food and it goes to local rescues, which we usually do (and I make cat blankets for them too). There's one that they pass on to homeless shelters with food and body care products. And they do one where you can donate a wrapped toy to a child who won't be getting presents. You write on if it's for a boy or girl and roughly what age.

There used to be something where you could fill a shoebox with gifts for kids and wrap and drop that. But I don't remember who ran it to see if it was still an ongoing thing.

[Deleted User]

I've just had a quick look for the 'love in a box' shoebox schemes and there are many organisations looking to do that this year too. You can choose one for the homeless people, elderly people, European elderly folk or European children, third world children many many more too. An online search will not only give you links to the schemes but also guidelines as to what is appropriate for the box you'd like to send. Hope that helps.

Dustyblinds

crazy-cat-lady wrote: »

I don't know where the nearest food bank is to us to donate sadly.

The supermarkets near us usually do drop points where you can leave things and they get passed on though. Not sure if other people have these too. They have one where you can donate cat or dog food and it goes to local rescues, which we usually do (and I make cat blankets for them too). There's one that they pass on to homeless shelters with food and body care products. And they do one where you can donate a wrapped toy to a child who won't be getting presents. You write on if it's for a boy or girl and roughly what age.

There used to be something where you could fill a shoebox with gifts for kids and wrap and drop that. But I don't remember who ran it to see if it was still an ongoing thing.

I'm sure your local Salvation Army branch would be able to pass on your donations to those less fortunate.
Me and dd usually make gift bags up for a local group that collect for the homeless. We put in basics like socks,underwear, gloves, a hat. Toiletries. Pack of playing cards. Pens and note paper, sweets. A flask, ring pull tins of soup etc. The group usually have a street party and hand the bags out and are gratefully received. I also knit hats with odd bits of wool throughout the year and hand them over in the autumn to the group. My place of work did a collection for the local women's refuge last Christmas, we brought in new nightwear for all ages of kids or women. Toiletries and gift sets and new toys for kids. We got a great response, this thread has reminded me that I need to bring this up so we can give people plenty time and opportunity to buy stuff before they get caught up in buying for Christmas.

monnagran

Last year I made loads of mincepies and my DIL took Chritmas platesful round to various elderly, (I mean even more elderly than me), neighbours who live alone. They were well received and a couple stopped me after Christmas to say that they had thought they would never have a homemade mincepie again and how much they appreciated them.
This year I am thinking of doing a bit more. I have put out a call for the tops of computer paper boxes - covered in Christmas wrapping paper they make excellent small 'hampers'. These I will fill with homemade treats, not only mincepies but shortbread, small jars of HM jam, marmalade or lemon curd, fudge, a small fruit cake, cheesey biscuits...that sort of stuff. This will be a treat for me as well as, hopefully, the recipients. I love doing this sort of thing.

As for friends and family, children will get a small gift to unwrap, they already have far too much according to their mean grandmother, and a top up into their savings account. Adults will get something very tiny and possibly amusing....a tube of mustard labelled " your bit on the side", ....that sort of thing and a Gift for Life..

I absolutely love Christmas but loathe the commercial side of it. I will, as always, try to remember whose birth we are celebrating. Not for me a Winter Festival, Solstice or Yuletide, it is so much more than that to me. But getting together with friends and family, some good food and a few treats and that wonderful feeling when you wake up on Christmas morning when the world is hushed and expectant and the lights go on in people's houses to herald that the excitement is about to begin.h

I wish you could bottle that feeling.

x

candlelight_2013

Monna you have put it so well, I can see in my mind's eye Christmas morning when our girls were young, and I can smell winter and frost.

My darling Dad always cooked Christmas dinner, and he made the best roast potatoes in the world. He would have a little drop of whiskey in his glass, and every time he went into the kitchen to check on dinner he would have a drop. He was very happy by the time we sat down to eat:):)

My Grandad also cooked Christmas dinner, and he was a very victorian gentleman who never cooked any other time of the year except Christmas day.

Happy days and many happy memories

Candlelightx

monnagran

Candlelight: my darling Dad would never have set foot in the kitchen, he did his part by rearing, killing, plucking and drawing the chicken and growing all the vegetables.
He also got Christmas day off to a good start by marching along the landing singing loudly and untunefully, "Christians Awake, Salute the Happy Morn," while banging on the bedroom doors. How we loved that as children, how we moaned about it as teenagers and how I missed it when I was grown up.

Isn't it wonderful the happy memories we all treasure, and how different all our memories are.

x

shaz_mum_of__2

Hello all just working my way through the back posts

Can someone recommend any good family board games that adults and kids can play together ? I we have to play trivial pursuit again me and BIL will come to blows!! Only joking but he does take everything so seriously and he is very competitive . Best place to buy them too would be great