Jingle All The Way - It's the 2023 Christmas Chatter Thread!

nic2075

Hi, I’ve not been here in forever. I had to take a big step away from all social media etc. I felt I wasn’t present for my family. 

It’s lovely to see so many familiar names. Hope you are all well? I don’t imagine anyone will remember me. But I have 3 kids. My eldest DD is now about to turn 18, DS is 16 and DD is 12. I live in Scotland and work in a school. 

I’m still a Christmas nut, that’s never stopped. I love decorating early and being organised early. It’s getting harder with everything else costing so much. I’m finding it harder and harder to save. 

Coxy11

Morning all,

Great CS find @Spendless - nice to have that one ticked off the list.
Welcome back @nic2075 - sounds like a busy time for you. Agree about the cost of everything. Like @Spendless I'm trying to source gifts from CSs where I can. Doing okay with it so far!

The next few family birthdays are coming up - we have a cluster in August:

• 1st August - FIL and SIL share the same date. Both really difficult to buy for - SIL usually requests JL vouchers. She's not well atm so have ordered a cat window hanging ornament from Etsy (£11 inc. P&P) but will also get her something pamper-y as she can't leave the house. Not sure about FIL so need to get thinking cap on - £40 budget for each.
• 10th August - BIL - possibly garden centre vouchers or some aftershave/EdT.
• 11th August - DNiece will be 15 - she lives in Ireland with her mum and sister so we only see her during the holidays. She'll be here just after her birthday, so £30 cash in a card.

Take care all
Coxy

mandco

welcome back NIc2075  hope your doing ok 
the cost of living is hitting a lot of people hard its definately a lot harder to save and the bargains/deals of the past are few and far between. 

Spendless great CS find 

coxy wish I had your knack for cs finds the ones here are pretty poor I haven't managed to find a single thing yet

aug- sept is an expensive time for birthdays here - all 3 of mine plus dgd within 4 weeks and so far dgd is the only one i have sorted just need to get her a card. Did order some decorations for dd's birthday from shein -  banner & balloons for under £2. The boys have both asked for a preorder for a new release ps5 game so that's easy if crazy expensive but still need to find something for them to open and really struggling for ideas. Still no idea what to do for ds 18th and he turns down everything I suggest so at this rate we'll probably end up with takeout. 
thanks to a super cheap off peak booked a year in advance offer we're back at butlin's for Taz's birthday I think it will probably be one of our last trips for a while as prices have skyrocketed for next year - over the last couple of years we've made the most of being able to book off peak breaks as taz is homeschooled and I've paid between £60-£100 per break similar breaks/dates next year start at £250 with many rooms closer to the £400 mark   

On the xmas front the works were putting out xmas stock this week  only a small section but if previous patterns hold its a sign that other will likely follow soon. It does seem a little early this year and not sure if that's down to the fact we've actually had a really decent spell of summery weather but a lot of places are already getting winter stock in.

Curlygurly

Hello all! Just wanted to pop in and introduce myself. Huge Christmas fan so was delighted to find forums this time a year ago!! Also meant I was super organised last year and was all done mid December- usually I’m an “up wrapping til midnight of Christmas Eve” kinda person 😂 so hello all, looking forward to enjoying Christmas cheer all year round 🎄 

princesskitty29

Hi all, i've been AWOL again as there has been so much going on, i'm actually looking forward to the summer holidays now so we can chill a bit and not have lots of stuff happening all the time! I'm trying to have a restful day today as I did my Macmillan charity walk yesterday. We were meant to do 26 miles but we had to stop at 22 as my friend had really bad blisters on her feet and they were just too sore. I was disappointed not to finish it but we said that if we had to stop then we would stop. I'm proud we got as far as we did. I now really want to do the Five Valleys Walk which is a 21 mile hike for the Meningitis Trust back where i'm from in Gloucestershire. I used to do it a lot when I lived there but I haven't done it for years and I promise myself every year that I will do it and for various reasons haven't. I'll have to do some serious training though as it's constant hills whereas the walk we did yesterday was on the flat and my legs were getting a bit sore!

Now we're over halfway through the year i'm definitely thinking about Christmas a bit more, although I still have DS1's birthday at the start of August to organise. I was watching a bit of The Holiday this morning which always makes me happy and gives me Christmassy feels.

It sounds like some of you have been doing some lovely things and got some great finds! We ordered some things for DS1's birthday on the Luton Town FC website this morning and they had some tree decorations on sale, I ordered one each for the boys as I always put a tree decoration in their stocking every year, they have small trees in their room and have their own individual decorations on them.

