* Driving Home for Christmas * - It's the 2021 Christmas Chatter Thread!

Spendless

Nor me. Years ago, I could buy a lot though not everything in advance, but I had a longer list of who to buy for (no longer buy for sisters, brother in law, niece and nephew) recipients were younger, more mobile and I could buy according to that and my own kids interests were a lot easier to guestimate and guarantee they wouldn't acquire during the year. 
Mother's day was also my Nan's 97th birthday. My mum was able to do a window visit to her nursing home along with her receiving gifts (flowers, cake, choc) and cards.
Today I am upto 17 of the 18 M presents for DD's 18th (some have got artistic licence admittedly) and have several ideas for the last.   

kerri_gt

Spendless How about a jar of Marmite as an amusing one? 
We've had some DN's drop off our list over the years when they hit 18 but the 'second batch ' as i refer to them,  are 11 - 6. Still at an age to buy for but nearing that 'cash is king' age soon. 
Popped into Boots last week, first time in ages, still loads of xmas gifts at 50% off, I didn't even know they hadn't done a 70% off sale this year.

mandco

Princesskitty I hope dh is on the mend vertigo is awful. Good to hear things have improved with wiggle fingers crossed it continues. 

Spendless sorry to hear dd had such a bad day with college -all the changes and testing are stressful enough for most kids but for those with anxiety it must be overwhelming. Ds found it easier as the week went on as he got to know what to expect /where to go ect but he still not happy about going and its a struggle to get him our the door every morning.  They aren't doing the lateral flow tests as they are continuing with the testing they were already doing which I think helped as he was really worried about having to have them done.

Redrobin hope dd is healing well

Kerri  I got dd a slushie maker for xmas and she loves it though being older she makes alcoholic slushies in it too. The slush puppie syrups I got for her are dated june 2022 so might be worth looking for deals throughout the year as they are a bit pricey. Tesco/asda did packs of 2 bottle for £6ish in the xmas gift section last year but the bottles are tiny(maybe 2 slushies worth each)and usually only come in 2 flavours one of which is strawberry. DD prefers the coke and blue raspberry ones though that maybe down to the fact they taste great with vodka in 

Haven't really brought anything for xmas yet I think the only thing I have so far is a mickey mouse plushie for the xmas donations box. Between lockdown and lack of sales(where everything is oos anyway) I've struggled to find anything. I did get a couple of superdry deodrant sets reduced but those will see ds throughout the year.  
I do think it gets harder as the kids get older as you never really know what they'll be into by xmas and the things they do want get a lot more expensive or don't come out till late in the year. 
 
Ds found one college course he thinks he wouldn't mind doing so we applied for that - he's got an interview at the end of the month so fingers crossed though not sure his final grades will be good enough to get on it as he's really struggled with home schooling and his predicted grades have gone down.  Trying to get him to look for other courses to apply for as a back up but I think he's finding the thought of having to go somewhere new and get there by pubic transport ect all a bit overwhelming.

shopdisney have several discount codes available (find the easter eggs to get the codes game though if you click on T&C's it shows them all without having to look for them) I used the free delivery one to order some frozen bath toys for the gdd's easter basket

kerri_gt

mandco said:

Kerri  I got dd a slushie maker for xmas and she loves it though being older she makes alcoholic slushies in it too. The slush puppie syrups I got for her are dated june 2022 so might be worth looking for deals throughout the year as they are a bit pricey. Tesco/asda did packs of 2 bottle for £6ish in the xmas gift section last year but the bottles are tiny(maybe 2 slushies worth each)and usually only come in 2 flavours one of which is strawberry. DD prefers the coke and blue raspberry ones though that maybe down to the fact they taste great with vodka in 

Haven't really brought anything for xmas yet I think the only thing I have so far is a mickey mouse plushie for the xmas donations box. Between lockdown and lack of sales(where everything is oos anyway) I've struggled to find anything. I did get a couple of superdry deodrant sets reduced but those will see ds throughout the year.  
I do think it gets harder as the kids get older as you never really know what they'll be into by xmas and the things they do want get a lot more expensive or don't come out till late in the year. 
 

Yes, given DN will be 5 & 10 I should probably not suggest vodka just yet  I did think perhaps 'mummy and daddy' may be able to make use of it for the odd cocktail too. The one I got is basically a posh Mr Frosty in that it 'crushes' the ice into the jug and you then add the syrup - so it means not everyone has to have the same flavour and saves on arguments (also thought cleaning would be easier). I'll keep an eye out for syrups through the year - guessed being virtually pure sugar they'd have plenty of shelf life.

You're right about being harder to buy for as they get older - plus if they don't like something they don't always hold back in saying so. 

Spendless

Oooooooo thanks for the head up re slushie makers. I've looked at them before for DS and also housemate 2 told me he also liked really cold drinks when he thanked me for the stick ice cube tray in his stocking at Christmas as unknown to me he warmed ice cubes up in his hand so they fitted in his water bottle! But I'd always dismissed it as them being a bit too old now and had never thought of alcoholic slushies, what a good idea. Adding to my list.

mandco - Does the college course have an alternative if he doesn't pass at the required grades? Eg some places have level 2 first. Daughter's college for vocational courses decided to ignore GCSE grades last year and instead asked prospective students to demonstrate a practical skill eg for the hairdressing and arts courses. It might be more daunting in his head figuring out public transport than the reality will be and that's understandable considering the last year which is usually very formative at that age in starting to go out and about.

