Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer - it's the 2024 Christmas chatter thread!

Spendless

Haven't got a great deal of gift buying to talk about but though I'd drop in.  Did you get the  Ice-cream sundae dishes from Aldi  princesskitty? If you didn't have you considered looking in charity shops? The ones round here are full of items like that, always in excellent condition.

I forgot to say when we went away in the gift shop was little coin purses all with different slogans on them. I bought 2 for DD's stocking. 1 says 'hair ties' on it and I bought it so she can keep  all her hair bobbles together in her bag. The other says coffee money and I intend getting her a costa  giftcard to go with it. I've since found the company online that sells them. This is it if anyone needs some inspiration https://backstageoriginals.com/collections/blueq-coin-purse.

Sadly it has come to mine and DH's attention that DIL has left DS for someone else. Quite shocking considering they had been married less than a year and she was trying for a family with DS (whilst messaging someone else on the sly it seems!). She got found out by us due to a social media post and photo that came up on DH's SM timeline. We haven't told DS what we've discovered though DD is of the opinion her brother already knows just isn't saying. We need now to help DS where we can. I was thinking of one of the things being a hamper of toiletries for him. Not just the nice smellies I'd usually do but the boring basics too, like toothpaste and toothbrushes etc. I think that would help him a bit financially. I don't know how long to do it for though eg 3/6 months worth? I'm also struggling in my head to think through how many of said item/s is needed. Any help appreciated.

sammy_kaye18

princesskitty29 said:

It’s DS1’s birthday at the beginning of August so I really need to get into gear and focus on that now. Once that is over I can concentrate more on Christmas.

Sammy gosh it sounds like you have a lot on your plate with all of the illnesses and your DD’s guinea pig dying, I am sorry to hear about all of that and I wish everyone well, I hope they all improve very soon. It sounds like you did well for DD’s birthday. I too am like you sometimes especially with Instagram, I can find myself mindlessly scrolling! So I try my best to put my phone out of the way somewhere and leave it there.

How is your prep going for you DS birthday? I am the same - once DD birthday is out the way on July 14th then I switch to Xmas mode. 

It seems to always be the way with illness etc in this house Kitty! FIL has had cancer before and he was diagnosed just as my best friends mum was diagnosed and straight after my dad had undergone surgery for prostate cancer. Thankfully its just him we need to get back on the recovery side now but still some more chemo to go yet. 
Guinea pig now has his final resting place in the garden, which I had to put a big slab on top of for dog and fox protection but weirdly the flowers I moved and replanted in the bed (pansies and sparaxis) seem to have really come to life! Doh! 
Daughters birthday is today and shes had a lovely day. Got what she wanted, has set her apple watch up (it was my stepmums which she gave to me, but I couldnt get on with and preferred my fitbit so I regifted it to DD and shes landed) and a new full face mountain bike helmet so she can get back on her bike after a horrible off broke her last one.
I am still trying to get better with not mindlessly scrolling but Tiktok is so inviting and diverse! I think I need to set myself timers and just leave it alone! 

sammy_kaye18

@Spendless

Firstly those little coin purses are fab. I am loving the costa coffee card idea and think I might pinch that for my daughter. She is 14 today and likes going to town with her friends and there is a coffee there that she loves a hot chocolate from. 
Sure I can probably gift a few more of them to others as well so Ill have to have a think! 

SECONDLY as far as your son is concerned. 
I am so sorry to hear about the infidelity that seems to have happened. I am a child from a broken home where infidelity played a part from my mothers side so maybe it is a blessing in disguise that this has happened as sad as it sounds so that you DS can move forward and find someone deserving of him. My outlook from the past experiences is once a cheat always a cheat. When my mother cheated, my father met and moved on with a lovely woman who I adore and honestly seeing the two of them together - I genuinely dont understand how my dad and mum were ever together in the first place. Think movie love and thats what my dad has now. So I hope the best for your son too. xx 

As far as suggestions....
Does he live local to you? or near enough that you can visit him? 
I was wondering maybe some pre-made meals for him might help - whether hes working and doesnt want to come home and cook for himself, or if he doesnt feel up to it etc at least he could have something quick and on hand. Even if its shop brought ready meals. 

The hamper sounds wonderful.
I dont know how old your son is but presuming hes responsible enough to know how to do a load of washing etc! My son is 20 and I can assure you he is spoilt rotten in that sense. Im not even sure he'd know where to put the powder! If your son is the same then maybe a little booklet with some guidance? 
Toiletries - deoderant, shampoo, body wash, toothpaste, a pack of toothbrushes, floss, soap or handsoap,
If you managed to find a little twin pack or 4 pack of toothbrushes. And maybe a toothpaste per month? and a mouthwash if he uses it. 
You could add in things like chewing gum too for when hes at work etc to keep breath fresh and after lunches etc.

