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

mandco

Princesskitty thanks for setting up the new thread  
sorry to her dh isnt well wishing him a speedy recovery - kids eh its always the way - football can be an expensive hobby but it does tend to be one that sticks long term. The hike will be a good incentive to stick to your excercise goals

spendless sorry to hear about your dads friend its always hard but over xmas it just seems even more so. 
sounds like your xmas presents were very well received and the time you took over picking really thoughtful ideas was well spent.
Must be a bit worrying about the job - hopefully they'll extend your contract. I do think it would be better if they just told you so you could make plans or start looking elsewhere if needed rather than leaving you in limbo till the last minute. Makes sense to assume its ending and plan for any birthdays/occasions in advance. Jan/feb & Aug/sept are my busiest months though normally Jan/feb aren't too bad cost wise as I get a lot in the sales but that hasn't happened this year. 

sammy sorry to hear you had a tough time over xmas - we're always here if you need a chat   
it will take time to accept your pcos diganosis but knowing means you can access the huge amount of info & support that's out there 
Fab idea for the treadmill 

Sorry I haven't been on sooner but still struggling to get over this bug - the cough is finally easing but still crazy tired and achey.
Manged to pick up a couple of small bits in the sale online - 2 tees for ds birthday reduced to £5 from £15 a spring weight jacket for Taz £4 & a xmas jumper £2 but by time I felt up to looking pretty much everything was oos. Did find some xmas bottle bags for 10p each in sainsburys at the weekend but haven't even been grocery shopping instore till then so missed out on all other instore reductions too.

Taz had an occupational health assessment as he was diagnosed with hypermobility - they recommended a selection of items  shockingly expensive but I've ordered most of it as I could really see the difference when he was trying them out and hopefully it will make things a lot easier/less painful for him. They also gave us a list of exercises to try to strengthen his muscles - He was  really sore afterwards but she did warn me to expect that as they pushed him quite hard during the assessment 

Meant to be going out for a birthday dinner with friends this week but really not feeling it right now - I'll go as its already been rescheduled twice due to me being ill and I am a lot better but not looking forward to it if I'm honest 

anyone used vinted to sell?  I need to have a clear out and I know there quite a bit that has hardly been worn so I'd rather try and make a little on it to put towards our holiday this year rather than donate it if possible but only ever used ebay previously and that's really not worth the hassle anymore with all the fees ect

Spendless

@mandco - DD has sold some bits on Vinted. Now I don't know if she's doing it right but to me it seemd very slow to get sales and she listed a fair amount. She said 2-3 items last year then nothing then someone contacted her about an item over Christmas - long since gone as it got car-booted last summer, which tells you how long some things are taking to sell as she only decided to car boot when there was no interest. You get naff all money at car boots but it was just to raise money for charity connected to the pageant she was in, so didn't matter.

Maybe someone has a different experience. 

sammy_kaye18

@mandco
I hope you are feeling better - have you had this horrible cold bug that has been doing the rounds? We have had it along with the in laws and the cough was such a pain to get rid of, it does ease but is rather annoying for a good while. I suffered with the fatigue more. Rest up lovely and hope your on the mend. 

I have used Vinted before to sell some shoes and they did go ok but I wouldnt say it was quick sales etc - maybe list a few bits and see how they go but I always found ebay much better or facebook. Although just mind the ebay fees etc 

Sounds like you have still had a few bargains. 

We went out to Go Outdoors yesterday and they have nice fleeces on offer for £15 with the membership card and BOGOF so the kids brought one each. Also had to kit out DD with stuff for a weekend trip away with the school that was part of her christmas present and got to the till with about £130 of stuff, DS who is 18 stepped in and said he worked in JD Sport and the till assistant asked to see his college ID which thankfully he had as we had picked them up from school to go straight over, showed his ID and we ended up getting everything for £70! So that was good to know and now Im wondering where else he gets discount (besides all the older ladies in Greggs flirting with him and giving him free hot drinks and doughnuts when he calls them darling!)Still at least I know hes well fed. 

Im keeping an eye out on facebook at the minute for things to upcycle and to use in my garden. 



 

Spendless

That's an incredible discount sammy-kaye. Nearly 50% off. Was that for being in college or are Go Outdoors and JD Sports part of the same company and it was staff discount? My daughter has Unidays. I don't know if you have to be at Uni or if sixth form/college counts. Depending on the stores that accept it, she can get upto 20% off. Many years ago I worked somewhere that was part of the WH Smith group. In those days they also sold videos and CDs and one household member could also have a card as well as myself. My Mum adored it for going Christmas shopping with!  

Beshki

Determined to be organised again this year as it helped so much financially last Christmas and I would’ve struggled had I not been prepared. Again, going for less gifts but good quality/more thought - that worked well this time. 

First gifts ordered, had an ad pop up for some children’s wooden puzzle toys last night. Didn’t have much time to consider as the offer ended shortly after but I bagged four small gifts for £20 delivered. Rrp of each was around £15 so I’m pleased with that & glad I’ve made a start.

sammy_kaye18

Spendless said:

That's an incredible discount sammy-kaye. Nearly 50% off. Was that for being in college or are Go Outdoors and JD Sports part of the same company and it was staff discount? My daughter has Unidays. I don't know if you have to be at Uni or if sixth form/college counts. Depending on the stores that accept it, she can get upto 20% off. Many years ago I worked somewhere that was part of the WH Smith group. In those days they also sold videos and CDs and one household member could also have a card as well as myself. My Mum adored it for going Christmas shopping with!  

