Not dropping Santa down the chimney!: 2025 Santa, Shoebox & Life Chit,Chat,Chunter! ALL welcome....

Happy_Kitties

Dun elm currently have bargains on hot water bottles. I’ve picked up some small hotties with covers for £1.25 for the shoeboxes and charity bags. Picked up some Schnauzer and Badger (a long hottie) hotties for £2.50 for Christmas presents, they are lovely.
Also managed to pick up some things in the Boots 90% sale even though I went at the end of the day. Picked up items for charity and some eye shadow palettes (down from £10 for a £1) for Christmas presents, very surprised anything was left. 

Happy_Kitties

I have completed my first shoebox……tbh it was a bit of a cheat, it was shoebox number 8 that I never managed to complete last year. I already had a choc bar well within date for it, our local Tesc@ had some small bags of chocs reduced so picked up one of them to put (cram) in. 

Frustratingly the hand torch I had, on checking it was faulty and not worth sending back but I did manage to cram in a small hottie aswell. So first one is done, it just needs its Christmas wrapping on it.

DD was very happy with her b’day presents, and now entering into March, it is abit of a mad March with birthdays but have items picked up in the sales/ reduced. I have 3 significant birthdays this year.
I’m going through a nail varnish phase for presents this year. Once I had decided on this after getting a couple of little sets in the B@@ts sale, when going back for more they were sold out but have sourced some nice sets on Vint@d. Must stay off V….it is too addictive. I keep a strict budget for birthdays and always work out during Twixmas how much was spent and how much I saved. 

Picked up a few charity bits from Dun elm sale on Friday, now have an abundance of hotties and slippers. I did have a nosy in TK m@xx!!

The couple of winter decorations I had out were packed away last night. Two years ago I picked up a lovely big Paperch@se pom-Pom winter white wreath reduced to £2 from £20. I try to get max use from it as it looks so good. The couple of Easter decorations I have (TKMa@xx sale last year) have been brought out. My wicker Easter rabbit is now proudly hanging up on a downstairs door. I used to dislike Easter as a child but having children, the adventures and family treats we had,  changed my perspective on Easter and I now enjoy it a lot more

Happy_Kitties

I hope everyone is doing okay. I now have some time off for Easter and I really need it, very overtired.

Friend has been supplying me with shoeboxes, even though I have enough i will take any more she has to offer to drop-off at the shoebox hub.
I’ve nearly  finished the second shoebox, I might try to get that finished later.

its a miracle, I been ahead on birthdays, I’ve even amazed myself. I think it’s bec I’m very conscious of the 3 landmark birthdays this year, two of which have been completed ahead of time……wonders will never cease!!

Over the next couple of years, presents will start to reduce as more landmark birthdays hit which will be very weird but it will mean i can bring my birthday and Christmas budgets down.

Some more Christmas and charity items bought, have def slowed down on Vinted. I’m currently trying to sort out a Vinted parcel where a woman sending them has mixed up parcels and I’ve been sent the wrong thing. 

I’m going to leave grass cutting until tomorrow so might do some wrapping this afternoon!

Happy_Kitties

It turns out that this year-4 landmark birthdays, I didn’t know about the 4th so got a card popped into the post and will hand over a small present next month. 

3 shoeboxes completed and wrapped, the 4th isn’t wrapped yet and I may need to open it as I’ve lost the list of what was in it……very frustrating. But hoping to hand over the shoeboxes and some extra items, including items for the Bags of Education in the next couple of weeks. I def could not do the Bags of Education myself again, they were a nightmare to do but the hub puts them altogether and boxes them up so I don’t mind getting items I see cheap and passing them on. 

I hope everyone is having a good Easter. Easter egg already eaten and out for food later but I want to get some washing out as we actually haven’t got rain….for a change

Happy_Kitties

Very happy, 4 completed shoeboxes dropped off to the shoebox hub yesterday. The shoebox that I never managed to complete last year is sealed up but didn’t go yesterday as I still cannot find the list as to what is in there so looks like I will have to unseal it and I taped it up well to get the lid down but it does mean that I have my 5th completed.

I also dropped off a bag of items for them aswell.
Other items will be going out earlier this year to them so hopefully some space will be freed up and I’m hoping that Dunelm do their summer collection as I have items for that. I can then reorganise as currently I have items everywhere and I don’t know what I have  for the bags of Joy. Well I do, it’s just taking over the house.

Birthday wise I am still on track……wonders will never cease and I’m staying under budget.
if I can get the remaining 4 shoeboxes dropped off by July i will be very happy as it means things are going to plan much earlier with no last minute rushing. 

I hope everyone is doing okay and they are getting some good weather. It looks like we are on the start of a good weather streak, time to get the washing on!

Anglea

Hi everyone, only a quick hello, I couldn't get back into my account until just now so I'll be reading what I've missed tomorrow. It seems that when I cleared my browsing history a while back it also wiped the log in details of everything and as I set up this account over 10 years ago I couldn't remember which email, what name I was going under, password etc

Katiehound

Ho ho ho! very quiet on here!

I have been away on a cruise for 3 weeks- very good but hot destinations! up to 35' and that was in June.....
 I managed to knit x 5 pairs of mittens for my shoeboxes but they have yet to be sewn up! having yarn came in handy as I was able to crochet a lanyard for my key card having left the real one(s) behind. Oh, and I managed lots & lots of dancing- great fun.

