* Step into Christmas * & 2020 - It's the 2020 Christmas Chatter Thread

C_J

Vulpix - I had to do LOTS of searching to find the the musical boxes. They have a frustrating habit of putting one price on them but when you come to purchase, it turns out to be more expensive. In the end I got them from a store on AliExpress called Pockels. They do an individual music box (a limit of one per customer) for 56p with free postage, but I needed 18 of them for my daughter’s class so they cost a bit more. I managed to get the Merry Christmas ones for £2.40 each with free postage which I thought was good, and just within the budget I’d set for the gifts. They arrived very quickly and all work. They’re bigger than I thought, and I’m very pleased with them.

freespirit66

Afternoon everyone, nothing christmassy done the last few days. DD2 found her dream wedding dress on Saturday, it was lovely watching her try different styles on, and a really nice welcoming bridal store, so no anxiety for me.   She is in hospital having a small op today, second time in a year because of the pain she’s in. We absolutely had a great time with Thumper sleeping over on Friday 

PK the puzzle is a lovely thoughtful gift for your parents. I’ve never heard of blind Lego bags? We definitely couldn’t have a grinch night here with Thumper, DS put his grinch pjs on and Thumpers face was a picture oops 😬 he made DS take them off cos they scared him 😂

TQ my top 5 Christmas books are:
The Christmas Invitation TRISHA ASHLEY
A Christmas Cracker TRISHA ASHLEY
Christmas Cakes and Mistletoe Nights CAROLE MATTHEWS
Calling Mrs Christmas CAROLE MATTHEWS
The Christmas Wish List HEIDI SWAIN
I could go on and on, my Kindle is stuffed with christmassy books, and I’ve got some pre-ordered ones 2020. I really can’t remember which orange syrup it was, sorry

VULPIX ooh your work sounds fab but even better at Christmas time 

REDREDROBIN good, hopefully the horrible man will think about how he treats people! Good luck at IKEA their delivery prices are horrendous 

Gettingtherequickly

C_J - Glad Alexpress worked out well. I placed an order sometime ago which suddenly appeared yesterday, had no idea what I was waiting for, so it was like Christmas opening the pack!

Free  - Glad all well with you and that you had a nice time shopping, was it the first dress she tried on? How many times have we all ended up going back to the first thing we try on! Looking at you list of books, I was assembling new book cases at the weekend, so found a load of treasures which had been forgotten, including a Charles Dickens Christmas Stories, looking forward to that on.

RedRobin - The only downside about suspension is that he is getting paid until a conclusion is reached, but at least you know you can go to work without that stress

C_J

Oooh, another bag of Christmas stocking fillers has just arrived from AliExpress (I may be a bit hooked on this site, but since I’m not venturing out into the big bad world at the moment, this seems a good way to get Christmas shopping done!).  In this parcel : eco laundry eggs, small canvas rolls with bamboo cutlery/straws/straw-cleaning-brushes, refillable Nespresso style coffee pods, reusable bamboo makeup remover wipes, resealable storage pouches which resemble Mason jars, portable digital luggage scales, manicure sets and two really pretty aprons with a floral initial letter on each - all stocking fillers for grown up daughters; a Swiss army style penknife with integral folding cutlery, a set of watering spikes (which you attach to old 2 litre pop bottles, and they drip water your plants), a thing which turns old pop bottles into plant sprayers, a key ring which has two mini screwdrivers on it - stocking fillers for Mr CJ; a needle punch embroidery pen, glass wine bottle cutting set, and a set of coloured tailor’s chalk pencils (all for me).

rachsecret

C_J said:

Oooh, another bag of Christmas stocking fillers has just arrived from AliExpress (I may be a bit hooked on this site, but since I’m not venturing out into the big bad world at the moment, this seems a good way to get Christmas shopping done!). 

Thanks so much for the ideas from Aliexpress. I have done an order after your earlier post and ordered the musical boxes too. One for my hubby's stocking and one for my son. Also ordered lots of ribbon for wrapping, x3 packs of solar lights for the garden and lots of other bits. 
I think I may need to do another order as your last list has given me an idea for hubby-an eco-hamper. He is such a tree hugger and would love this. He is sooooo hard to buy for. Ask him last night what he wanted and he said buy him some rainforest. I bought him a tree from woodland trust last year as one of his gifts, but it doesn't feel very thoughtful. 
Will be having a peek on JL Christmas site too. Probably just for a browse as I am too tight to pay full price on there. Usually get in sales, but they have been lacking of late. 
I have bought all DS's gifts now. He is going through a 'designer label' phase (he is 23 so this may be more than a phase) and I hate paying posh prices but just bought him a Tommy H messenger bag second hand with dust bag so pleased with that. 

freespirit66

Gettingtherequickly said:

Free  - Glad all well with you and that you had a nice time shopping, was it the first dress she tried on? How many times have we all ended up going back to the first thing we try on! Looking at you list of books, I was assembling new book cases at the weekend, so found a load of treasures which had been forgotten, including a Charles Dickens Christmas Stories, looking forward to that on.

GTQ haha it was the last one she tried on! Oh that sounds good, I love the feel good feeling of Christmas books, anytime of the year!

Redredrobin

Well Ikea was a no go the queue was horrendous so found something else online and have ordered them instead .

Love reading all the chatter , the build up is gaining momentum and I love it . 

Has anyone heard from Girl in a yellow dress recently?

C_J

rachsecret - some other ideas for your husband's eco hamper: bamboo toothbrushes, bamboo earbuds, beeswax sandwich wraps, bamboo travel cup, vegan soap, crystal deodorant, wind up radio, and maybe those 'seed bombs' (wildflower seeds mixed with clay and rolled into little balls, which you can scatter either in your own garden or along hedgerows ... I have a friend who used to commute to work by train and would throw these out from the train window en route, and then loved to look out for the flowers the following spring!)

freespirit66

Redredrobin said:

Well Ikea was a no go the queue was horrendous so found something else online and have ordered them instead .

Love reading all the chatter , the build up is gaining momentum and I love it . 

Has anyone heard from Girl in a yellow dress recently?

I can’t believe there are still massive queues at IKEA, I would have turned around too. GYD has been posting on Instagram recently 

StokieBecks

I ordered two Fiorelli bags yesterdays as gifts. They were from the outlet section of their website and had seen a code on Facebook for an extra 20% off their outlet so used that and got 2 gifts sorted for under £40. (The website actually advertises the code too so no need to search for it if you want to have a browse)

Had a quick look at the John Lewis christmas pages but will have a proper look through when I am off work