Frosty the Snowman - it's the 2025 Christmas thread!

Coxy11

Hi all,

Welcome back @Glad and @enthusiasticsaver    @Spendless -  yay to not working on CE or NYD. I've PM'd you re: Nan x

Not sure what happened to this week! Had a day out in London with DSis on Monday doing the Race Across the World experience. Absolutely hilarious and great fun - would recommend for anyone who loves the show, as we do.

Ended up coming down with a heavy cold, sore throat, runny nose and cough which is at it's worst today despite days of dosing up. I worked on Tuesday and have been asked to go in three days next week. Have asked to implement some changes to processes which has been positively received (yay) and will discuss future plans with them next week. Still need to apply for invigilating role but closing date is 5 January.

Have also painted the kitchen this week x 4 coats. Trimming up the house tomorrow with DH if we can find a potted real tree that I won't have to sell a kidney to buy...wish me luck!

In present buying news, I am almost there. Have ordered from Big River, B00ts, and directly from a gym wear company. Still need a couple of stocking fillers and to withdraw some cash for a friends' DD who lives overseas but will be here at Christmas. B00ts order used only points so zero money outlay there.

Mum has (finally) decided to go to nieces for Christmas so that's one thing sorted. I saw her on Saturday at a fundraising quiz we'd organised and she told me then. Quiz raised £645 but there was a fake £20 note in the pot which I only discovered today when paying it in. Feel very sad about it but what can you do? Cashier in the Nationwide made me feel like a right crim!

Also picked up a click and collect of some towels from Dunelm - they bought them out bare - ie. not in plastic and I discovered a snag on one of them when I got home. Luckily it's by the edge binding and I was able to stitch a repair, but really annoying nonetheless, especially at £18 each.

I'm looking for HP lamb @mandco if you see any. We got the HP beef in Sainsbobs but it was early in the day, so guessing they probably have a quota per day. Did pop into Asda for a collection (PS5 game for DS2) but forgot to look for joints as head full of cotton wool this week! 

We have freebie tickets to the panto in Canterbury on Tuesday and plan to visit the Christmas market there maybe next week Friday. Looking forward to that.

mandco

@Coxy11 Tesco had 1/2 price whole/half legs of lamb this morning   Picked up one if those and a 1/2 price gammon joint both of which are now in the freezer 
they did have 1/2 price beef joints but only tiny ones not much bigger than your hand so didn’t bother.

Coxy11

Thank you @mandco xxxx

mandco

The lamb & gammon were actually better than 1/2 price and show on the receipt as £33.13-£19.95 =£13.18 / £27.82 - £15.08 =£12.74 

managed to find a decent 1/2 price beef joint in sains - paid using nectar so even better. Lamb is not on offer there I checked.

trawled around town this morning with dd as she needs an outfit for a Xmas party - seriously where is all the party wear this year?? She came away empty handed as couldn’t find anything she liked/that fitted she did see a lovely dress but on it was so short it didn’t even cover her butt cheeks 
did pick up a tin of m&s shortbread - been hoping it would go on offer like previous years but no such luck so figured I’d just get it while I was there.They had some xmas party food reduced to 1/2 price as today’s dated so picked up a couple of the halloumi in blankets to freeze as they were a huge hit last year.
picked up some vanilla toothpaste & a bar of chocolate  for ds1 stocking 

Forgot to say Iceland had 10pk j2o for £5.50  I also picked up a 9pk of snowman themed toilet rolls £3 - it’s kind of a tradition to have Xmas themed toilet rolls but they can be hard to find.

mandco

Asda also have Lamb on offer - looked to be mostly smaller pieces in my store though to be fair I couldn’t really get a proper look in as people were pushing & shoving to get to it.
they have the selection packs on offer for £2 cheapest I’ve seen them so picked up one each for the kids as an extra padding present - tbh with the price of chocolate its a pretty decent offer as even a 4pk of any chocolate bar is usually over £2 now
they also had the Xmas grab bags for £2.50 so picked up the milky bar festive figures as dd uses them on her Xmas brownies and the small bag is £1.50+ for about a 5th of the weight
not sure what’s happened to all the Xmas wrap since last week but hardly any designs left in aldi/asda today and nothing at all girly/disney or even bright with child appeal if that makes sense.