I think its something to do with the companies being linked as he showed his work ID and not his college one so maybe they are in the same network but both kids seem to be really comfortable and living in the fleeces so Im half tempted to go back and pick up a few more on payday to make sure they have them on hand to keep them warm - even if I grab a size bigger for the end of the year and maybe grab me and the husband one each as well for when we go out walking in the summer evenings etc. At BOGOF for £15 they are good quality and wash lovely too. 

princesskitty29

Hello, not a lot going on here, my husband is still unwell and off work so it’s been quiet days here just getting on with jobs. I had to go to the local retail park yesterday, I popped into Boots and they still had quite a lot of Christmas sale gifts but it seems as though I’ve missed the best stuff so didn’t find anything. I did get my brother a nice Bulldog razor last week, they’re usually £12 but Tesco had it on offer at £8 then I got a further £4 off with Shopmium so only paid £4 for it. I’ll keep an eye on offers for Bulldog products later in the year and get a couple to go with it nearer the time.

I picked up my Christmas cottage cross stitch again last week, I remember saying this time last year that I hoped to have it finished by Christmas but it’s a big project as the whole background needs stitching as well and I have limited time to do it. I stopped doing it in about November last year when I got busy with everything so it’s nice to have it out again. I really do hope to have it finished and framed by this Christmas! There really is no reason why I shouldn’t if I keep it up as I am more than half way through now.

mandco sorry to hear you’re still struggling, life can be hard enough at times without feeling poorly all the time! I had something similar before Christmas and it took a while to shake. I do hope you feel better soon and that you managed to have a nice evening out. It’s always hard forking out large amounts of money but as we know we’ll to anything for our kids and I hope all of this makes a positive difference to Taz’s life and in turn yours.

Sammy wow what a bargain in Go Outdoors! You really will have to take your DS everywhere with you now! He reminds me of a lad I used to work with in a shop back when I was 16, a lot of older women worked there and they were quite indifferent to me and the other younger girls but they absolutely loved him! He could do no wrong. I wish I had a Go Outdoors nearer to me as those fleeces sound great for my parents and in laws.

Beshki those gifts sound lovely, I do love wooden toys/puzzles.

sammy_kaye18

princesskitty29 said:

Hello, not a lot going on here, my husband is still unwell and off work so it’s been quiet days here just getting on with jobs. 

Sammy wow what a bargain in Go Outdoors! You really will have to take your DS everywhere with you now! He reminds me of a lad I used to work with in a shop back when I was 16, a lot of older women worked there and they were quite indifferent to me and the other younger girls but they absolutely loved him! He could do no wrong. I wish I had a Go Outdoors nearer to me as those fleeces sound great for my parents and in laws.

i hope your husband is feeling better soon hun. x

Yeah my son has a way like that and so does his father, all the old ladies love him - my grandmother especially. He can do no wrong - if only she knew lol . Also the reason I would never let my husband out of my sight when we had the kids as babies or with our pups! 

I think you can order online with Go Outdoors as my son has just ordered himself some more fleeces since he likes them so much and my daughter is wearing hers at the minute on her school trip away and she said she hasnt felt the cold so I think I may need to invest in some more. Also looking into where else he can get discount! 

Also nice find on the bulldog razor. I know there is another company called the beard company who does things like beard oils etc and they smell lovely (husband uses them) and I found a few of their products the other day in poundstretcher so that might be handy if you or anyone else wants to make up a pamper hamper for a bearded gent! 

Spendless

I think shaving stuff for men is a great gift to give. I don't know one bloke who doesn't complain about the cost of blades. That formed a big bulk of DS present last year and will reduce the costs he has to outlay to shave.

I am accompanying DH on a work trip to America soon. I love looking in shops abroad for little stocking filler stuff, nowhere fancy just their dollar stores and Walmart so hope we find some, it's an expensive area we're going to be at so hopefully they'll be these shops! 

I ordered myself a pre-loved bag yesterday - a brand I always wanted to try, which had me thinking of my previous resolve to try and get everyone at least one charity shop gift this year. If I'm honest I'm not going to constantly scour the chazzers looking for inspiration so I think I need a rough idea of what I'd get people. Currently I'm thinking along the lines of

DD - clothes/jewellery/shoes or even a board game (very likely to be my easiest to buy for) 
Mum - Bag
Dad - Book

More difficult but possible is DH, DS and Dil2b -if I come across something quirky that really suits each 

Extremely likely that I will have to miss off doing this for  FIL and 2 Grandmothers as they are all pretty much housebound, which doesn't give much scope.  

sammy_kaye18

Spendless said:

I think shaving stuff for men is a great gift to give. I don't know one bloke who doesn't complain about the cost of blades. That formed a big bulk of DS present last year and will reduce the costs he has to outlay to shave.

which had me thinking of my previous resolve to try and get everyone at least one charity shop gift this year. 

Im thinking the same as I now have husband and son who are both shaving. Husband has a beard and I brought my son his own electric shaver for christmas so they have one of those each now as well. 

Im thinking this year I am going to try and find things like aftershaves etc as neither of them really has any but they like wearing it but my son is a typical 18 year old and likes the fancier stuff and my husband basically jsut wears what he likes but I think I may have a plan to try and solve this. 
I am going to see if I can get hold of some empty aftershave bottles and then shop with my friend who does the unbranded aftershaves that smell the same as the fancy expensive stuff and then see if I cant somehow decant it into the empty bottles :-) Then make it into a hamper or something. I also like to collect some of the perfume / aftershave freebies as well and put them into little boxes so they have testers of other things to give me ideas.