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

C_J

Hello everyone, I have been lurking on the sidelines!  It's been a difficult year as Mister CJ is unwell and we are not sure what the next few months will bring, so it's not easy thinking ahead to Christmas (a time I usually really love).

I have made a start on things for the small grandchildren though - The Works has been great for boxed art sets for the 5 and 3 year olds, and a magic trick set which the 7 year old will enjoy.  I ordered some personalised unbreakable mugs from Etsy for the smallest grandchildren (you can't seem to easily buy anything for "Ffion" from a shop, not even in Wales!)  I also found a large hardback book of Quidditch Through The Ages for the diehard HP fan - it was £3 in a charity shop and looks absolutely brand new and unread.

@mandco : back when I was filling stockings for teenage boys, I found they liked those mystical fire sachets (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Magic-Dust-create-Coloured-Flames/dp/B00120Y0Q2) though I am sure you can buy them cheaper than this elsewhere, and also novelty things like astronaut food (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Astronaut-Food-130010-Strawberries/dp/B00005C2M5?ref_=ast_sto_dp).  Hawkins Bazaar used to a great little shop for these sorts of novelties, it's a shame it's no longer around.

princesskitty29

I asked my mum for ideas for her, my dad and my auntie and she came back with some ideas which is super helpful. I have had a little look online but I think I’ll find better stuff in the shops so it’s just a waiting game here.

It’s going to be a strange week here, it’s half term so I’m normally busy and out and about doing things with the boys but I can’t right now. DH has the week off so will take them out and I have a few ideas for crafts etc that I can do at the table with them. I honestly can’t believe it’s going to be November at the end of the week!

I really want to get my hands on the Boots catalogue, DH has mentioned going to a Costa that’s near Boots at some point this week so hopefully I can pick one up. I have a subscription to Good Food magazine and the Christmas edition came the other day and I also picked up the Christmas edition of Woman and Home magazine when I made my one and only trip out of the house to accompany DH to the post office!

mandco I worry about stockings etc when my boys get older too, I think the possibilities for girls are endless. The magic painting advent calendar looks great. Have you looked online? I’m sure I’ve seen lists of ideas that people have put together for teenage boys.

CJ good to hear from you! I am so sorry to hear about your DH’s health problems, it must be a really difficult time for you both and make it hard to think about anything else which is totally understandable. Perhaps dipping in and out of Christmas might give you a little respite for a few moments, sending lots of love and wishing you both all the best. The Works is great for bits and bobs, I’m hoping to get to my nearest store as soon as I’m able to as I usually find stuff in there for my boys.

C_J

@princesskitty29 Thank you for your kind words - it really is a difficult time right now, but I’m doing my best to stay positive and as you say, Christmas planning is a lovely distraction. It must be so frustrating to be on enforced rest after your foot surgery, but I hope your recovery continues to go well. I am not a very patient patient, so I do sympathise!

I too am itching to get hold of the Boots catalogue, but I am worried they may all have disappeared from store by now. We have a medium sized branch on an out of town retail park about 10 miles away, it’s the nearest one for me, but I don’t hold out much hope as I can’t get there until mid week and I’m sure that’ll be too late. I don’t really like the Boots website, I find it very clunky to navigate (and I do wish they wouldn’t list things which are ‘coming soon’ or ‘out of stock’ - it’s so frustrating!)

My younger daughter has asked me to make a set of matching Christmas stockings for her - with the birth of my newest grandson a month ago, they are now a family of four. She wants red and cream striped ‘ticking’, lined with cream linen. I’ve found exactly the right materials and thin wadding at a fabric store in a nearby town so plan to shop for that this coming week so I can make a start on them. I’ve already made the template, using the cardboard from a large Amazon delivery box! I plan to personalise them by embroidering their names and I do have some gold metallic cross stitch thread which would look great, but it is so difficult to stitch with and gets very tangled even if I pull the threads through beeswax first. Might need to re-think that part.

Spendless

Sorry to hear about everyone's health issues.

I too found stocking fillers for my son a lot more difficult than for my daughter as they grew up. Many a time on CE I would be taking out DD's present to have a bundle under the tree instead whilst looking for which of son's presents could be switched the other way.

I second the magic fire sachets. My eldest loved them. My MIL originally fetched them over from Northern America, I couldn't find them in this country, then eventually you could order them online but they came in a big packet so I ordered, split down and a few appeared in every stocking for  the next 3 -4 years -lol. I couldn't get the link from the prev post to work so putting up one again cos they are a great idea for anyone who loves bonfires  

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mystical-Fire-Set-10-Sachets/dp/B001PNY8J0


I think for boys it's easier if they do a hobby and you can find something connected to it. Mine liked computer gaming and I used to get stuck but I used to put a can of Air dust in to clean the keyboards. Back then you could find it in £land, unsure if you can nowadays.

I think the trick to filling up a stocking is to start with something large and bulky and inexpensive, so possibly something edible like the tube of sweets you find this time of year. 

