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

Happy_Kitties

7 shoeboxes and extra things have now been dropped off, but it’s been a hard slog this year. Hoping to do one more shoebox and if in the mood might start it tonight, I have most of the bits for it. 

I’ve been aiming to do 8 boxes for a couple of years now but have only managed 7.

Christmas wise, still don’t really have my mojo. Have wrapped a couple of DDs Christmas presents and I have an idea for further presents but will also ask if there is anything she particularly wants or get a list from her and her boyfriend.
I really need to get in the mood to get presents wrapped, esp the ones for sending out bec it is so much easier. 

Did do the first trip away with a friend. Couldn’t have managed it on my own and I am so glad that friend offered to come with me and do half of the driving, made such a difference and we really had a good time as it is a show I really wanted to see and the whole production had had 5 star reviews. It was the first time I was actually able to eat food and it tasted like food after being poorly so that was a bonus!

Happy_Kitties

Actually 9 shoeboxes completed, really pleased. The final 2 were dropped off tonight. Plus lots of items for the shoeboxes the hub will make themselves and for their  local projects.

So that comes to the end of my donations to the shoebox appeal for this year.

I've wrapped a few Christmas presents but have been focusing on a few birthday presents. Now my shoeboxes are finished this year I am working on my Bags of Joy. 12 completed so far. 

No real bargains picked up and once I have done a few more Bags of Joy, hopefully I will be able to ship out the birthday presents, all bought in the sales and wrap some more Christmas presents. 

Feel very behind on my Christmas wrapping this year.

Auti

Well done @Happy_Kitties you are awesome. Have not even thought of christmas at the moment as going through treatment but should be finished just after christmas then child and I can have a brilliant 2026 we are doing ok and have lots of laughter so going ok

Happy_Kitties

@Auti thank you. It’s the first time I’ve managed to complete 9 boxes and I know Katiehound has completed 9 boxes aswell,
I really, really hope that everything goes okay with the treatment, just remember we are always here for you and finishing it just after Christmas, I think 2026 will be just the best for you and ur child. Sending you love and lots of hugs to keep you going to add to the laughter x 

Happy_Kitties

Just when I thought my Shoebox days for this year were over I was wrong.
A lovely MSE’r on here sent me some beautiful hats and lap blankets. I also had more things for the hub and a spare shoebox and items so ended up putting together another shoebox, so 10 shoeboxes completed and dropped off in all. A shoebox record for me.

Some birthday presents sent out and my first Christmas present sent out along with a birthday present to save on postage.
I’m having abit of a crisis, despite hunting high and low, everywhere, I cannot find three birthday presents. With two of the birthday presents, their Christmas presents are going at the same time, so I am switching about things and I’ve had to go out and buy new presents.

When I do find their presents, they will be stashed safely, but not too safely as they can be used for next year!
Still behind on my Christmas wrapping.
26 Dun elm Bags of Joy now completed and dropped off

Happy_Kitties

10 shoeboxes completed
31 Bags of Joy completed and dropped off at Dun elm
Two more Christmas presents sent out with birthday presents to save on postage.
One lot of Christmas presents with a birthday present wrapped and ready to send the beginning of December. 

Happy_Kitties

Bought a couple of things from the shoebox hub that they sell to raise funds. These  will go in the Bags of Joy

Also had more items to drop off to them and thought I can’t not do a shoebox, I had the items to be able to make up another and so I did another.
it was a win, win all round.

so far 
37 Bags of Joy dropped off
11 shoeboxes completed.
One box of birthday and Christmas presents made up and ready to send mid November 
Kitchen really being cleared out ready for the new one which will be nice just before Christmas 

Katiehound

yes, okay, I have been hugely awol this year!

Auti- hope the treatment goes well and you can enjoy all   good things in 2026.
 Having  anything traumatic happen makes you sit back and concentrate the thoughts on what might be on your 'to do' list with some fun things in there. It's almost like someone saying 'You can't do that!' and you think... I flipping will!

Congratulations  Happy Kitties on all those charity donations completed. Whew- 11 shoe boxes as well as the Gifts of Joy also family pressies delivered.

I got 9 boxes completed, was intending to do 8 but I had so much 'stuff'  to store for next year that I decided to pack one more.It had to ba family one as I didn't have an extra hot water bottle or torch.  I went to stay with a friend who has a holiday home in Norfolk  and we were able to deliver the boxes in early October with a1/4 hour drive and free parking in Sainsbury's across the road from the destination. Much better than trailing to the city and contending with the one way system. Sadly that will be the plan for next year as the holiday home is due to go on the market in early '26. Boo hoo. ( and only one collector in this huge county.)

