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

Spendless

Thanks for the new thread princesskitty. Hope the dog's ok. Oh NYD Dil2b said she's seen our dog swallow something. DH said that the string net from the beef was missing. However, the beef was large I'd put it in the oven and I coulsn't see how the dog could manage to swallow it whole (it would be like a human trying to eat a fishing net!). Neither DH or Dil2b ould accurately tell me what had happened and both have a tendency to be a little vague.  I wasn't 100% confident about it but decided to leave it as Vet charges at 5pm on a Sunday that's also NYD def didn't appeal. Needless to say I was correct  and DH found the string net off the meat today, when on 'poo patrol' in the garden along with a little offerring that did contain some string, which must have been a bit he chewed of that Dil2b saw! Glad my gut told me not to pay £100s out for this! 

Haven't been sale shopping beyone what I listed on the last thread with the exception of picking up plant based hot choc bomb today half price in Tesco at £1.25. The date on it is end of April and though it probably won't go off as it's a present, I'll give it DD for her birthday at the end of March. I did struggle this year with hot chocolate stuff for her because so many contained marshmallows which usually have gelatin so aren't vegetarian.

Birthdays start next week. Niece though we no longer buy, Mum who I'm considering getting theatre tickets for and DD's best friend. She had a  night out with her in a nearby city, stayed o/night courtesy of DH's loyalty points and would you believe her idiotic ex texted her shortly before midnight, telling her how great it would be to see her later this year. Thankfully she was still sober enough and with enough wits about her to get rid of him.  Clearly not completely disappeared for 2023! 

@Treasurequeen - what sort of things do you normally buy brother and sis-in-law? If you get them personal items eg if you currently buy them things like clothes, perfume/aftershave, something for their hobbies etc then changing it to joint is likely to restrict the scope of what is available to get them, you're more looking at household items or food/drink. If this is what you get them anyway then that isn't going to be that big of a change. Unless they are theatre/cinema/restaurant lovers and you could get them tickets/vouchers for that as a joint present.

I think with the COL Crisis affecting just about every household, it'll be easier to have a conversation about cutting back. I'm relieved we dealt with who we bought for over a year ago. Left on my list is our parents (3), my grandmothers who are elderly at 97 & 98. The rest is me, DH, DD, DS and Dil2b. That is so small compared to what we used to have.  

princesskitty29

I love that there’s a spreadsheet gang on here!

CJ wow you’ve done well with the nearly Christmas boxes, I bet your grandchildren love them. You reminded me that I always used to do shoeboxes to be sent to those in need, I haven’t done it for years so I really should look into it this year.

Coxy it sounds like you got some good gifts in the charity shops, it’s probably a good time of year as people may donate unwanted gifts, I’m going to try to get to one this week as my charity shop buys for Christmas went down really well!

Treasurequeen I haven’t managed to get to any shops yet either and I agree with you about the online sales. I am also no good at scrolling, it doesn’t take long before I’ve lost interest! I hope you feel better very soon, covid can knock you for six. I buy separately for my BiL and his wife but that’s only because I tend to see things that they’re individually interested in, I might actually do a joint present this year. For example they’re quite into food so I might make them a hamper. I’m going to pop it on the spreadsheet!

Spendless oh these bloomin dogs! Yes our vet trip cost a fortune for 15 minutes, it’s just so hard when you don’t know what’s wrong with them!

sammy_kaye18

Hello All
Sorry I went a bit AWOL on the last thread - my depression hit a bit of a low at christmas and I just wasnt feeling it so I took myself away to be with the kids and just try my best to enjoy the day. But back now and feeling much better along with a PCOS diagnosis which is taking some adjusting too. 

Sounds like you are all busy getting the bargains in . I have found a few online for things that I wanted before christmas but I am so glad I have waited because they are much cheaper now. 

Hope all who are poorly are starting to feel better and any poorly pooches too! 

Spendless

Went to a large shopping centre today. Boots has a lot of stuff left! Looked but decided to go back later but by that time I'd spent up on buying DD some new clothes so decided that if I'd really wanted it I'd have got it earlier. In days of yore we'd have been looking at the Boots 70% off sale by now. I became a dab hand at accurately predicting the date and booking the day of work accordingly. 

Bought Mum theatre tickets, but have made it a joint present with my Dad whose birthday is next month. However it's DH's favourite musical so we've also got tickets! 

My job is due to end at the end of March, no guarantee of it being extended. Last day is DD's 20th birthday and we have a lot of birthdays between now and then and also FIL 80th early April. I need to be on board with the birthday presents whilst I am still working

sammy_kaye18

Spendless said:

My job is due to end at the end of March, no guarantee of it being extended. Last day is DD's 20th birthday and we have a lot of birthdays between now and then and also FIL 80th early April. I need to be on board with the birthday presents whilst I am still working

We are a bit like that in our house so I have made a point of writing down birthdays in the front of my bullet journal so at a glance I can see how many birthdays I have to buy for. Its helped me immensely so far but Im hoping I can also get ahead of myself with things like cards and gifts as well. Our manic months seem to be March and July but other than that they are all fairly evenly spread until I reach November and then I have my mother, auntie and FIL all on the same day! 

princesskitty29

The penguin toilet roll holders arrived the other day, they’re fairly sturdy I thought they might be made of wool but they’re not. I might even treat the recipients by putting a toilet roll in as well when I gift them! I’ve tucked one away for myself, it’ll be a little bit of Christmas in our downstairs toilet!