A friend is also knitting mittens for me and another is knitting plain rib hats as long as I supply yarn. She says she has gone wrong once or twice ie moss stitch instead of rib... but it's a hat!

I have also completed one crochet knee blanket and another about half made. I'm using up all kinds of 3 ply & 4 ply odds and ends used doubled. I have no intention of knitting anything in 3 ply!!

I think I have almost got all the 'stuff' for the boxes. A friend has got cheapie flannels & scarves for me and I have put a call out for a few men's ties.
I need toothpaste.

Bought x6 lip salves from B&M- £2?
6 x nail clippers (3 on each card)
This time I have bought shampoo soap bars on a rope, slightly dearer but no spills!!
Off to ireland shortly and intend to get those mittens sewn up

Thankfully it is a slightly cooler day:Friday was a scorcher...

Hope everyone is safe, well and not too hot & bothered.
Take care xxx

Happy_Kitties

It’s a long time since I’ve been on here, life has been ultra busy, weekends away but no cruises…..sounds like you had a fab time Katiehound.

i hope everyone is doing okay.

i am behind on some things this year and ahead on others. Have already dropped off a lot of things to the shoebox appeal for their local projects and another shoebox dropped off, so 5 gone so far.

I’ve got more items to drop off and hopefully 2 more completed shoeboxes- one is completed and I just need to get to H. bar for a couple of items for the other

I am hoping to visit one of the charities I support for a fundraising event  I have been invited to. It will be quite a drive. I have a lot of things for them that normally I would have sent that can just be loaded into the boot. Never have I picked up so many bargains as I have done this year for all of my charity donations. 

The Dunelm items are driving me crazy now. I get to a certain point where I am ready for everything to go. I know our local store is firming up who the organisations will be this year. As soon as those trees with labels are out, I will be there!

I was doing so well with birthdays up until May and then I just crashed. I am sending out the birthday presents now on catch up from May😬, but I have been good with all of the landmark birthdays, I’ve had a lot this year.

Normally I would have wrapped some Christmas presents by now and have them tucked away but I can’t get to them which is frustrating as it was so handy to have them done last year, especially as I have quite a few trips away before Christmas and I have to send a few presents out to family, so my plan is Bank holiday monday at the end of the month, if I have no plans and I can get to the presents, that is the day when I will have a wrapping fest or a day when it is really raining and I am paperwork free.
i also want to get ahead as at some point my kitchen will be ripped out, there is currently a delay with it.

It has been quite a hectic year that has picked up pace but I was determined to make the most of opportunities that came along, I just didn’t realise there would be so many and have been working out how to do them so they are cheaper without it affecting the event, so car shares, room shares, blue light discount all put to good use. 

I’m just itching to get the Dunelm Bags of Joy done now. Items I collected for their summer collection that they never did this year have either been sold on V on donated to the CS as items are bulky. 

Anglea

Hi Katie and Happy Kitties,

I've celebrated May Day by seeing a Green Man event which happened to be on one of DS2's visits but I don't think he was that interested as there were huge crowds and very hard to see anything. Also celebrated Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice and Lammas day and last Bank Holiday went to an old fashioned village festival with tea tent, music and vintage cars and also went to a vintage transport show with old buses and vehicles by a station. DS1 and his wife turned up unexpectedly on the Monday after a couple days of intensive hiking in the Peak District.

A few weeks before I went to a flower show that had a craft table selling hand made jewellery so I bought a couple of brooches made from a sort of safety pin with lovely things hanging off them.

Originally I was going to give one for the online friend who sends gifts and one for the friend I used to see but because of the proximity of Dil's birthday I thought it was save me wondering what to get so I sent her one of them and I'm keeping the other for the online friend because one of the charms is a hare and she likes them. 

There are other craft shows I attend later in the year so hopefully with find more gifts to buy. 

My life has been yet more hospital tests for me, mum has severely hurt her shoulder and arm so had to have xrays and is now attending hospital physio.

I had to break off writing as spilled milk over the floor lol

Katie I've been watching Supercruise tv documentary ch4, it's just finished and there's been another cruise documentary on E4 (ch 13) Billion pound Cruise Ship which has replaced my favourite Below Decks (yacht crew reality show). Of course I always think about you and wonder about your life on board.

Happy Kitties you mentioned you had trips coming up, have you been on any yet?

Happy_Kitties

@Anglea wow you have been busy. I like the sound of the old fashioned village festival with tea tent, I haven’t been to one in years.

Not been on any trips yet, I have been busy booking things  and have one trip coming up, but by chance booked to see any GP yesterday as I have felt really rough for a couple of days and I have a couple of infections going on.

So I’m dosed up with tablets, i’m glad I went when I did as there would have been a good chance I would have ended up in hospital. I hope the hospital tests are going okay and ur mum’s shoulder is getting better.

i have completely lost my Christmas mojo, just don’t feel in the mood at all. I have presents but I cannot be bothered to wrap them at all.

i was hoping to do a shoebox drop off today, one I can’t because of being poorly but also bec I haven’t even finished my shoeboxes. I’m having an epic fail this year. I’m hoping that once those things go and the Dunelm Bags of Joy go, I will feel much happier. 

I hope everyone is doing okay and doing much better than me!