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

vulpix

nic,the bricks are a lovely idea.xxx
Listened to dd1 when she said she had lost her running gloves,new ones winging their way.
skogar you write so beautifully about the cherries,I want some too now.
I have never had a Hot chocolate station. When the kids were at home it might have lasted an afternoon! I do have all my Christmas mugs out on a fancy tray on the worktop so they get used.I have had the same mugs for 20 years,a miracle that they are all intact.They are part of our family Christnas tradition.Hot tea and a bacon muffin whilst we open our pressies.
Vx

Peppapig

NIC the brick is a really lovely idea, especially if there’s one for your mum too so their names will be together for always.🥰

VULPIX hot tea and a bacon muffin sounds amazing for Christmas morning, I am so doing that this year, I’m off to write it in my Christmas planner. I’m going to have my Christmas mugs on display too so we can enjoy them even when we’re not drinking from them. 

I’m afraid I have to buck the trend - I don’t like getting ‘practical’ pressies, I like fun things that I’d feel bad buying for myself. One year I got a new toilet seat (useful but more for the house than me) and another year tea towels. I think it says something that my family still talk about my face when I opened them and tried really hard to look excited. Having said that, I’ve bought DH a knee pillow and a neck and shoulder warmer for Christmas but he likes practical pressies so he’ll be happy.😆

kerri_gt

Peppapig said:

I’m afraid I have to buck the trend - I don’t like getting ‘practical’ pressies, I like fun things that I’d feel bad buying for myself. One year I got a new toilet seat (useful but more for the house than me) and another year tea towels. I think it says something that my family still talk about my face when I opened them and tried really hard to look excited. Having said that, I’ve bought DH a knee pillow and a neck and shoulder warmer for Christmas but he likes practical pressies so he’ll be happy.😆

There's practical and then there's practical. Unless you were the only one using the toilet in question, I definitely do not agree that a new toilet seat is xmas gift worthy (unless it's some super fancy Japanese style one that virtually also makes tea and you and OH both decide instead of presents you'll invest in that). One year I must admit OH got slippers (needed), dressing gown (needed) and a headed under blanket (he wanted - I most deff didn't) and still refers to it as a 'Grandad Christmas' (he did get other things as well) 

mandco

Vulpix hope you & dh are doing ok and recovering well 
Princesskitty glad you got to see your parents before we went into lockdown 
Spendless Sorry to hear your dd is having such a tough time I really hope she gets the support she needs -school is becoming one of the most damaging enviroments to young people mental health.
MrsRyan sounds like a very productive shopping trip - every time I brave the shops it seems like most things are not available 
Nic the brick idea sounds fantastic - would they let you do both names on one brick so they are together?
Beshki - One of my biggest annoyances with online shopping other than the constant oos is the postage -obviously they have to cover costs but when the postage is more then the items you want it seems pointless. I was going to order some stuff of ebay the other day and the seller was charging £3.95 per item for postage -I wanted a few items but they wouldn't give a discount even though they could have sent the whole lot for that price - I wasn't paying nearly £20 in postage for around £7 worth of goods so they lost my business.

Our hot choc station has lot of little storage tubs filled with various hot choc items - hot choc powder, mini candy canes, sprinkles marshmellows ect along with flavour syrups & xmas mugs It stay on the side in the kitchen and apart from looking xmassy just means its much easier to make hot chocolate with all the extras.

Got to see the grandkids before lockdown so dropped off their dec 1st box- dd has already put up their xmas tree 

For me the best presents are those that make you feel like the giver really thought about you last year dd made me a lovely hamper with lots of my favourite things in many of which were things she knows I won't buy myself on a regular basis 
This year she has made me a photo calendar(taz helped her and promptly told me)

I know a few of you have pandora items and I'm thinking about getting dd something from there for xmas as she doesn't have any special jewellery.  Are there any items you would recommend?? what's the sizing like?

Still struggling with ideas for ds - I even asked him if there was anything he would like and he said as they are having the ps5 and its expensive he didn't think it was fair to ask for more and he doesn't care if that's all he gets as he knows how lucky he is to be getting one. 

Taz is pretty much done - Might get him a couple more things as he has mentioned some new stuff he's seen but will wait and see what ds1 ends up with first otherwise he'll have loads more presents to open then ds1 which seems a bit unfair  (though granted most of them were cheap as he's younger and money goes way further)

still need to get some stocking fillers - and a new stocking for ds1 as taz decided he wants the jack skellington one ds1 usually has. Ds says he isn't really bothered which stocking he has so it'll be easier to get him a new one than try and get a Jack one for Taz

My local xmas children charity appeal is due to start next week and I've been buying bits all year so I plan on getting those items dropped off asap which will give me quite a bit of space back.. I also have quite a few toiletry items I've stocked up on so need to find a hygiene bank or similar that will take them as there is nowhere local at the moment- anyone know if supermarkets will accept them in the food donation boxes?

kerri_gt

MandCo I think most foodbanks will take toiletry items in the food drops - I've certainly seen items like handwash in ours. It would seem silly if they didn't as people need to wash as well as eat. I'm sure they're grateful for any little extras like that. 