In September I had a 9 day cruise- destination is actually immaterial because I got all my ducks in a row- or however you want to describe it! and essentially I had an intensive dance cruise.  On the first afternoon I met a dance host with whom I danced years ago- a very accomplished dancer but so  unassuming & humble. There were actually 6 in the team (usually 4) and very few ladies wanting to dance. Win, win. So I danced maybe 2 to 3 hours per day, nearly every dance! I wore black on the last night- why? mourning the end of the cruise!
My favourite dance for a long time has been the waltz but the Catherine waltz (sequence dance) is my absolute favourite, and with a great partner it is magical:
watch this : https://www.youtube.com/shorts/XV3uoGbAVBc
Enjoy.

Since then I've been to Ireland. Every journey this year  has been a pain: damage caused by storm Daragh a year ago still hasn't been completely resolved as 2 ferry companies are sharing the one berth.  As you can imagine I Really enjoy arriving in Dublin at the height of the rush hour. Not. This time the outward journey also involved a junction closure on the M62. It was the first night of night working and the diversion led through Brighouse on a route that said 'Road ahead closed'.. and it was. All these articulated lorries doing 5 point turns on a normal road. Nightmare. It took about an hour to get off and back to the motorway-just one junction. 

I am home now until mid March next year. I need to get enthused to do some turning out! fine on a sunny day but I can't cope when it is wet & grey, I just want to hibernate! 

Best wishes to all
Katiehound.

Happy_Kitties

@Katiehound I love the sound of the cruise, just sounds like you danced your way through the whole cruise!
you never seem to have any luck with the Ireland journeys at all, remind me never to travel to Ireland with you! I hate it when you have lorries doing 5 point turns on a road closure.

shame about the shoebox drop off for next year. I’ve still got to sort out and put away the extra bits I have. That’s why I kept doing extra shoeboxes, I was dropping items off anyway to the hub for their local projects on the way to my sports training and thought I’ve got a spare shoebox, I might aswell do it and just kept going.

Now up to 50 Dun elm Bags of Joy, have one ready to drop off tomorrow and then 2 left. Been a real mixed bag of items this year, just when you think you have a stash in ready for them, the labels always throw you. Def more personal and less generic this year. 

I managed to pick up several items in the Black Friday deals for the charity auction I am involved with. Just have to put away those items now aswell. Everything is just a mess at the minute because of having work done in the house which has just finished but cannot put the tree up yet until one final piece of work is done. That work took up the most of November but despite all of the work, all presents except for one is bought and the ones I need to send, only one present is left to send so quite happy with what I have managed to accomplish. 

Katiehound

Yep, danced almost every night from 6 pm for half hour- just me! So choice of dance and partner. That's never happened before. After that there were 2 x 3/4 hours pretty much every evening too plus on sea days 3/4 hour class.
The  only problem is sailing out & back from UK because the sea can be quite choppy, even rough so dancing can be a bit of a hazard. Think: North Sea, Irish Sea, Bay of Biscay etc anything from a force 8 /9/10 to calm as a millpond.
We danced at the farewell cocktail party and the floor was certainly moving so sometimes it came up to meet you and other times you stepped down, down..... (and in front of an audience too!) Safer to do ballroom rather than Latin and be anchored to a partner.

This was quote of the day for the last day: "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened,"  incorrectly  attributed to Dr. Seuss. I pretty much danced off the ship at Liverpool. Now 3+ months to another cruise......

Really congratulations on all those bags of joy.

I have at least 2 large shopping bags of goodies stuffed in the back bedroom cupboard for shoe boxes. Managed to get 8 or 10 forks last week from a charity shop. I buy new wooden spoons but the metal cutlery is recycled, so are the mugs: pretty much everything else is brand new.

Can't seem to get my act together- there's a pile of doggy duvets waiting for covers to be made- then that's the END of that production. I also promised someone 2 x crochet knee blankets. Today it was pretty much dark at 3.15.. hate it. On the plus side this week I have managed 3 swims (each 20 lengths) a movement & a yoga class  . today car passed MOT, tomorrow, flu jab.

I'm lucky maybe that I don't have loads of presents to buy. I gave 3 friends a magazine subscription for £5- 5 issues.
 I asked another friend not to buy Good Housekeeping for me- nearly £60 for the year!
I sent a parcel of books to one friend- she paid the postage (that's the deal!) but she did get 24 books, a hand crafted lavender bag & a pair of Christmas socks- oh and a handcrafted Christmas card. She was well pleased with her lucky dip parcel. (we do discuss which book titles she would like and then I crammed in as many as I could until stocks ran out!- these are books I have been given or bought at charity shops- round here you can get nice books @ 50 pence a copy (You could pay £2 each.... no thanks!)

Time to make a few phone calls......

Take care