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

irishninja

Hello All! Wanted to jump in and introduce myself, some old faces might remember me as "weeclick" way back many many years ago (I think as far back as 2016-2018!!!) Alot has changed for me since then and I got thinking about this group and thread in particular and how helpful it was for me all those years ago so hoping I can mingle again and share some thrifty ideas!!

Well whats happened since then? Im now married and have spent the last 5 or 6 months trying to get pregnant with my wife (same sex couple so its a battle and a half!). Our luck has somewhat changed, we got pregnant in August but unfortunately experienced a chemical and our donor has decided to stop donating so we are now looking down the IVF route. That comes with its own challenges in that we have quite a bit of weight to lose and obviously a massive cost factor on top of whats already been a hard year for everyone (hence the need to be thrifty) We have my wifes sister moving in and honestly havent even started funds for christmas and so really hoping to be inspired with some unique gifts this year!

Anyway, enough of me, Im about to pop to the gym and come try and catch up later on !!

Peppa537

I went to Primark today to get a few bits, noticed when I got home that the returns date on the receipt now shows end of January 2024. I'm not sure about other shops yet. 

SkyeD

That's good to know Peppa537.  I want to get some electrical items for my daughter, but have been reluctant to until the returns date is extended beyond Christmas (thinking Dune1m).

It's my granddaughter's birthday today - I've been informed that she loves the musical playmat that we bought for her - snabbed it in the January sale for a snippet - £13.33 instead of £49.99!! 

DaffyDaisies

princesskitty29 said:

Welcome DaffyDaisies, I’m so glad you decided to join in! My spreadsheet is something I made up myself but I’m happy to send you a copy of mine if it might help?

mandco My feeling would be to give a set that doesn’t have a razor in, just because you don’t know who he is or his situation. Also whoever is organising it may not allow sharp objects and it may get removed which would be a wasted gift that you have that could be used for someone else. It’s such a nice thing to do though, I’ll try to see if my local Dunelm is doing it.

Good to hear from you lazysheep! It’s nice to know there are lots more spreadsheet lovers out there!   

That would be lovely, and very generous, yes, please!!!

princesskitty29

Hi all, gosh it’s wet and grey outside today! I do hope none of you are being affected by this awful storm that has arrived, I’m grateful that it is just a bit wet and grey here.

I’ve been out to do a bit of shopping this week and picked up a 2024 diary for DH for £2 in The Works (he’s not flashy and likes the bog standard ones, a posh one would be lost on him!), a Minecraft blind bag for DS2’s stocking, a Pringles stack for my brother and a football mug for DS2 for £1 in a charity shop. I’ll put a sachet of hot chocolate or a small packet of biscuits with it. I went to my local, large shopping centre yesterday and was disappointed not to come back with more but it was lovely to mooch around all of the Christmas stuff. I logged on to a survey site I sometimes go on and had more points that I realised so I redeemed them for a £10 Amazon voucher which will pay for a calendar my mum has asked for for Christmas.

Ah welcome back weeclick! Or irishninja now! I remember you, it’s really good to hear from you. Congratulations on getting married, that’s lovely news, but I’m sorry to hear of the struggles you have had since then. It is such a positive thing to do and I know you have still got a hard road ahead but it sounds like you have a plan and are doing everything you can to put yourselves in a good position. I wish you all the luck in the world with it and hopefully you can pick up some good hints and tips on this thread to do Christmas on a budget. I’m sure everyone around you will understand your situation.

Peppa thanks for the heads up on the Primark extended returns period.

Skye wow what a bargain for your grandaughter! It is always so satisfying.

DaffyDaisies no problem at all, if you PM me your email address I’ll send it over to you.

DigSunPap

princesskitty29 said:

Hi all, gosh it’s wet and grey outside today! I do hope none of you are being affected by this awful storm that has arrived, I’m grateful that it is just a bit wet and grey here.

I’ve been out to do a bit of shopping this week and picked up a 2024 diary for DH for £2 in The Works (he’s not flashy and likes the bog standard ones, a posh one would be lost on him!), a Minecraft blind bag for DS2’s stocking, a Pringles stack for my brother and a football mug for DS2 for £1 in a charity shop. I’ll put a sachet of hot chocolate or a small packet of biscuits with it. I went to my local, large shopping centre yesterday and was disappointed not to come back with more but it was lovely to mooch around all of the Christmas stuff. I logged on to a survey site I sometimes go on and had more points that I realised so I redeemed them for a £10 Amazon voucher which will pay for a calendar my mum has asked for for Christmas.

Ah welcome back weeclick! Or irishninja now! I remember you, it’s really good to hear from you. Congratulations on getting married, that’s lovely news, but I’m sorry to hear of the struggles you have had since then. It is such a positive thing to do and I know you have still got a hard road ahead but it sounds like you have a plan and are doing everything you can to put yourselves in a good position. I wish you all the luck in the world with it and hopefully you can pick up some good hints and tips on this thread to do Christmas on a budget. I’m sure everyone around you will understand your situation.