Coxy11

I too cannot believe the lack of partywear @mandco. I reckon firms don’t pay for Christmas dos anymore so people aren’t buying glitzy stuff. 

I am going to Tesco tomorrow for our weekly shop. We have £24 in CC vouchers so I’m hoping to put that towards HP lamb if I can find any. 

We bought a real potted tree yesterday plus some new outside lights. DH assured me there were hooks already on the house but guess what? There wasn’t, so they are being delivered on Tuesday. DH is off that day so hoping the lights will go up then. 

Turkey is bought and in the freezer along with sausage meat for stuffing and pigs in blankets. The butcher had turkey breast joints with streaky bacon on bogof so we got two for £70. The other one will be for NYD. Just need to get veg and desserts plus special breakfast items as we like smoked salmon and scrambled eggs on brioche. 

We also got locally sourced cheese and some
cherry wine which is produced in an adjacent village. All safely stashed away for the big day. 

No decorations inside yet as ran out of time yesterday and we’ve not long been back from a fundraising walk across farmland in the drizzle. DH, DD and DS2 all now asleep and I’ve just got out of the shower, so no decorating happening today either. 

Have discovered I have no Christmas cards so will need to get some with my shopping tomorrow. Plenty of wrapping paper though, despite buying more last week! Must make a note for next year….. 

We watched Nativity last night for the first time and all got a little teary. Apparently there are two more so might give one a go later. 

One delivery received today. Must try to wrap some bits at some point - currently all stashed under our bed but running out of room! 

Spendless

You are all ahead of me. We haven't got our tree up, we ran out of time on the previous weekend and this one I've been at work  whilst simultaneously battling a cold . Mr S has flown abroad for work to the same place where DD is studying. He got upgraded from PE to BC! He's no idea why, I said send me a pic of the amentieis bag and don't go promsiing it to anyone else! It's from a brand I'm aware of but never bought from and if it's the same size as the one on their website retails at almost £50! It's quite clear it's a 'freebie' due to the wording on it, but if I don't keep it for myself (will make decision once I see it) I think the recipient I have in mind would like it anyway. 

Parents say they're not putting their tree up either. They make a huge thing of doing theirs and all the ornaments including a complete Christmas village. It's time consuming and they feel they can't start anything because they don't know if they'll complete it before being asked to attend anything Nan related. She is in hospital, asleep most of the time and though she's perked up a couple of times, she's clearly not well. To my astonishment parents were told yesterday evening that they're looking at discharging her today??! To where exactly? She's 100, incontinent and ill. Nan's social worker already said Nan can't return home, parents aren't able to care for her and the assessment centre she was in discharged her after she'd spent a night in hospital. I've told Mum to ring Nan's SW this morning and let her deal with it and refuse to engage with the hospital about it, if anything is mentioned say you need to speak to SW.   

Most of Christmas gifts have been bought. Just ordered Mr S some long sleeved t shirts. We have the same frequent argument, where he has the heating on to sauna temperatures because he's sat in a T shirt in December and when I tell him to dress more appropriately I get 'I want to be comfy' well no one is asking you to WFH in a duffle coat! Wearing something with long sleeves doesn't mean it's uncomfortable, then I get I don't own anything, so buy something then! So, I've done it, ordered 2 see how he gets on with them!

At some point I also want to go to Aldi, which fortunately is within a short  walking distance and get the chocolate beers to go with the flavoured rum I already bought.

Keep thinking kids gifts look sparse compared to yesteryear, but that's partly because they've had things  from us in other ways but also because some relatives are no longer with us or are too ill and no spare money. Plus they're adults so it's to be expected. They still have some lovely things to open. 

Haven't done any Christmas food shopping either, really struggling with this due to lack of a car. Think making a list today of what still needs doing might be a good idea. I need to stop in today anyway until a curtain pole is delivered because we have an odd job man coming tomorrow to do an assortment of jobs around the house. 

Spendless

As I've still got a cold (it is fading) I keep having early nights then I'm awake too soon! Never mind, I didn't get everywhere cleared for odd job man today so will do that shortly.

