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

kerri_gt

3forholidays said:

Hello everyone 😀

I’m still reading along but not posted for a while.

I’m not an online shopper but do use the internet to try and narrow down where to get items locally - saves some shoe leather!! My mum was looking for Christmas tea towels and I spotted some in Matalan so we will have to go there to see what they are like. She wants to gift them alongside some biscuits to a friend and a neighbour.

Homesense is always good for tea towels, just a thought. 

clearancer

Help please. My friends are moving house in December (downsizing to a bungalow). I was thinking of spending £30 on biscuits/wine/chocolate in M&S for them. Will M&S be doing a Xmassy jute bag? 

zafiro1984

Can I join in, I love Christmas. We have to stay at home over the Ch period - no staff, and the animals have to be looked after so I have to be well organised. 

I'm going to work my way through the first couple of pages before i start

cbsexec

Buyagift have some good experience day offers with code at the moment.  Just bought half a day horse riding for granddaughter for £14.  The code is on hotukdeals (I’m not sure if I’m allowed to post it here ☹️).  

C_J

@kerri_gt - so sorry you are still having a rough time with that sting. I don't wish to alarm you but a few years ago I was stung on my left ankle and despite my best efforts it became infected and wouldn't clear up. I ended up in A&E howling with pain in the wee small hours, followed by a hospital admission and having to have it surgically cleaned out under local anaesthetic. I shudder at the memory ..... and hope you are better soon!!

I am fed up to discover that the last of the gifts I wanted to order for Mister CJ is not available as it is from a European company and they are refusing to ship to the UK post-Brexit. I can't find it anywhere else (for any fans of Gardener's World who are playing along, it's that double headed steel rake that Monty uses). The website won't allow me to purchase it so I have emailed their customer services just in case there is a way around it (but I suspect not).

kerri_gt

@C_J that sounds horiffic (your ankle, not the rake, though that's also a PITA)
Saw the GP today (honeslty I've never seen / spoken to so many docs! And i can't fault our practice for getting me seen promptly) and he has indeed confirmed that his best estimate is that penicillin and I are not friends. 
He said it looks very much as if the infection itself has cleared up, no pain, heat, nice scab (TMI?) and my ever spreading rash is an allergic reaction as if it was infected it wouldn't have jumped to the other leg in the way it has.
Currently not much else I can do other than wait it out. It's all just flared up agian now but had actually been a bit better today. I did rock up to the surgery in my xmas pj bottoms though as they are loose and cotton 😂 It was that or shorts and I didn't want to scare the kids 🙈

So, no xmas prep happening here yet....

Mrs_Ryan

Hiya again everyone  
hope your leg is better soon Kerri! 

I’m absolutely cream crackered. I think I’m finished (just OH’s calendar and rugby top to get but the way money is going heaven only knows when that will be!) 

I’ve had to buy more pj’s for mum- she’s on a diet and the ones I’ve got her will be too big. I’m hoping that M&S will swap them over, I’m just going to get a bigger size and keep them for myself. I’ve also got her a dressing gown and my brother bought her one for her birthday- grrr! 

I’ve also got all my presents from OH- I have to buy them and he reimburses me. I don’t mind, as it means I get exactly what I want and I can never complain that my presents are wrong or I don’t like them! I was away in Edinburgh at the weekend with my sister and I got some gorgeous leopard print PJ’s (I love their PJ’s, I’ve got loads of them) and a black short robe with ‘Victoria’s Secret’ in pink on the back. I’ve also got a ticket to see James Arthur at Newcastle City Hall in March. 

I did the shopping for the in-laws yesterday. Boots 3 for 2 I buy something from there every year but I’ve got double points until the end of the month (birthday month) so I bought the gifts for OH’s brother, sister in law and nephews as well as some tea and biccies for his dad and stepmum. I’ve also ordered a bottle of Irish whiskey for his dad from Amazon (it was on offer, ten quid off which was decent) and a Jo Malone candle for his stepmum from Look Fantastic. 

I’ve just spent two flipping hours doing the last of the Christmas cards on Moonpig- for the in-laws and his brother and family, the next door neighbours (our neighbours are amazing. I always send a card) plus a birthday card for a friend and a couple of Christmas cards for the same friend and another friend. I usually buy a pack of charity Christmas cards for anyone who I don’t buy special cards for but they inevitably end up getting lost! So I thought I’ll just keep them altogether this year. I’ve also ordered some sticky gift labels. 

Have had to tell mum to stop buying for OH! Every time I mention something she dashes out and buys it to the point where I’m really struggling for him. I’ve got him as much as I can, I’m just going to leave it at that (other than what I know I have to still get) I ordered his Countryfile calendar the other day, just got his Leicester Tigers calendar to get. 

My best friend sent me a picture of my Christmas card and one of my stocking fillers- she’s absolutely outdone herself so I got her a Supernatural script from Etsy and a Mr Men mug with her favourite character on. 

