A Jolly Holly Christmas - It's the 2022 Christmas Chatter Thread!

Spendless

Hope you feel better soon Sammykaye

I think that's a god idea mandco to give spending money. I do love giving bags as presents. DD has a seasonal job as an actor at a tourist attraction. Got it just after she'd left her drama course and it ends not long before she goes to her next place. Anyway she commutes there and was taking the most unsuitable bags, not big enough for her needs etc. She showed me one she wanted. It was £90! I told her to pay for it herself, so she continued using bags that were too small. So I looked up the £90 bag and up popped a dupe for less than £20, cost even less by the time we'd used a discount and  and some amazon vouchers. Presented it as a 'freebie' DH had got from work rather than from us and hey presto she loves it, hahahahah. 

princesskitty29

After two and a half years covid has finally got me, I tested positive this week and have been feeling quite rough with it. I haven’t got much done this week, I’m doing better now but just really tired and I have lost my sense of taste and smell. It’s very odd eating meals all day and not being able to taste them. Goodness knows where I got it from, I haven’t really been anywhere so thought it might be from one of the boys but no one else is testing positive (thank goodness) so I don’t know.

I still haven’t got any further with my Christmas prep, even though I have a list there’s a fair few things I cannot get yet because they’re not around or it’s too early. I had been hoping to pick up a few bits in the Next sale as I usually do but there wasn’t anything this time. I haven’t been to the shops for ages, once I’ve shifted this covid I’m going to try to get out. Actually I’ve just remembered that there’s a new Home Bargains opening at my nearest retail park today! This makes me happy as it will be much easier to go there now.

mandco oh that doesn’t sound like a very good trip to the dentist! I hope you are doing better now?

GTQ sorry to hear it’s not smooth sailing with the will, it’s always so hard to manage these things. I hope you are feeling better from covid now, like you it really knocked me for six for a little while too. It's going to be a tough time for charities coming up, I always put a couple of items in the food bank basket every week when I go shopping but it is going to be harder for people to do sadly.

Coxy I’m glad to hear your weekend away was successful, it sounds lovely! And what a great present stash. Ha, your description of men falling all over the place at the Kentucky Derby made me laugh!

sammykaye I think the 5 senses presents is a great idea and focuses the mind with thinking about what to buy. I’ve forgotten the mantra now? I’m sorry to hear you’ve been feeling so poorly, I hope you’re on the mend now, look after yourself.

C_J Great bargain with the Cornishware. I don’t have any but really like it.

Spendless great bargain with the bag!

Spendless

Hope you're feeling better soon princesskitty. My parents recently succumbed too. Came back off hol on a Tuesday and by Saturday Mum had it. tested the following Thursday and Mum is clear and Dad now has it. Both have been ill with it. I started a new job to co-incide with when they were back so we've had to do some juggling around to look after our dog.

Speaking to DS gf yesterday and she says he's running really low on toiletries stuff and there isn't anywhere round them (they've moved back to her parents) to replace it. I'm guessing there's a reason they don't want to add to the grocery shop her parents must do. So again I'm grateful for my stash - was I seriously thinking of not bothering with one this year - lol. I'm glad I ignored myself because I've dipped into it several times this year and I'm pretty sure I never added to it after losing my job in March either! Son's graduation is later this month. He got a 2:1, so I've said I will make him up a toiletry bundle as a present. She told me that he'd said he wanted a 'really good' razor - one 'where you change the blades', bless. I knew from a previous visit that they were using the cheapest disposables they could find because DS was asking me for some product he could use to clear up the face rash he had. From my present cupboard I've got together Aftershave balm, hand cream, lynx deodorant, Nivea mens creme and a cologne stick in a fragrance he likes. These are all oddments split down from sets or things I got in addition when I purchased something else and would have ended up in his stocking anyway. I'll do a shop now to add more probably tomorrow. DD isn't working so will come with me, think she'll be quite excited at the chance to buy her brother grooming products she's been itching to do that for year - think I may need to curb her tendancies to overshop though before we return home with one of every item in the men's care range from the Clinique counter!  

sammy_kaye18

princesskitty29 said:

sammykaye I think the 5 senses presents is a great idea and focuses the mind with thinking about what to buy. I’ve forgotten the mantra now? I’m sorry to hear you’ve been feeling so poorly, I hope you’re on the mend now, look after yourself.

Hope you are feeling better soon @P@princesskitty29 My husbands boss has just tested positive for it and his wife so husband took a test last night and is thankfully negative. It would be just our luck that he'd get it in the next day or two with this week having mine and my daughters birthday in it! 
Im feeling alright now although I suspect it has something to do with sleeping with my window open but I did feel rough yesterday but I had snacked on popcorn most the day and hadnt really eaten too much so by tea time I was feeling dizzy and lightheaded so I have made sure to eat properly today - well Ive had breakfast and lunch - neither of which I ate yesterday! 

Christmas wise - the five senses are 
- Something to see
- Something to hear
- Something to taste
- Something to smell 
- Something to touch. 

Im thinking I will set it out maybe in one of the snowman stacks and have an extra main gift for them plus they get their stockings.