Nan didn't get discharged, she moved wards to somewhere more suitable for her (respriatory ward). No idea if there was crossed wires or parents misheard/misunderstood - just relieved to not have that battle!   I haven't  visited since Friday due to cold/working/needing to stay in. Yesterday that was due to a curtain pole being delivered. It was ordered online. It turned up and I hated it on sight, was really thin in circumference and came in sections, not what I wanted. I rang parents who were visiting Nan and they called and took me shopping to Dunelm for another as I burst into tears over it all. 

It is clear I need to replace my car, I can't get to places without it, so much is  situated out of town and not the easiest to get to otherwise. Mr S ordered a new microwave which I also dislike. For some reason he bought a manual one as he thought 'it would be easier for me' This is because I don't like his Hi tech TVs or everything controlled by an app rather than a switch. I've never had a problem with a digital microwave though!    Said to him it reminds me of our early dates of dating when he introduced me to Indian food and because I didn't like the hotness of Jalfrezi or Madras that he enjoys he used to order me a korma instead! That's not my preference either, I like something in the middle!  New house rule coming in, if he intends  buying  anything with a plug unless it's for his sole use only, I want a discussion about it first! 

Wrapped some of DD's presents in the paper from TK Maxx. It is beautiful thick stuff. Martha Stewart brand I think. Definately worth the £2.99 I paid. I would definately look for that in any sale. I started slowly putting some Christmas trimmings out, figuring if all that's left to put up at the weekend is the treee that would be a lot easier. 

mandco

@coxy11 i did think it odd that’s there’s just so little party wear this year and what there is is almost all sequins which isn’t particularly practical beyond a special occasion when there’s normally so much choice. great deal on the bogof turkey from the butcher yes they are generally a bit more expensive than the supermarket but the quality pays for itself. 

Go you doing another charity walk in this awful weather - that’s dedication 

Ooh I’ll have to have a look for cherry wine dd would love it 

@spendless what a lovely upgrade for dh 
must be a huge relief that they didn’t discharge your nan though I sure it’s tough not being able to visit at the moment - shocking that the assessment centre removed her place after just 1 night obviously if she needs longer term hospital care then fair enough but where did they expect her to go if she does got discharged? That’s was whole point of her being there in the first place. 

Sorry to hear your still not feeling great there’s are some vile bugs doing the rounds - a few tears are perfectly normal considering everything you’re dealing with at the moment - it might have been something seemingly small like disliking the curtain pole that finally set you off but that was just the tipping point of a much bigger emotional load you’ve been carrying. We try so hard to keep it all together and carry on but sometimes you need to let it out. 

I know what you mean about the presents - as the kids get older every year I worry about how much smaller the pile under the tree is looking - it’s not that the value is less but the fact the items they want/like are so much more expensive and usually so much smaller too. I sometimes pop wrapped small gifts in a bigger gift bag so it looks more substantial under the tree.

i have all the Xmas joints & pigs in blankets/emergency pre made Yorkshire puds in the freezer so just need veg for Xmas dinner - I see Aldi are doing 8p veg from the 18th so guessing other supermarkets will do similar.

Feels like I have 101 things to do but absolutely no inclination to do any of it today honestly I think I could quite happily go and take a nap if only I had the chance. Still not decorated the tree beyond adding lights despite it being up for a while now - I need more hours in the day 

Spendless

Thanks mandco, at the time I truly believed my upset was over a curtain pole but now I can see it was really part of a wider issue.

I went to the Drs this morning - annual review. I walked back via Aldi and got DH 3 of the chocolate stouts. His long sleeved t shirts turned up yesterday. I'm still waiting for the car dashboard brushes! Think I'm going to say that's it for him. He has alcohol, clothing, car accessories, toiletries. Think that's most bases covered. 

Yesterday I visited Nan with Dad (Mum had come down with a cold so didn't go).  Compared to how she now is, I can't believe that this time last week I was literally a stone's throw away from buying her a Christmas present and would have already done so if the previous 2 stores I'd been in had had what I was looking for and there hadn't been a till issue at my workplace with what I'd selected for her there. She wasn't at all well and had  her eyes closed for the durtation of our visit but she had eaten quite a bit of her lunch before we arrived, so that's something. 

This afternoon I'm off to our Beauty college. It's the last day of their salon being open before they close for Christmas hols and waxing is still free so I'm taking advantage of it.