22 Foxhole East

kerri_gt

It is definitely not too early to think about Christmas, I already am - and somewhat stressing about it. I most definitely will not be standing outside numerous shops queuing in the rain / wind / cold / Indian summer we could well have given how this year has panned out so far, so shopping will need to be done in bits beforehand or online. Although a number of DN's have hit the 'cut off' age we have for presents (18 it stops which seems reasonable as they're adults then (technically) and doing different things) there's 'batch 2' as I call them that are all 10 and under still. 
I popped to our local Blue and Yellow shop last week, bought a desk (which is what I went in for) for OH ...and 5 packs of tea lights  (but they were down to 30p a pack so rude not to really...the green ones got rejected as they were still £1.50)

Baileys_Babe

In large extended families, in particular, I can understand having a cut-off age for when you stop giving presents.

Currently, all our nephews and nieces still get presents for birthday's, Christmas and Easter - we usually (before CV19) get together as an extended family to celebrate - there are only 4 of them, they are siblings, the eldest 19, the 3 eldest are in full-time education. As they get older and are employed we will review, possibly no present or homemade or take them for a meal out or who knows what will be best for the future.

kerri_gt

Baileys_Babe we have 6 we no longer buy for, plus 5 we still do (can you tell OH is from a family of six lol) , and another 4 children of friends (well i say children, two are now 13 and 16) so really did need to draw a line somewhere.  
My aunts / uncles stopped buying for me and my cousins at 18 although i do now often buy something for one aunt / uncle and make something home made like a cake or fudge too. 

thriftyish

I love the chair, a lovely surprise for your DH. I am preparing for autumn/winter. My DH is convinced that we will face more waves, and that combined with other possible happenings (bad weather, disruptions to energy/fuel/food) could be awful. He's a ray of sunshine and sparkles. But just in case I am trying to buy a tiny bit extra store cupboard stuff & get stuff ready for autumn/xmas early. I definitely feel more on edge because of trying to plan so far in advance! 

We have the same 'cut off' age for gifts @kerry_gt, but I am finding it hard to stick to, especially with closer family members. 

I completely understand what you mean about the weather, this heat is stifling. I had a full afternoon of jobs on my to-do list and somehow stopped after lunch and didn't start up again. The loft hatch plans sound good, are you planning to do all yourself, or call someone in?

kerri_gt

Its still reading 26 degrees here and it's nearly 9.30pm. It might be nice on holiday when there's nothing more strenuous than sitting by a pool all day but its jusy too hot for a country not set up for this heat.

Baileys_Babe

kerri_gt said:

Baileys_Babe we have 6 we no longer buy for, plus 5 we still do (can you tell OH is from a family of six lol) , and another 4 children of friends (well i say children, two are now 13 and 16) so really did need to draw a line somewhere.  
My aunts / uncles stopped buying for me and my cousins at 18 although i do now often buy something for one aunt / uncle and make something home made like a cake or fudge too. 

If we had more children in the family to buy for we would definitely have put an age limit in place.

We used to buy gifts for a couple of friends and their children, and them for us, instead we pool the money and have a day out together with each family. We are now more dispersed so we don't get to see each other as much as we used to it this makes it extra special. We have similar tastes which makes it easier and despite some large age gaps between the children they all get on very well.

f0xh0les

oops, went awol there.  Sorry.  Got up, did Herr Aldee,  went volunteering, went to Herr Liddle nabbed 2 veg boxes and all the school uniform clothes I needed, came home, tried them on the kids, they looked like clown clothes and the polo shirts were so thin they were practically indecent.  I have had thicker toilet paper!  So made lunch, fed everyone, made a cup of tea, went back out to get a refund on shoddy uniform, then trawled the charity shops that were open and managed to get DS1 3 T shirts and a pair of shorts,  DS3 got 3 pairs of shorts and 2 shirts, DS4 got one pair of shorts, one pair of trousers, and 1 long sleeved T shirt and a running top and DH got 2 T Shirts in the size of 'medium', and everyone is happy!   Nothing cost more than £2 and most of it was £1. Nothing for DS2  or me this time though.  So it is all sitting in a big pile in front of the washing machine as it smells like charity shop.  Then went volunteering again, came out, did the C00P, and then bought uniform and ys goodies from Mr T's Shopping emporium - the total cost of Mr T's after all money off vouchers and coupons was £51 of which £36 was all the uniform.  The cupboards and fridge and freeezer are rammed!

I know where you are coming from with the cold dh @thriftyish .  I found inserting a hot water bottle worked wonders. As did curtain liners.   

All my kids have a fleecy velvety dressing gown, and  highly patriotic tartan  pyjamas, and slippers.  They are kept warm with cocoa and the aforementioned bottles at bedtime.  All my sofas have a fleecy throw over the arm,  I do not feel the cold when I am up and doing things in winter, like hoovering and making beds and cleaning stuff, but as soon as I sit down you can feel the cold coming up through the floorboards.  So I put a hot water bottle on the floor and put my feet on it, and have a lap blanket for when I am sitting doing things during the day.   I also have a small radiator that I can use to heat the one room I am in, when they are out at school.   The  central heating is set for 10 minutes before they get up, so it is warmer when they are running around naked, backward and forward to the bathroom, and goes off 15 minutes before we leave for school.  Then it comes on again 10 minutes before they get home from school and goes off when they go to bed at 9.  The heating timer gets turned off in April and does not come back on until October. They are allowed to switch the heating on, but only if they are cold first.  If they can't be bothered to come down and press the button, it is not cold enough to press the button.   A hot bath and a hot cup of tea solve most problems here.

DH would be at home in a tropical greenhouse. My heating bill is going to be horrendous if he is working from home this winter.

I wish the 'cut off age' for gifts worked here.  I have been trying to get his parents and his aunt to stop buying me and him presents but they just keep on giving because m-i-l gives to her nephews, her sister gives to us.  tit for tat.  Then if we do not reciprocate the passive/aggressive texts start.   But I am not going to get into this sack of weasels now.   I am in a calm and happy place right now and that will just set me off.

apple_muncher

Could you get in an extra heater to keep DH warm if he is working from home?

apple_muncher

And paint it yellow to match the chair...

Baileys_Babe

We too use hot water bottles, dressing gowns, have fleece blankets on each armchair and sofa, spare blanket on the end of each bed. Our window sills are about 30 cm deep, we have thermal blinds close to the windows and the curtains are hung with the deep window sill behind. The curtains are all lined and have an additional fleece lining.

@foxholes our heating bill will increase this winter as OH is likely to be working from home.

Would having a portable radiator on in DH workspace be more economical than heating the whole house?