I need to put my decorations away today, I leave the boxes out for a while in case I’ve missed anything, but however hard I try I know as soon as I put the boxes away I’ll find something else!

I’m also signing up to a Macmillan Mighty Hike, it’s a walk over a marathon distance, I did one back in 2019 and I really enjoyed it (albeit knackered) so I’m looking forward to doing another one and raising money for a cause close to my heart. The only problem is I’m the unfittest I’ve ever been in my life, I actually joined a gym yesterday as I used to enjoy it pre-children, let’s see how I get on since parenthood has worn me down!

Sammy I’m so sorry to hear you’ve been struggling, and it must have been even harder at Christmas too. I’m glad you are starting to feel a bit better, living with PCOS must be tough but I hope having a diagnosis can help you manage it. I’ve heard of so many people with it that didn’t get diagnosed for years and years! It’s really good to hear from you, just pop on whenever you feel up to it.

Spendless I’d like to go to Boots but haven’t had a chance yet, I find their website awful, you have to scroll through pages of stuff that’s out of stock and I lose the will. You’ve reminded me I need to get going with my birthday list, FiL’s is next week!

sammy_kaye18

princesskitty29 said:

The penguin toilet roll holders arrived the other day, they’re fairly sturdy I thought they might be made of wool but they’re not. I might even treat the recipients by putting a toilet roll in as well when I gift them! I’ve tucked one away for myself, it’ll be a little bit of Christmas in our downstairs toilet!

I need to put my decorations away today, I leave the boxes out for a while in case I’ve missed anything, but however hard I try I know as soon as I put the boxes away I’ll find something else!

I’m also signing up to a Macmillan Mighty Hike, it’s a walk over a marathon distance, I did one back in 2019 and I really enjoyed it (albeit knackered) so I’m looking forward to doing another one and raising money for a cause close to my heart. The only problem is I’m the unfittest I’ve ever been in my life, I actually joined a gym yesterday as I used to enjoy it pre-children, let’s see how I get on since parenthood has worn me down!

Sammy I’m so sorry to hear you’ve been struggling, and it must have been even harder at Christmas too. I’m glad you are starting to feel a bit better, living with PCOS must be tough but I hope having a diagnosis can help you manage it. I’ve heard of so many people with it that didn’t get diagnosed for years and years! It’s really good to hear from you, just pop on whenever you feel up to it.

Spendless I’d like to go to Boots but haven’t had a chance yet, I find their website awful, you have to scroll through pages of stuff that’s out of stock and I lose the will. You’ve reminded me I need to get going with my birthday list, FiL’s is next week!

Hi @princesskitty29
The toilet holders sound fab. Id love to put little bits of christmas round the house but I will get there - I was looking the other day at buying a festive shower curtain to put up in December! Some great looking cheap ones on places like Shein etc as long as you dont mind a slight wait but Im in no rush and it has 12 months to come now! 
Im exactly the same as you and did it this morning infact RE decorations. I put most of them away - I didnt put many out to be fair but did notice this morning two small elves that my friend made me from polymor clay on my mantle piece that need to go away! thankfully I havent been in my doom cupboard yet to put the tree and other decs away so I still can shove them in the bag with everything else. 
My son use to do the Macmillan Mighty Hike with his scouts troop and they were treated to hotdogs and firework display at the end. He always liked taking part as the macmillan nurses helped to look after my late grandmother when she was diagnosed and treated for Non Hodgkins lymphoma. A very worthy cause if you ask me. Good luck with it and please let me know if you need more sponsors :-) 
I have also made a resolution to get healthier and managed to find a treadmill on facebook marketplace before Christmas that my son brought me as a present - it was only £100 but Im not using it for running or anything but Im happily walking for 50 minutes at 3.7km/hr now and doing that a few times a week is already helping. I have made a rule with myself though that I can watch an episode of a show whilst Im walking - the only catch is I can ONLY watch the show whilst Im walking so if theres a cliff hanger or a juicy plot then I either have to wait or keep walking. Its proving to be a great incentive and I am already finding that Im not feeling as tired and fatigued as I was. Plus Crafting is proving a helpful distraction as well as writing to people on MSE! 

Spendless

Thought I'd mention some of the presents I bought last year that went down well.

Firstly the photos and frames I bought my Nan. This was a 4 photo frame, with some of the photos standing on top of the other iyswim, rather than 4 long ones in a row. In the pics we put 2 of my Nan with both our kids when young, 1 third had DS in his cap and gown at his graduation last summer standing with me and DH. The 4th had DD at her pageant final in her dress. My parents let my Nan open it Xmas Eve when they visited. She loved it, recognised/worked out who the family members were and kept pointing, going from the pics of the kids when young to the recent ones of them. I am so glad this worked and I would thoroughly recommend doing something like this for a dementia patient. 