I know I've told this story several times before but I'll repeat - As a child I never had a stocking, all presents  inc bags of choc coins were wrapped and under the tree. As an adult I asked my Mum why and she said the commercial stockings you can get today weren't available to buy (at least where we lived). When I had eldest I didn't do a stocking either for this reason then when he was around 3 he saw one on a Xmas film and asked for one so I got one for him and his sister when she came along, but I wasn't very good at filling them because I'd no idea 'how they worked' then my youngest grew old enough to articulate an opinion and something she said that has always stuck with me was 'a stocking should be like a lucky dip but all the presents (prizes) out  should be connected to your life' That made it so much easier to think of things.

Some suggestions. Expending on the mystical fire sachets if they like bonfires, look for a toasting marshmallow kit. You can get toasting kits from places like these but I'd personally find it a tad expensive for a stocking present, however I reckon somewhere like B&M would have a similar spin on it for a lot cheaper, or even the supermarkets given the time of year it is if you act quickly     https://nakedmarshmallow.co.uk/products/marshmallow-toasting-kit

If they commute to school/college/work reusable gel handwarmers. Again I used to buy these in £land.

Mini toiletries  if they are of an age where they're going on residential trips or hols with mates, or helpful  hol gadgets might just find some bits in the hol sections if you look soon.

If mid teens onwards - tub of chewing gum. I always knew if daughter was off  out on a date  cos she invariably asked me if there was any gum in the house or if not could we call at the shops - lol. Has the advantage of being small but bulky, easily picked up   and costs around £2.

I collect the picture 50pences  all year round if I get any and put them in a little gauze bag. Expanding on that idea you can also buy a book about the value of them and an album to keep them in. Bothe of these I've done before  

This year one of the things that  my son is going to get  is some (highly) collectable  bits returned to him from his  childhood and I've found this year. 1 item I only came across yesterday during the drawer clearing out. I'm not going to present it as a your gift  is your own stuff back, more look at what I found and am returning to you. Hopefully can package it up in a nostalgic way too


I woke very  earlier yesterday morning due to an insomnia bout - hadn't had one for a while. To fill my time I tidied a bedroom drawer and a beauty bag I have for skincare. Since the beg of last year I have just been using up my stuff and not buying anything new till it's all run out. I'm now getting to the stage where I lack some bits. I had a birthday gift from Rituals of a handwash but hadn't got time to travel to the nearest store - 30 miles  away in a v busy shopping centre, so ordered online, got slightly carried away wanting to avoid the del charge and then wanting to hit a target for a freebie -lol. I did order things for me to keep at work/home/car plus bits I'll split for others. I'd also seen a reel the other day on my SM about a high end designer brand and how they tend to put some  mini freebies in when you order online, So yesterday when wide awake I watched some more youtube videos about it, signed up to the brands club and spent some of my birthday money on a limited edition makeup and skincare set. Picked up some mini freebies at the checkout, ticked for the couture box for the items to come on and will sit back and wait what if anything in addition turns up and report  back here.

Spendless

Just a heads up for anyone interested in buying any of the beauty calendars at Boots. Currently there is an offer on some of them if you have an Advantage card. That offer ends on Tuesday.  I intended buying 2, one for a treat the other for a birthday on my payday  later this week and have had to pull my plans forward and buy today instead. 

princesskitty29

DH took the boys out yesterday and picked up the Boots catalogue for me. Honestly, I would be such a happy lady if I could just shop from a catalogue, I like to look through tangible things in my hands and it really helps to not have so much choice. I realise how old fashioned I sound!

A friend has invited me and the boys round for a cuppa later, I will be able to transfer myself to a different sofa with footstool! The children can play and it will be lovely to have a change of scene, I have only been outside for 30 mins in the last 13 days!

CJ oh those stockings sound lovely, how wonderful to be able to make them. You’ll have to post a pic when you’ve finished them! I cross stitch so I know what you mean about the metallic thread. You’ve reminded me that when my foot has recovered I will have to get on with some Christmas bunting that I’m making as gifts, I don’t trust my left foot with the pedal!

Spendless my eldest loves toasting marshmallows and he’s more difficult to buy for so I will definitely bear that idea in mind. You reminded me I used to buy make up/toiletries from some of the posh counters and would always get lots of little freebies.

Spendless

I'm the same about looking through a catalogue and seeing things in person. A friend of mine shops exclusively online inc buying furniture and once a 2nd hand kitchen. It always works out well for her, but she is very good at DIY and crafts so could sort anything that went wrong, whereas I can't.

My beauty parcels turned up. First the designer brand. It wasn't true the youtubers claims that you get additional freebies. You are told at the checkout what freebies you will receive/can select. I suspect the 'influencer' didn't notice what additional freebie level she was reaching by her spend. However it is all most beautifully packaged. The box I selected is gorgeous, my skincare products came in the same decorated but smaller box and the freebie perfumes in a lovely pouch with the brand name on. I would def order from there again and I now know that even ordering one of   the cheaper items they do will come with beautiful presentation. 