They are getting older now so don't ask for as much and we have one main tradition and one tradition I started last year. 
Our main tradition is new pyjamas on Christmas eve. Ive done this every year since my son was born. 
And the tradition we started last year was everyone got given a Lego set and we sat down as a family, in the afternoon after our Christmas main meal, with an old Christmas movie on and built them all as a family and my husband and kids haven't stopped talking about it since. 
So this year I will get another set each. I have found too that if you look on sites like WISH / AliBaba etc that you can buy the Lego sets but they are unlabelled, come in a bag with instructions and are a fraction of the price and look exactly the same so this might be a moneysaving option but Ill have to order them well in advance! 
 
Either way I need to really start cracking on with some christmas bits soon once this week is out the way and I have my daughters birthday done. 

Spendless

Anyone buying for menfolk who prefer bar soap  or teenage boys who like the range. In Savers you can buy a 2 pack of Lynx soap for £1.  Comes in 2 different fragrances , Dark temptation or clean and fresh. Once you take off the plastic wrapper, each soap comes in a printed cardboard box, so lovely for adding to stockings or toiletry hampers for just 50p a bar. Mr S prefers bar soap and stays away a lot with work. I spotted these and he received some for Father's day. I bought another couple of packs yesterday, added one bar of each to DS toiletry hamper and put the other 2 away for Christmastime. They are a lot more expensive on-line so I don't know if it's going to be a case of when they're gone in Savers that will be it.   

lynx soap | Savers | Health Home Beauty

mandco

Princesskitty Oh no you really are having a rough time heath wise lately I hope your feeling better soon - fingers crossed the rest of the family stay covid free too

Still got a lot of pain from my tooth extraction though it is better than it was  been back to the dentist twice yet more antibotics though they don't think there is any infection and it seems to be healing ok. They aren't sure why other than ? nerve damage or severe bruising internally

great news on a more local home bargains - my nearest it still quite trek so don't get there nearly as often as I'd like

Spendless great bargain on the bag . Your dd sounds a bit like mine when it comes to her own money she's reluctant to spend it esp on practical things but loves to shop and will happily spend mine.

Razors & blades have become really expensive so not surprised they've resorted to disposibles - I'm debating getting ds an electric razor for xmas if I can find a decent deal between now & then as he's started shaving more often Yes its bigger expense up front but going forward I think it will save loads as they recommend changing the blade every 5-7 shaves which is pretty much once a week/fortnight 

Sammy I hope your starting to feel better - Fingers crossed DH stays negative and you're well enough to enjoy yours &  dd's birthdays    Birthday wishes to you both 

I like the idea of 5 presents for the 5 senses that might work really well for taz
- I usually do the 
something they want
something they need
something to wear 
something to read 

Hope everyone is keeping safe in this heat  

sammy_kaye18

@Spendless
 Thank you for the Lynx soap tip - I will have to try and stop into one soon and grab some for my sons stocking. He loves lynx stuff. I am thinking this year I might make my son and daughter a sort of hygiene type hamper with smellies they like etc as my 12 year old has developed a thing for body sprays etc too 

@mandco
I hope your tooth is feeling better. Im ok when the tooth comes out but the pain afterwards drives me up the wall. I hope your getting some relief from it now its healing. I just remember cutting cloves in half and numbing it that way if its giving you grief still. 
Also thank you for the birthday wishes, my mother has brought my daughter a swimming pool with a built in shade which is going to be perfect for her with all the hot weather coming and she has a new swimsuit coming since she hit a growth spurt since her last costume. But mother nature has had other ideas and decided to arrive on Sunday night so we have a day or two before we will be putting it up but I think Friday, just in time for the highest temperatures is going to be our best bet! 

No more chirstmas prep done here other than my neighbour offered me a big bag of wool and needles the other day so I swapped a few home grown vegetables with her for it so I will try and use them in some sort of craft towards gifts etc. 

Spendless

@mandco and anyone else completing buying shaving items . I often recommend this for wet shaving.  https://www.razorpit.com/

It's a razor sharpener, does exactly what it says on the packet and prolongs the life of the razor blade so you can get more uses out of it. 

It is that along with a decent razor and blades plus shaving toiletries inc aftershave I intend getting my DS for Xmas. A combination of items he won't or can't afford to buy himself with added practicality thrown in.

In the meantime cos he can't wait till December I'll get him a better than he's using now razor.

Beshki

Picked up a few small gifts on 4mazon Prime day. Nothing much worth having to be honest but a couple of bits to pop away, chipping away slowly. This month has been difficult and expensive. We shall start again on payday.

C_J

I don’t often venture into our loft (the pull down ladder terrifies me) but I had to send Mister CJ up there in search of something. He called down “do you know you have two carrier bags of random stuff up here?” …… and when he handed them through the loft hatch to me I saw it was a whole heap of Christmas gifts I had bought in the sales SIX YEARS AGO!! Quite a lot of Boots Christmas bargains I had bought in their post-Christmas 75% and 90% off sales. I couldn’t believe it, I had completely forgotten about them. Luckily none of the items are perishable, so now I have a whole load of unexpected stocking fillers!!