Household - detergent, softener, washing up liquid, all purpose cleaner??

Coxy11

Hi everyone,

Those purses look great @Spendless and a good idea for little gifts. There are also some great band t-shirts from the same company which might be good for DS1. Thanks for the link.

I think it’s a good idea to gift your DS some practical items that will help him out. We have spoken privately about DIL and you know very well my feelings on the matter. @sammy_kaye 18 makes a good suggestion about meals – I’m not sure how much of a cook DS is but what about a slow cooker and related cookbook, plus some food storage pots, so he can ‘cook once eat twice’ if he doesn’t feel like cooking every night.

I have a Superdrug loyalty card and received related emails. They had an offer last week of money off of DIL’s favourite perfume so I grabbed the larger bottle which had £20 off. This will go towards her birthday in October.

The next birthdays are: FIL and SIL both on 1 August, BIL on 10 August and niece on 11 August. Niece will get Euros as they live in Dublin. I am going to task DH with sourcing the other gifts as a) they are all his side of the family and b) he is not working and has more time. I will of course set him a budget, which will, of course be totally disregarded (insert eyeroll emoji here).

Not sure if I’ve shared that we have our house on the market with a view to move/downsize. We’ve had a fair few viewings but no suitable offers at the moment, but it’s still early days. You never know, we might be in a new house for Christmas!!!

mandco

Sorry to hear some of you have been dealing with difficult health & other family issues life really does suck at times 

spendless this coin purses are great
at Least you know why dil left now - honestly ds is better off without her but that doesn’t change the hurt he’s feeling. I wish I could say it’s a surprise considering how short a time they’re been married but it happened to a friend of us too they spent 40k on the weeding of her dreams less than a year later she’d moved in with someone else 
for now I wouldn’t openly tell him you know chances are he does know but isn’t ready to share yet - just remind him your there for him when he’s ready 
the hamper is a lovely idea - I’d go with 3 months to start with and hopefully by then he’ll be more open to letting you know if there is anything he needs help/support with. 

Meals are a great suggestion - even if he can cook being alone often means you don’t feel like bothering and if he’s feeling low it’s can seem like too much to deal with too.
does he have any hobbies/interests you could get something for to give him something to focus on on the evenings to help lift his mood? 

Princesskitty - a hat is a great idea thanks 

I’m also in the kids have birthdays coming up camp so trying to sort those so I can focus on Xmas prep- managed to get dgd some encanto dolls(checked with Sdd she didn’t have them) in Argos massively reduced - got 4 dolls for the regular price of 1 she’ll been over the moon and I’m under budget too so double win. 

My lot I have all of their main gifts ordered now- Went halves with dds bf on a ninja creami as it’s something shes been wanting for ages and it was on offer making it in budget. Ordered a gaming headset for taz half price & also ordered some ridiculously priced drink powder for ds   - it’s something a load of YouTubers he watches Promote and while it’s not something id normally agree to buy as it’s shipping from the states so p+p was stupid expensive on top and probably have tax/duty to pay on arrival in the uk too it’s what he’s asked for.

Picked up an Encanto toddler doll for my Xmas donations box as they are down to £5.63 in Argos 

I know it’s technically summer but the the lousy weather lately feels like we’ve skipped it and gone straight to autumn which makes me feel like I’m really behind in my Xmas prep - on the plus side we’ve been having lots of suggles on the sofa with hot chocolate & movies - making the most of I while I can as taz is growing up fast now and not sure how much longer he’ll really want to join in.

trying to bump/save my reward points for Xmas -Tesco have just added new spend & earn bonus offers - earnt £35 last time just on ones I’d buy anyway so hoping to add a decent amount this time too. Back up to £50 on nectar after spending my previous balance on an unexpected expense. Only a few pound on Asda rewards - I hardly ever earn points despite shopping there weekly so it takes forever so add up though I guess anything back is a bonus 
really need to start listing some bits on vinted again too.

princesskitty29

Hi all, I’m in birthday prep mode now for DS1’s birthday on the 5th August, it’s looming ever closer so I really need to make sure I’m on top of it all. I had a quick look at the Amazon Prime day deals, I used camelcamelcamel to check the price history of items and most of them have been at the sale price many times before. That said, I did get two Aveeno hand creams for my MiL that she loves as they were at a good discounted price, I will get some nice gloves to go with them.

Spendless my goodness that is shocking about DiL, it makes you wonder why she got married in the first place if she can so easily find someone else so soon after. Your poor DS, he must be devastated. I agree, making him a hamper of things to last him a few months is a great idea, especially as DS is probably not in the right frame of mind to keep on top of those things.