Yesterday my Rituals parcel turned up. Not as nicely packaged admittedly but because I signed up on their website every year on my bday I get a gift. I've never claimed it before because the shop is miles away and it meant  spending  on  an online order instead. The bday gift is lovely, this was mine https://www.rituals.com/en-gb/the-ritual-of-mehr-hand-wash-1116442.html Now there's no way I would spend nearly £14 on handwash so to get it as a free gift is fab. I added various mini bits for both ladies and gents, skin care, hair products, bath and body items, got to a target to claim another freebie and chose a small mens toiletry set which comes boxed. That will be a gift at Xmas for one of the menfolk - unsure which yet.

For Halloween, as I was already dressed up in costume due to a chairty fundraiser day at work, I kept my outfit on and answered the door that way. We had sweets galore to give out because Mr S had visited a sweet factory for work purposes) only the door before and they'd let him use their factory shop! Just wish he'd told me before I bought some at the grocery store! I also found a use for some cosmetic/toiletry bags I had (all clean and barely if ever used), filled with a few sweets and gave to the older kids who turned up. I'll remember that as a way to get rid of any surplus unwanted pouches in future. 

Boots advent calendars, still 20% off selected ones but now available to all not just advantage card holders, so I could have waited after all, just wasn't worth risking.

Now it's November I think the challenge is on to be done by Dec 1st which is my preferred date to be finished by for gift buying.   

C_J

I was out shopping this morning and picked up the Boots Christmas catalogue, but it might be a little underwhelming - there don’t seem to be as many things in it to ooh and ahh over!

Also now have the various materials for the Christmas stockings, I’ll make a start on those next week.


Sorry for the huge picture - any idea how I can resize it?.

mandco

Cj sorry to hear your dh is unwell understandable that you’re struggling to find your usual enthusiasm for planning Xmas.
the stockings sound lovely 

princesskitty I bet the chance of scenery did you the world of good while being home with nothing to do sounds great in theory when it’s forced upon you it wears thin pretty quickly. Hope your foot is healing well

spendless sounds like the beauty parcels were a success - I always get a little wary about buying online especially from places that are advertised on social media as theyre not all legit.

when I was little we never had a stocking as such just one of my dad knee high woollen socks that we’d hang up. Dds bf family have never done stockings at all so he found it really odd that we do them but he thought it was great and has asked ds if he’s getting one again this year.

thanks for the stocking filler suggestions ds would love the fire colour sachets. I find it harder to come up with ideas when I’m looking online as it’s more of a you need an idea of what you want type deal or your scrolling hundred's of pages whereas in store you just see bits think that would be great and you can see what the quality/size is like - I miss places like Hawkins as they did some great stocking filler bits 

random scrolling in the early hours as I couldn’t sleep bagged me a couple of Argos clearance deals - I got code breaker monopoly for taz £2.50 & an Encanto doll for dgd £4. 

The works sent me a 20% off code which actually worked off everything even though it was not meant to include offers so ordered taz a football mini match game https://www.theworks.co.uk/p/kids-board-games/world-football-stars-green-top-trumps-mini-match/5036905056342.html. It’s smaller than I expected but looks fun and doesnt take long to play. - he’s quite into “board” games at the moment so ones that are quick to play are always a bonus. Also ordered a couple of books /colouring books for the grandkids 

Picked up a ghost perfume bauble for dd from Superdrug - they were on offer for £9.60 and I had £2 on my reward card too so little extra saved.
asda rewards are doing 2 for £4 on the pouches of chocolates this weekend - 1 deal via coupon per customer. 

They finally have their Xmas stock out not a huge amount in my local as they’re currently rearranging the store again but they have an offer of £2 Asda rewards when you buy 3 Xmas gifts priced £3+ each.

princesskitty29

I had my stitches out a few days ago and now have to put pressure on my foot so it’s very sore and I’m still using crutches and a boot. It’s all the road to recovery though, hopefully I’ll be walking without crutches soon. I did make it to the theatre with my family yesterday which was great, I had booked tickets to see Awful Auntie by David Walliams before I knew I needed an operation, I wasn’t sure if I’d get there at the beginning of the week but it was all fine and really good to get out.

I’ve ordered some presents from Matalan; a handbag, cardigan and slippers for my mum, gloves and a festive tea towel for MiL, a t-shirt for my auntie and slippers for a friend. I’m hoping it’s all ok and what I’m looking for when it arrives then I’ve almost finished them so I’m feeling better about my progress.

I know I’ve said this on here before but talking of stockings, mine was actually one of my mums stockings when I was little! As in a nylon stocking you can wear. It was exciting though because I could see the wrapped presents through it!

Spendless wow your friend is very brave! It’s always nice to have a treat of some luxury products sometimes.

CJ that material looks lovely, I can just imagine how they might look. I don’t know how to resize the photos, mine always come out huge too!

mandco it sounds like you got a few good bargains, 20% at the Works is a bonus! My local Works is at a garden centre near me, I’m hoping to get there this week if DH has time to take me so I can pick up a few bits for the boys.