My Dad adored the Mug I got him with the personalised dogs on, going from the first one they had when I was a child right up to their current dog. I hadn't realised when I checked the box but I'd put it back in with the slogan that's on the back showing, so he hadn't seen it, he then turned it to show it my Mum and that's when he saw the dogs. Mum said he then started crying as it etched back lots of emotions. It#s being used as an ornament rather than a Mug cos they're scared of breaking it.

I only realised today that the other item I bought him, the drinks bottle will never be used for the purpose I bought it. That's because the friend he went out with once a week sadly died on Christmas Day. He had had some recent  health issues but not got to the bottom of the cause. Dad messaged him all day Christmas day but no answer. The following day he messaged the person friend was due to have Christmas dinner with, who told Dad when he'd not turned up they'd gone to friend's house and found him sadly passed away. I'd given no thought to the water bottle till earlier when the same item came up on my SM feed. I'm so glad I bought the theatre tickets as a joint present for my parents birthdays to give them something to look forward to.     

sammy_kaye18

Spendless said:

Thought I'd mention some of the presents I bought last year that went down well.

Firstly the photos and frames I bought my Nan. This was a 4 photo frame, with some of the photos standing on top of the other iyswim, rather than 4 long ones in a row. In the pics we put 2 of my Nan with both our kids when young, 1 third had DS in his cap and gown at his graduation last summer standing with me and DH. The 4th had DD at her pageant final in her dress. My parents let my Nan open it Xmas Eve when they visited. She loved it, recognised/worked out who the family members were and kept pointing, going from the pics of the kids when young to the recent ones of them. I am so glad this worked and I would thoroughly recommend doing something like this for a dementia patient. 

My Dad adored the Mug I got him with the personalised dogs on, going from the first one they had when I was a child right up to their current dog. I hadn't realised when I checked the box but I'd put it back in with the slogan that's on the back showing, so he hadn't seen it, he then turned it to show it my Mum and that's when he saw the dogs. Mum said he then started crying as it etched back lots of emotions. It#s being used as an ornament rather than a Mug cos they're scared of breaking it.

I only realised today that the other item I bought him, the drinks bottle will never be used for the purpose I bought it. That's because the friend he went out with once a week sadly died on Christmas Day. He had had some recent  health issues but not got to the bottom of the cause. Dad messaged him all day Christmas day but no answer. The following day he messaged the person friend was due to have Christmas dinner with, who told Dad when he'd not turned up they'd gone to friend's house and found him sadly passed away. I'd given no thought to the water bottle till earlier when the same item came up on my SM feed. I'm so glad I bought the theatre tickets as a joint present for my parents birthdays to give them something to look forward to.     

So sorry to hear about your friends dad @Spendless the thought and intention was there though and Im sure it would have been a perfect gift all else considered. Perhaps he will find another circumstance to use it for. 

They all sound like lovely thoughtful gifts and the sort of thing Id rather give to people rather than things that wont get used. Love that your parents arent using the mug because its too special. 

Reminds me of my mother in law - she found a snowman mug (the snowman) and it was quite specific and had a special place in her heart for her and her grandson, and she accidentally broke it -  we had never seen another one like it and I scoured the internet for months looking for one and one day one popped up on Ebay and I remember dropping everything and running to her house which thankfully isnt far to show her and we sat and emailed the seller to explain the situation and were able to settle for it off of ebay and get the mug before her grandson realised. She hasnt used it since I dont think. 

princesskitty29

Hi all, DH hasn’t been too well this week so it’s not been the easiest week here. My WHSmith order arrived which included a puzzle of the famous Beatles picture of them walking across the zebra crossing on Abbey Road – although it’s a festive version and they have santa hats on them! I bought it for my FiL but wish I’d got one for my mum now too. I also got some laser guns as a joint present for my boys, they’re only small but I’m sure they’ll find them fun.

DS1 has suddenly developed an obsession with football, he’s 8 now but has never been bothered about it before. He wants to watch it on TV all the time, play a football game on his switch and he went to his first ever training session at school yesterday. It’s very weird as we were used to a son that wasn’t interested in football but it’s all change! I mention it as the only thing I’m finding frustrating is I wish this had happened before Christmas, then he could have got football boots etc as presents for Christmas. I was struggling with ideas for him anyway and now there’s stuff we need to buy that could have been presents and his birthday isn’t until August. Hey ho, that’s children for you!

sammy thanks for the offer of sponsorship, that’s really kind of you. I need to get on and sign up! Macmillan are such a worthy cause, a Macmillan nurse gave my mum lots of support when she had cancer last year. I remember on the thread years ago people were talking about festive shower curtains, I never got around to buying one and now we have shower screens in our new house so can’t. They sound great though! Great idea with the treadmill, and you don’t have to run walking is fab for you too.

Spendless the photo frame does sound like a good idea, I’ll definitely bear that in mind. Sorry to hear about your dads friend, how sad for him and on Christmas day too.