Put away your purse & become debt-averse

foxgloves

Fantastic news on the credit card, Pixiehouse55! I remember that lovely feeling of another debt biting the dust. 
Re your question about children's present ideas. You have only got an adult's word that there is nothing they want or need, so is it worth asking the child if there are any little things on their list? I have done this with my nephews from around the same age. They have plenty & I'm sure their Mum would have said 'They don't really need anything' if I'd asked her, but I've asked them & discovered that the older one loves wacky socks! I'd never have considered buying him these, but he is apparently known for his quirky socks, so I've bought two fab pairs which I hope he'll love. We are giving him money for his main present as he is saving for uni. The younger one had quite a few book titles on his list, as well as 'chocolates or fudge or toffee or chocolate biscuits' so although he will get a gift card too, the book suggestions were really helpful & he has got two of them to open. I bet that if you by-pass the adults & ask the children themselves, there'll be a few little bits & bobs they'd love to receive. One year, when he was small, I can remember my youngest nephew's dream present was one of those huge long packets of chocolate fingers which would be 'just for him'. That was a nice easy one!
F x

ladyholly

My dd said one year that she loved pickled onions and would like some for herself so we got her a huge catering size jar. I dont think she has touched them since.

foxgloves

Oh that's funny, Ladyholly. It must have worked as aversion therapy! A dear friend (sadly no longer with us) once bought me a huge ball of posh string for my birthday. She told me she was with a colleague when she bought it & the colleague said "String? For a birthday? Are you absolutely sure that's what she wants?" And my friend said "Yep! I guarantee she'll open this & say 'Oooh, I bloody love string!!' And I did!! I'm a keen gardener who likes to avoid plastic, so a big ball of pretty colourful string was perfect! It's surprising what funny little things people do like when you ask them.
F x

savingmore

I haven’t posted for a while, but still love reading.  The last few posts have made me smile. Totally agree on checking in with children on what they would like.  always get some whacky ideas parents don’t know about....i remeber one year when one of my sons was about six, I happened to see a sellotape dispenser on sale, and he loved crafty activities.  the rest of my family thought I was crazy giving a six year old his own dispenser, and wouldn’t believe me he would appreciate it.  OH BOY did he love it, he almost cried!  pronouncing it his favourite present ever, and got so much pleasure from having his own.  Total win!😀😀

foxgloves

Savingmore - that's exactly it! Children often want unusual little bits & pieces you'd never think of. Your post brought back a memory for me. When I was 8 or 9, a girl in my class had a bag full of what she called 'Welsh glitter' (we could barely have lived further from Wales but she was proud of her heritage). She'd made it herself. It was tiny circles punched out of all sorts of coloured & shiny papers. It was the first time I'd seen a hole punch & the idea of owning one myself became almost an obsession! So when there was a little hole punch wrapped up under the tree that year, I spent a happy Christmas day punching holes in all the discarded wrapping paper & was so happy with what was just a little extra tree present. I was still using that hole punch at university, so it earned its keep!
F x

foxgloves

Well, I don't seem to have achieved much today. I slept too deeply & have had that muzzy not-quite-a-proper-headache feeling all day. I've finished this week's laundry though, got a ham hock simmering away in the slow cooker, baked a cake & unpacked 4 boxes of deliveries. Enjoyed chatting with my sister on Skype - nephew self-isolating as Covid popped up in his 'bubble' at school, so our chat was punctuated with frequent reminders that he was supposed to be working!
Plasterer supposed to be calling in to look at our dismal hall wall & to give us a quote but no sign of him yet.
On the plus side, I've been nowhere today & haven't spent a single penny, whether in shops or otherwise. Big Budget Day looming (Fri) so I haved a vested interest in keeping everything as straight as possible!
Beautiful sunset here, so I'm going to go & have another look at it.
Cheers all, 
F x

Blackcats

Welsh glitter 🤩.   You reminded me of the joy of your own hole punch, stapler and pot of paper clips.  A calculator was expensive so was shared by the family.  I remember getting a packet of felt pens at Christmas and being so excited by the range of colours.  I still love stationery. 

Onebrokelady

Got to love a good hole punch 😀

Onebrokelady

Blackcats said:

Welsh glitter 🤩.   You reminded me of the joy of your own hole punch, stapler and pot of paper clips.  A calculator was expensive so was shared by the family.  I remember getting a packet of felt pens at Christmas and being so excited by the range of colours.  I still love stationery. 

My DD bought me some colouring books crayons and felt pens a couple of Christmas's ago, it was one of the best presents ever 😀

Pixiehouse55

I got all my ironing done today and cleaned my kitchen. Optician's this afternoon to pick up my glasses. Too expensive!!! Then home to help hubby make the Lancashire hotpot. Also liquidised it for John and he loved it.. Made him a banana and melon milkshake with a bit of apple juice. He loves it. Today I suddenly noticed it was gone. Asked him if he liked it? 'No it had sugar in it and its fattening,too sweet, I threw it out!!! I was a tad annoyed!!  But then thought, shall I tell him about the sugar that's in all the puddings/ice cream that he likes? Rofl. Brought a couple of bits for the Grandchildrens Christmas box that we post to them every year. This just onsies, slippers, fluffy  Christmas socks a few bits of chocolate each and a fluffy notebook each. No DVD'S as my daughter told me 'we don't watch them we have Netflix'   Normally take Christmas presents down when we visit them in January, never see them at Christmas. Happy Days.. Hope you've all had a good day X