Anyway i'm going to make more effort to get on here more regularly now things are hopefully going to quieten down a bit.

nic welcome back! I certainly remember you and it's lovely to hear from you again. Don't be a stranger, although I know that's rich coming from me at the moment!  

Curlygurly welcome! We always love to hear from fellow Christmas nuts so please come and join us whenever you can.

princesskitty29

I meant to say I also have a TKMaxx treasure card now. I never used to shop there but I have a TKMaxx mad friend I go shopping with and then what with everything I hear on here i've been venturing in more and more! I think I used to find it a bit overwhelming but I now actually think that's just the clothes that made me feel that way, so I don't really look at them and i'm now finding pleasure in finding bits and bobs that I need or would be good for presents. Let's see how long it takes me to get my first treasure!

Peppa537

Hello everyone I hope you're all well. I took part in last year's thread and I've just popped on to say my local Tesco had the chocolate tubs in today. They were on a Clubcard deal for £4, I'll get a couple at a later date when they hopefully drop to £3.50 as they previously have. 

Treasurequeen

Hello I hope everyone is doing ok. 

Some of the tkmaxx treasure rewards are hit and miss, lately it’s only been wins. But I have had a few good things from the scheme since I joined up when it first started. 

My parents have asked for a food hamper so will start that soon. Buying bits and pieces with my weekly shop. So far the dates aren’t long enough yet. They also have a stocking each. I’m hoping to pick up some bits for the stockings in charity shops. But my local charity shops are becoming expensive so I will need to venture further afield to look for bargains. 

I won some matching Christmas themed coasters and placemats which will look good in my table. I bought the wrapping paper and tags in last years sales along with a few cards. 

I’ve ordered some crafting kits to make Christmas decorations when the weather is bad. So far I’ve got a  Christmas cross stitch card kit, macrame angel kit and two felted animal kits. I’m getting a nice collection of Christmas jigsaw puzzles too. 

So far Christmas gift wise I have got: 

For my sister in law I have got her a new jigsaw puzzle as she loves doing them. I only paid £4 as it was on sale. I picked up some lovely vanilla candles in glass heart dishes for £3 which I will gift her. I will get her some of her favourite chocolates nearer Christmas. 

razor blades and novelty socks for dad. Face cream and a little notebook  for my mum. 

Picked up the cello-tape last week as it was reduced. I have usually got a well stocked box under the bed with items that can be used as gifts in emergencies but the box is  nearly empty. I can’t seem to find anything in sales or in charity shops. 

Coxy11

Morning all,

Hi @Curlygurly and @Peppa537 - good to see you here

Agree with @Treasurequeen that CSs are becoming more expensive. I guess it's to be expected as they too are having an increase in costs of keeping the shops open. Best bargains to be had are at boot fairs but tbh I haven't been to one in a good few weeks as have had things on meaning a late Saturday night, or the weather has been foul. Might try for the big local one on Sunday.

We have a few birthdays coming up. FIL and (poorly) SIL on the same day next week. Followed swiftly by niece who shall get Euros (based in Dublin) and BIL who will be 50. I've ordered a Red Letter Day wine tasting for two for BIL as was cheaper than booking directly with the vineyard! Will also get him something to open like a 'vintage at 50' t-shirt or something similar. Budget was £100 but will come in well under. 

SIL is beginning to enjoy her garden more now she's feeling brighter. Still rarely leaves the house except for hospital appointments. I have got the cat garden hanging silhouette and may get her a decent (5L) plant or planter to go with. I have £30 left in the budget for that. Not sure what to get FIL as he's very awkward - no hobbies, doesn't wear fragrance etc. We got him a book for Father's Day. Will ask DH to get his thinking cap on.

I picked up the new Tesco magazine yesterday. Has a money off coupon for £5 off any Lego set when you spend £20. Might be useful for some - can be used in store or online.

mandco

the shops have started putting out winter wear already - primark had the fluffy cozy socks back in various designs so going to pick up some for the stockings next week. They also have fleecy pj sets & snoodies in so picked up taz some pjs for the xmas box as he'll be needing new ones this year and it can be hard to find larger ages in stock closer to xmas.

I ordered dd some "lego" flowers from shein I know its always a bit of a risk but most of the stuff I've brought lately has been decent quality and the set I got turned out to be virtually identical to the official one but cost 1/4 of the price. The box did come squashed due to poor packaging though I'm sure dd won't mind.

started adding a little bit extra to my supermarket savings cards each week  - £5 a week from now means over £100 extra saved by xmas without really missing it.