I can’t remember who mentioned Primark but they are very hit and Miss at the minute. I was in Primark in Sheffield on Sunday and I was quite disappointed- there didn’t seem to be much around. I was looking for their NBA range- I love the LA Lakers stuff and particularly fell in love with a black LA Lakers hoodie and matching joggers from the men’s range. I managed to get it yesterday in Leicester- but £50 for a hoodie, joggers and t-shirt! 

princesskitty29

Ah it’s nice reading what everyone does with their presents. Apart from the presents in our own household it’s quite spread out as we see two sets of parents at different times and we also have a get together with DH’s brothers and families over the festive period. DH and I open stocking presents from each other in the morning with the boys but always open our main presents from each other in the evening when the boys are in bed, there’s too much chaos in the morning and we are mainly focused on the boys. It’s really nice to sit down in the quiet of the evening and open our presents together and really appreciate them.

 

I’ve just ordered DS2 a personalised cutlery set from Studio for his stocking, we bought DS1 the same set a few years ago and it’s really good. They’re like a smaller version of adult cutlery rather than the ones you get with plastic handles so it’s a good transition. I got sent a code for 20% off and free delivery too so that was a bonus.

 

Apologies for my long post, but I do like to respond to people’s posts, you can obviously skip anything not relevant to you!

 

chanie yes we see other family on Boxing Day and in the days after so it’s quite spread out and a good balance.

 

Peppa oh I can’t believe you opened all of your presents in the middle of the night! Apparently my husband did that too when he was little and my in laws were fuming! I must admit I’d hate to miss the boys opening their presents.

 

kerri I would 100% feel disappointed when I woke up on Christmas day if I opened all of the presents after Midnight Mass too, it feels like it should be part of the daytime. I remember DH and I opening one present each when we got home from Midnight Mass. Oh you poor thing with your legs, it must be horrible. I’m glad the docs have been good about seeing you and I do hope it clears up soon for you.

 

3forholidays good to hear from you! Don’t stay away it’s nice to hear from you. I’ve had a couple of sets of tea towels from Matalan over the years and I’ve always found them to be nice.

 

bit_by_bit good to hear from you. Good idea with spreading out the present opening! Also great idea with the seat cover for the footy, I used to go and watch the F1 sometimes and it could get really cold, a seat cover would have been lovely! I honestly can’t believe someone behaved like that after you gave them a present, how awful. Like everyone I imagine, I have been given gifts over the years that have not been to my taste but I always gratefully receive them, it truly is the thought and effort that counts.

 

skogar good to hear from you. Yes you’re right I think a lot of it depends on what you’re used to and it would feel strange doing anything else!

 

clearancer I don’t know about M&S doing a Christmassy jute bag although I’m sure they always do Christmassy bags of some description?

 

zafiro welcome! Please do come and join us, it’s lovely to have new people to natter to.

 

cbsexec thanks for the heads up on the Buyagift deals.

 

CJ oh gosh that’s frustrating about the present, it’s hard when you have your heart set on getting something specific. I do hope you can find a way to get hold of it.

 

Mrs Ryan I feel your pain with other people getting the presents you wanted to, this year for my mums birthday and Christmas I have bought her a few things that I’ve then discovered she’s already got when I visited her – usually bought by my dad! That’s the only problem with buying early to be organised, a couple of things I haven’t been able to return as it’s been too late! Luckily nothing too expensive but annoying all the same.

kerri_gt

Mrs Ryan I feel your pain with other people getting the presents you wanted to, this year for my mums birthday and Christmas I have bought her a few things that I’ve then discovered she’s already got when I visited her – usually bought by my dad! That’s the only problem with buying early to be organised, a couple of things I haven’t been able to return as it’s been too late! Luckily nothing too expensive but annoying all the same.

@princesskitty29 Ohh, you've just reminded me I have a scarf for DM which I picked up in Dotty P's last year as a 'maybe' then couldn't return as we were all put on the naughty step before xmas with the shops closed, then of course Dotty P went into administration. That will go into her little bag of xmas bits this year. 
I've bought her a few 'boring' bits like some biscuits and sweets and handwash she likes from Aldi - dull but handy. 

Legs...say no more. Terrible night last night - the nights are the worst and this one was awful. Having to really just 'ride it out' is so frustrating. But I shouldn't really moan - it will improve.

C_J

Oh oh oh, I think I might have solved the unavailable rake issue.  To cut a very long story short I have - after many, many hours of trawling t'internet - found a second company in Germany who stock the rake, and who seem prepared to ship to the UK. Trouble is, I checked their reviews on Trust Pilot and they're generally not great with lots of customer service horror stories.  About 50/50 excellent vs terrible. To be fair to them, they have posted replies to all the bad reviews explaining what had gone wrong (often the fault of the courier companies rather than the company itself) and outlining what they had done to rectify matters.

I bit the bullet and ordered. Now chewing my nails while I wait to see what happens!