Peppa thanks for the heads up on the Primark extended returns period.

Skye wow what a bargain for your grandaughter! It is always so satisfying.

DaffyDaisies no problem at all, if you PM me your email address I’ll send it over to you.

@princesskitty29 Im down here in Kent and we haven't seemed to catch the worst of the storm yet. It has been raining on and off though the last few days and the wind is starting to pick up. I bought my first Christmas present this week and feel so organised! I picked up a nice jumper in TK Maxx for my dad - only £22. Going to try and chip away at Christmas this year, rather than buying everything in one go.

Peppa537

We gave my eldest a lift to work this morning on the edge of the town centre, so stopped off just as the shops were opening. Primark didn't open to buy from until 10.30am but you can browse for 30 minutes beforehand. It was lovely and quiet in there at that time and because the weather has been so bad here last few days they still had plenty of stock in which is rare on a Sunday. I got youngest daughter some joggers, a hoodie, a water bottle for work and some Pj's (she bought herself these in pink and loves them so I got her the same but in grey), they had the pale pink joggers my eldest daughter liked as well. Also my Mum had mentioned she wanted Pj's so I sent photos of some on WhatsApp and she chose the ones she wanted (red checked flannel ones) for Christmas. That's a few more things crossed off the list. I always try to get these types of gifts from Primark as they seem to last, wash ok and are cheaper than elsewhere. 

SkyeD

Glad to hear that you got fixed up with some things @Peppa537.  I went to my daughter's this morning - the one who would like some things (lamps and soft furnishings) from Dunelm , and I was waiting for the long return date to happen before I bought/buy.

Good job I've waited - she's decided to change her colour scheme!

mandco

welcome back Irishninja congratulations on getting married. Sorry to hear of your struggles since but I'm sure family & friends will understand you needing to have a budget xmas this year.

SykeD always a great feeling when a bargain find is a huge hit 

Peppa sounds like you got a good xmas haul sorted. Primark have some lovely stuff in I picked up some super soft pj bottoms at the weekend which have come in handy this week as its been absolutely freezing.

Picked up a lovely xmas mug in TKmaxx - its a glass mug with allover stags & snowflake print (they had other designs)and comes with a lid with sipper or straw openings bargain at just £3.99. Would make a lovely little gift teamed with some coffee or hot chocolate ect  

Taz saw a yard? of oreo's box in poundland and asked if he could have one for xmas - so picked one of those up

if you have an asda reward account they have 50p back on matchmakers and 75p back on terry choc orange regular or exploding candy versions. 

Popped in the range earlier and they have loads of xmas stuff in but I'd just come out of the eye hospital after some test so couldn't really see as everything was really blurry so will have to pop back for a proper look.

Coxy11

Hello all,

I’ve been busy with work plus had a cheeky long weekend away with DH, my BFF and her DH. Ever the bargain hunter I managed to snaffle some Christmas bits in the local town in Majorca! I got DIL2B a Daffy Duck keyring (she loves Daffy apparently), got BIL a hand-painted ceramic garlic grater from a studio in a nice box and for DD I got an MK coin purse and a LV small handbag – hooky obviously but she won’t care! Total spent Euro 25!!

Sorry to hear about your uncle @princesskitty29 ☹ My DDad is currently in hospital again, this time, pneumonia! Poor guy is playing bingo with all the ailments. On a serious note, it’s looking increasingly likely he won’t make DS1s wedding next year as won’t be able to fly….. ☹

DH and I went into London on Saturday for a meal that BIL got DH for his 50th earlier this year. We took the opportunity to visit Fortnum’s and picked up two tins of biscuits for the ILs. £21 total which is ridiculous, but they will appreciate them I’m sure.

The meal was an 8 course taster menu with accompanying wines. We had a GnT before the meal, a mint tea and a coffee afterwards, plus DH chose to have the cheese course (3 mini cheeses smaller than a dairylea triangle) and a port to go with it. The bill was £468 of which we had to pay £123, which was the above extras plus a £60 service charge! Really made me think of the times I’ve gifted vouchers/experiences and what’s included/what the recipient might have to pay.

I really need to get to Home Bargains to take a look at Christmas stuff @mandco. The last few years I’ve been so time poor that everything seems to be such a scramble.

Some good items there @Beshki

Welcome @SkyeD! I too love a spreadsheet and great bargain for your DGD!

Welcome @DaffyDaisies! The book collection sounds lovely. When we had babies in the family I would give something small and some cash for their ‘college fund’.

Hi @irishninja! Congrats on your wedding and all the best to you in your pregnancy journey xx