Sammy you must be in Christmas mode now the 14th July has passed! It sounds like your DD had a lovely birthday. I am making progress with DS’s birthday, I have most of his gifts now I just need to plan his cake etc. It's very scary to think of how many people in our lives cancer has affected, I do wish your FiL a speedy recovery.

Coxy good luck with the house sale, I hope a good buyer comes up for you soon! And remember when you go to look at houses your should always consider where the Christmas tree will go.

madnco it sounds like you are doing well with your Christmas prep! The Tesco spend and earn scheme sounds interesting but from what I can see I don’t think it’s available to everyone? It’s hard when your child asks for something you’re not really keen on buying, we had that with DS1 and the football cards last year. It’s still all he’s into and they’ve dominated his birthday list this year! 

Spendless

Thanks for the support and ideas  ladies. It's knocked us for 6, DH probably more than me. Goodness knows what it's done to DS. 

 DS does cook, he spent 4 years as a student including him getting stuck in his Uni accommodation for the whole pandemic (his choice not to come home!) but maybe there are some gadgets that would be helpful to him. I know when I had a WFH job, I loved my electric omelette maker for my lunch, poured the ingredients into a jug in the morning and then was ready to be poured in when I wanted to eat.

We are taking DS on a mini break to Belgium next weekend, just 3 of us. DD is dog sitting. I was thinking there's not really anything I can buy in advance when DD asked if she could have some concert tickets for 2025 and so they are her main Christmas present. She's happy  to do this, she's aware her brothers gifts are going to be of a more practical nature to help him, so happy to have a gift that is more 'under the radar'  Not sure if I'll manage to pick up anything abroad. I find this time of year slim pickings for finding things. We only have 3 family birthdays left and one is mine and we will be in the States for it (another work trip for DH that I'm going on), DH is a week later so will see what they have out there and something travel related is always appreciated as he works away a lot so likes things to be both useful and 'business-like' The first birthday though is my Nans, who will be 99. She's still not overly well. Her birthday isn't until mid-September so I have time to think

DD got her last 21st birthday card today, yes almost 4 months late! She also received one last month. Yes these were from close relatives who live near us (one a few streets away) who for some controlling reason refused to pop the card  through our door! Am pretty miffed about it tbh, one of the relatives I bought for their child until they were 30 and never once sent their gift 3-4 months late. Glad that's over now tbh, I'm quite happy with the stance of 'neither of us will bother in future'  

Are any of you aware of this subscription service for perfumes that The Fragrance shop do? I got told about it when I went to buy the atomiser for DD's birthday. You choose how many months you want a subscrition for. I *think* it's £12 per month and then with the first month you get an atomiser and the perfume you've chosen and then subsequent months you just get the perfume that you then put in the atomiser. Your choice you could have the same scent every time or different ones. Thought it might be a good cheaper way to get DD a small amount of her perfume but then introduce her to others, that so far she's only ever afforded the dupe off. Then she's know whether she's keen or not.

  https://www.thefragranceshop.co.uk/scentaddict

Spendless

Just after my last post DH gave me a £20 love to shop voucher. It's from his workplace and they get an annual one providing certain targets have been met. Previous years have been from M&S but they've changed the provider which means more variety of places to spend it at. I'm saving till Christmas though and will put it towards a gift for someone 

mandco

Princesskitty.  I wish was organised for Xmas it’s mostly all birthday prep as all 3 of mine have birthdays in a 3 week period seriously timed that badly 
I must admit I found the Amazon prime deals rubbish this year too hardly any real deals just variations of the usual offer they go on at various times the only thing I brought was a hay box for the rabbit 1/2 price - but that offers still on anyway

coxy good luck with the house sale 

sammy sounds like dd had a great birthday 

spendless hopefully the weekend away will help lift ds mood
kitchen gadgets are a great idea to help with preparing meals and making sure he’s eating properly - I used to have an omelet maker too and it was so much easier than cooking in a pan which meant I’d actually bother making them 
It’s great when the kids actually give you ideas for presents - I know as my lot are getting older it’s harder and harder to think of things to get them. 

Shocking that family living so close couldn’t bother to send dds card on time - stopping sending to them now definitely sounds like the right move and one less thing for you to worry about going forward.
the perfume subscription sounds great might borrow that for dd 

Argos have some good reductions on Lego book with bricks sets picked up the Harry Potter 5 mins builds for £2.50 and a Xmas ideas ones for £4 

Rud0lf

Thank you @mandco for the tip about the Lego books, I've ordered some today from my sun lounger now the holiday is here Christmas is next.