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

Coxy11

Spotted in Lidl £1.35 😊

Tink_04

I use make you own Xmas crackers and put a small gift inside. One year was a toy car, a lip oil etc other times I have done a scratch card or miniature perfume or alcohol for the adults. You can add your own chocolates (2 quality street or mini lindor etc)

I get the kids to google funny jokes and write them for us and we give them as gifts or now that they are older we make them for each other, you can use them with your Xmas dinner and it’s a nice small gift (or silly ones) for the day. 

Places like BNM do the crackers too.

 

Beshki

I’ve made a start 🙂 Tesco had a toy sale on so I got a half price gift for my niece. It definitely isn’t worth the RRP but is fine for what it was & apparently will be something she’ll like. Also made a start on ordering a product each week with the shopping for 2 x hampers we make each year. That’ll really help spread the cost as it soon mounts up when you buy them all in one go.

mandco

Coxy good news re the survey fingers crossed your moving date suits though staying at the premier in while dh deals with the moves sounds like a win to me 

spendless hope you had a lovely time in Texas bet your missing the sun now your back home in the wet & windy uk. frustrating forgetting the electricals you’d planned on getting while away but easily done hopefully dh will be able to pick them up when he goes. Shame the Xmas stock was limited at Walmart great deal on the pjs though. 

Your holiday themed Xmas gifts are definitely apt now they’ve decided to go away for your mums birthday.

princesskitty sounds like you had a productive shopping trip
goodluck with the surgery on weds it's always daunting - I’ve had a few ga but the first is always kinda scary as you don’t really know what to expect or how you’ll feel - I would say make sure you rest properly at home afterwards as while you’ll probably feel ok it can take a few days to fully clear your system and if you do too much you might end up feeling pretty rough later. Using the time to get ahead on Xmas prep/card writing ect is a great idea

we had an absolutely fantastic break the new play experience is amazing and we really enjoyed everything we did though there is very limited availability for some activities. The escape rooms were taz’s favourite - they are incredibly well themed and challenging enough to be interesting for adults but with enough tasks that younger kids can help figure out too so very family friendly.

they didn’t haven’t any but boots had the Xmas brochure stands in store so hopefully those will be available soon.
argos have 10%/20%/30% off with code offers on - a few decent deals picked up monopoly knock out for £12.60 for taz cheapest I’ve ever seen it. - they had Xmas gift guides instore.
while we were away popped into Tesco and they had a few free from Xmas items I’ve not seen in my local so picked those up.

Doing better than I expected with reward points towards Xmas 
I have £90ish on nectar so far and they are doing count up to Xmas on the app - I got earn 2000 bonus point when you earn 3000 point broken down as 400 extra on 600 earnt x 5 
my boots point are building up nicely thanks to the recycling scheme £38 ish already - hoping to get enough before Xmas to pay for a bottle of fragrance oh likes.
Iceland/food warehouse I have £22 - could do with topping it up a bit more but usually only go once a month for a bulk shop and tend to forget 
Only £3 ish on Asda rewards but I have offer of earn £5 reward when you spend £40 so will do that this week -it’s the first decent offer I’ve had in months I don’t particularly rate their scheme but every little extra helps.
thanks to the Tesco bonus point events earlier this year I should have about £100 in vouchers by Xmas so that’s a nice chunk off the Xmas shop 

sashybo

princesskitty29 said:

Hello sashybo! Thanks for the heads up about the Bluey annual, my youngest still really enjoys watching it even at 7, but I wonder if the annual might be too young for him?

Hi princesskitty29 👋 The annual has some games, quizzes, drawing and colouring in to do plus some stories, I suppose it depends how "young" a 7 he is. My DD has just turned 5 and she mostly enjoyed last year's one for the stories and the pictures tbh, my DS is 7 and he also enjoys looking through it but he is quite "young" for his age/still can't read very well etc.

Spendless

I'm nowhere near as much as you on the points rewards mandco. You've got some good totals there.

Just dropping in to say I picked up a Boots gift guide today. I am now heading to bed for an early night to browse through it. 

mandco

 Spendless thanks for heads up hopefully they’ll have them in my local store at the weekend 

Im doing way better than I expected thanks to bonus points events/offers - Tesco I earnt an extra £60 worth so have more than double what I would of  & boots I get £5 back on a £10 + spend with the recycling scheme so it’s adding up quickly - I should hopefully be able to add at least another £30 worth by Xmas without spending any more than I would normally I just have to split it over more smaller shops instore.

dunelm are doing the Xmas tree donation tags again this year so will try and pop in at the weekend to pick up a couple - my local Xmas donation charity have announced their drop off points will be opening mid November.

Spendless

I had a £5 birthday gift from Bodyshop to spend. My nearest store is still open as it's an outlet. Spent a bit of time deciding and eventually settled on a £10 box with various bits in it with the idea I would split the contents. Had a surprise at the till when told I had a 2nd £5 voucher due to points accumulated that I wasn't aware of. My box of treats plus a small shower scrub came to the grand total of £2. Some items I am keeping for myself and others are going to be stocking fillers. 

princesskitty29

Hi all, I’m a week on from my surgery and finally starting to feel better, I think the GA really upset my system and I felt nauseous for a good five days afterwards. I have to keep my foot elevated so I’m starting to feel a bit like I’m welded to the sofa at the moment!

I’ve had a little look online for presents but I really do struggle if I’m not looking for something specific, my brain really doesn’t like all of the scrolling. I’m much better out and about spotting things in the shops. I think perhaps I need to have a good think about what I can buy for people and look specifically for those things. I’m not having my stitches out until next Thursday which is when I will first walk on my foot post surgery, so I don’t know how long it will be until I can get out shopping again.

My mum and friend gave me some bits and bobs to keep me occupied whilst I recover including a Christmas food magazine and a Christmas book – they know me so well!

Tink_04 I had a make-your-own cracker set last year and enjoyed doing them, I put a little chocolate and a scratchcard in there for the adults and little toys for the children.

mandco you are doing really well with your reward points schemes.

sashybo My 7 year old is quite young really and enjoys doing most things so I might get the Bluey annual next time I’m out.

mandco

Princesskitty sorry to hear you’ve been feeling so rough post surgery. Lovely of your mum & friend to drop off some gifts to help you pass the time - which often really seems to drag. Good luck Thursday hopefully you’ll get the ok to be able to slowly get on your feet rather than continue on bed rest as such. Hope 1/2 term isn’t too stressful if your still laid up.

spendless gotta love an unexpected credit/cash find sounds like you got a great bargain 

took taz to the cinema yesterday so dropped off another set of recyclables at boots where they finally Had the Xmas catalog in stock. 

I was going to wait till Black Friday deals to see if the fragrance I wanted goes on offer but saw it’s currently 25% off with a code anyway and I just had enough points to cover it so that’s ordered. Hopefully should be able to earn enough points to cover the fenty lipgloss dd asked for by Xmas too.
i ordered a magic painting advent calendar from the works https://www.theworks.co.uk/p/childrens-christmas-books/magic-painting-advent-calendar/9781805074595.html 

really need to work on stocking fillers for the boys but struggling with budget ideas aside from the usual socks,toothbrush, sweets ect teens are so difficult.
dd is so much easier I could fill hers 10 times over.