Spendless

Thanks for the explanation re hot chocolate stations. I too wasn't sure what they were. No good in our house, I'm diabetic, DD is constantly watching her weight and DH wouldn't care, about the hot choc that is, he'd just raid all the sweet toppings! 
mandco - thank you and yes I agree. The increase of academy schools I think has accelerated this. Thank you Gove! My daughter claims I run his hate club haha. Not that I care who leaked the news about the latest lockdown  to the media ahead of parliament being told, but I really, really hope Gove gets the blame and gets sent into the wilderness for a very long time where he can't do any damage to anything else, he's in charge of. It would also be a fitting punishment on behalf of the thousands of kids who  are given ridiculously OTT punishments, sometimes for things that are beyond their control or they've had no part in.

I have the same view point as kerri-gt on what constitutes a practical present. My late MIL was also guilty of giving 'generic' stuff as 'your' present. One year I got a biscuit barrel. A nice shaped one, don't get me wrong, but when all the family ate biscuits, I didn't see why it had to be for me.  Husband that year got a book about WW1, a subject he's interested in. That present was  clearly was something for him. mine wasn't. 

vulpix

Don't get me started about practical presents from MIL. I have not recovered from my pan scrubs!
Vx

Spendless

vulpix said:

Don't get me started about practical presents from MIL. I have not recovered from my pan scrubs!
Vx

vulpix said:

Don't get me started about practical presents from MIL. I have not recovered from my pan scrubs!
Vx

Insomnia has hit again. DD was not having a good time earlier, sobbing. I've asked DH to chase up the counselling. So the pan scrubs have given me a much needed chuckle. I'd love to know the thought process behind that one!

My own present giving style is to focus on what that person would like to receive, and I suspect that is the reason why I'm considered good at gift buying (still get stuck on some people though inc close relatives)  . My MIL would have been happy to receive a new vacuum cleaner on Christmas day (in fact I think one year FIL had bought her just that). My own mother would happily wrap the electric cord tightly  round the neck of someone who did the same. Likewise, my Mum would be thrilled to bits to receive a box of luxurious bath and body products. My MIL would have considered the same a waste of money. When I married I wore Chanel no5. I wanted to layer myself in the products on my wedding day. Back then a bar of Chanel no5 bar soap cost around £10, but I could never ask my IL's if they'd buy me one for Christmas because it would have been considered 'too much to spend on a bar of soap'. Did they spend at least £10 on me, definately. Would they have bought me 10 bars of soap that cost £1 each if I'd requested, quite possibly. It didn't matter that I wanted it for my wedding day, that I'd have been thrilled with it, that it wasn't something I'd pick up for myself, all was seen was that it would be 'too much to spend on soap'.

  If I'm giving practical, one of the following would apply, I know the recipient adores practical presents (even only likes practical presents), I have spotted something that they lack or would make their life easier or it's a better version of something they do have and I know they'll apreciate getting it (Mum's tweezers being an example).   

DD;s college hours have changed for well, I was going to say tomorrow but it's actually later today looking at the time. She only got told yesterday and by then we'd bought her train ticket! So infuriating because she's only in twice a week we don't bother buying the weeky season ticket, so she's booked on a set time train and will be there for almost 2 hours before classes start. Stupidly I suggested she go and get her breakfast at a nearby cafe to use up time, totally forgetting it will be closed!   it means she's only iin classes for 2 lessons as they have an early finish. It barely seems worth sending her, but at the same time, I'm not sure being at home with me all day with little to do is good for her mental health. I'll see how she is when I wake her. 

DH spoke to DS, him and his housemates haven't been invited anywhere for Christmas day, so we will wait and see what the restrictions if any are after lockdown, though I have a horrible sneaky feeling that my area will be plunged back into tier3. 

Beshki

As a lover of practical presents, I would not be thrilled to receive pan scrubs or a toilet seat! I mean..!

mandco

Spendless  - I hope college wasn't too bad for dd if she managed to go its a real pain when they mess around with the schedule at the best of times  but doing it last minute when you can't change your plans sucks and she really doesn't need the added stress at the moment. 

looks like its going to be one of those weeks 

Boots lost my order and because they have currently stopped click & collect they would not replace it they would only give a refund - they said I need to reorder which would be ok but the items I brought were on offer and not only have they gone back to full price half of them are oos too 
The car needs nearly £400 worth of work done for the mot and if that wasn't bad enough the battery died this morning and that's cost me another £200 today    
Went shopping yesterday as pushed back my usual weekend shop till then to tie in with the nectar double up starting rather than make an extra trip as I was hoping to get a game for the boys on points like I usually do but they have removed all the games from sale as non essentials which is a bit annoying as they are still listed on the available categories..
Oh and dd is being put back on furlough so her income is going to drop dramatically again as they base on last years earnings and not her current wage 

If anyone is after any pet related gifts I stumbled across a site called yappy - they do personalised dog/cat gifts with a carton style picture representing your pet - you get to chose the closet image from their library of images. They are a bit expensive for some things but they had some really cute/unique gifts. They also do a monthly gift box subscription for your dog. I haven't received anything from them yet so can't comment on that side of it but they do get good reviews- might be worth a look if your after something a bit different.

sainsburys are doing an orange hot chocolate mix £2