 I live in a village that has a train station.. It's been there since before my kids were born and I've used it with them since they were tiny. The very next stop is the town centre, which is next tot he bus terminal which in turn are near to the town's college. When DS went to college I couldn't persuaded him to travel there by train. I even offered to-do a dummy run with him to no avail and so he spent the first 6 months traveling there by bus. Then came his 17th birthday that fell on a weekend and he requested for it to go somewhere where he could have 'a curry and a beer'. There was a BYO Indian where we could do this, and we went by train to it. Getting off the train 6 minutes later, DS was amazed it was so quick (despite my many times of telling him!) and after that commuted by train right till the end of his course.

 In contrast DD who is more prepared to do anything but doesn't think things through has commuted to a college 40 miles away since 16. It requires a train and a bus each way and would need a further bus/train if I didn't drop off/pick up at the town centre station. Many close relatives queried if this was a good idea for her to do, with one saying that they wouldn't have allowed their child to at the same age  but our town centre college was not good for DS it definitely wouldn't have been right for DD,   

princesskitty29

Ah all this talk of slush puppies has reminded me of when I was young and had a Mr Frosty! Oh happy days!

 

I’ve been thinking a lot about Christmas lately, I think it’s because it’s been so dark and cold still and not really spring like at all. I’ve watched a couple of Christmas episodes of The Vicar of Dibley recently, they’re great and take me back! I was going to buy some Easter decorations this year but then saw an idea in the Tesco magazine where you paint an egg box and empty egg shells in pastel colours and put flowers in them for a table centre so I’m going to try that instead.

 

Stokie yes she could be saving them! I could easily save all of the presents for my family until the end of the year! But we’re having our Christmas in May when we’re finally able to meet up indoors.

 

kerri blimey I didn’t even think about Boots still having Christmas stock in the stores, unfortunately I don’t live close enough to one to pop in really.

 

mandco I hope everything goes well for your DS with his interview. It must be so daunting for him bless him thinking about what to do next and worrying for you. I just hope as the year goes on it gets easier for everyone.

princesskitty29

I don't know why whenever I use an emoji it puts it on it's own line?! It never does it in the preview.

mandco

Spendless  the college does have a level 2 course but its far more general only 25% covers what he's actually interested in so it will be a much harder sell to convince him to go but if needs must he'll have to make do. The interview is over the phone so that should be interesting but hopefully he'll get a chance to do a college viewing before September if he gets a place. I do think the thought of having travelling to and from alone(I don't drive) is what is putting him off the most as the last year he's literally only left the house for school and that's about a 3-5 mins walk away so it will be a huge change for him.

Princesskittty - I always wanted a Mr frosty but never got one 
Thanks - We have the summer holidays to get ds out and about a bit more and hopefully do a few practice trips so he'll be feeling more confident about it come Sept. 
the egg box centrepiece sounds interesting I'll have to pick up the tesco magazine and have a look  

If anyone is thinking of doing xmas donations this year I saw a few bits on smyths that might be worth a look 
toystory puzzle down to £2(click & collect only)
lion king pumba game £4.99,  lion king board game/ bulls eye game & feed fuzzy game all £6.99 (home delivery available)   
Not on offer at the moment but the clementoni panoramic puzzles £8ish are really good too and ideal for older kids/teens-

Found some really pretty summery dresses in next so ordered those for the dgd's to finish off their easter baskets 
Struggling to find a basic dairy free easter egg for Taz this year it seems to be all fancy/flavoured ones which he won't eat or odd shaped figures - aubergine shaped "egg"  anyone?  

anyone else doing the lateral flow tests? we can do them twice weekly as ds is at school I haven't done one yet as I've had my 1st jab and don't really go out so feel a bit like I'd be wasting them at the moment but dd is really struggling with it 

kerri_gt

@princesskitty29 i had a Mr Frosty too but remember it being a huge disappointment vs the advert in that it took one heck of a lot of effort to basically grate the ice with a not very sharp grater. I think mine might have been used once before my parents tactfully put it away 'somewhere safe'.
@mandco thanks for the heads up about Smyths. I never thought I'd say it but I'm a bit over online shopping atm. I had a Matalan order arrive today I'd forgotten about. It'd just such a faff as invariably stuff turns out different to how it looked online, then there's the hassle to send it back. Plus i can't help but look at all the plastic bag / packaging half of it turns up in. Even cardboard boxes aren't terribly eco friendly when you look at the whole recycling process. Can't wait to get back to proper stores for a bit of instant gratification (although since Dec my local town centre will have lost TopShop, Dotty Ps, Burtons and Paperchase. It already lost Tesco, two  popular independent gift shops, New Look and Monsoon in the past few years). There's literally about 3 stores that I'm interested in reopening on 12th April plus charity shops. 😔

mandco

Kerri your not the only one online shopping is so much hassle its putting me off even looking unless its for a specific reason. they don't have the size you want or its not available for delivery in your area and if they do then there's the postage and wait times all in the hope that when it actually turns up its any good and if not you have the hassle of trying to arrange a return.
Dd must have returned about 75% of the stuff she's ordered. I can't wait to get back to proper shops and actually be able to look at things in person I'm even looking forward to clothes shopping which is very much needed esp for the boys. I spent £15 on a pack of pants for taz this week as I've been looking for a couple of weeks now and it was the only place I could find with his size in stock including instore in tesco/asda/sains      
several of our local high street shops will not be reopening this time round  and the smaller/independant stores will be needing a decent amount of footfall to keep going so hopefully people will feel more confident going out this time round and shop around more rather than sticking to a few big name stores.