Santa Baby - it's the 2026 Christmas Chatter Thread!!

mandco

@spendiess sounds like dh Leant his lesson over the picks up - thanks for the reminder about Xmas eve I’ll definitely get something scheduled ahead of time.

@coxy11 glad you enjoyed your holiday but wow sounds like you’ve been really busy since you got back - glad your getting to spend some time with your Dad even if it’s not always easy. Secret birthday/anniversay trip for next year sounds fun but don’t envy you trying to find accommodation suitable & all the other plans that need making for organising that many people while keeping it secret.
Not sure if we’re going to stay up for the England match - Mexico have an unfair advantage and the way England have been playing they’re going to struggle so a win is doubtful though I guess it could be a should have watched moment if they pull off a miracle.

@princesskitty29 good to see you sorry things have been so tough hopefully the summer break will give you some respite though no doubt having the boys home full time is going to be full on.

I don’t know anyone who’s ever had their echp approved the 1st time the systems a joke and it adds so much more stress and worry to often already overwhelmed parents/kids. Good ds is managing at least an hr or 2 in schools week but that’s probably a lot of work for you to get him there. If you are considering homeschooling or flexischooling while waiting to get him a space in a more suitable school I will say reluctance to engage in any kind of activity at home is totally normal at first - if you think of it from their side school has been a source of stress, worry & overwhelming experiences so anything remotely associated with it can trigger those feelings causing them to shutdown it doesn’t mean it’ll always be that way takes some trail & error but you’ll find what works for you. Taz still has times he refuses to engage so we just take a break and revisit activities options later. Any questions feel free to ask.

I’ll admit I’m maybe a little jealous of your plans for Xmas at the farm house - I’d love to do something like maybe one day.

Booked the Xmas lights trail tickets today

Spendless

What mandco describes with shutdown makes so much sense. My youngest when school struggles came along literally couldnt get out of bed. I was at my wits end because I couldnt understand, it was towards the end of yr10, the worst educational time in my view back then. Even now (8 years on), I question myself why the professionals involved never worked out the issue - it wasnt for lack of me begging 'please tell me what the problem is, so I understand'. I still believe I have health related issues that stem back to those days, insomnia being one of them. I will say that things can (and for us did) get better. Daughter went on to college then Uni and has just finished her degree. Education wasnt the issue, school was! Letting her persue her dream IMO helped with this, I know not everyone (inc some family members) were not supportive of her going to drama school (what's she going to do with that?). They werent the ones that were living with the school anxiety.

In gift news, we fetched back some items for extended family from the US. Some toiletry brands not available here. I had some unwanted flat cosmetic bags that came with the packing cubes I recently bought. I went thru my 'present cupboard' and added some bits where I had extra items, made it into a bit of a pamper kit.

Spendless

Well I no sooner said (in post above) I had no idea 8 years on why the professionals involved in her case, school(s), GPs, CAMHS never identified that DD was ND (No, I never spotted it either, I'd only ever seen ADHD in young boys) only for a whistleblower to come along and reveal to a news channel that LAs were blocking kids from receiving help. Certainly explains why the Ed Psych we were promised (who presumably would have identified the issue rather than it taking several more years till DD became an adult and worked it out for herself) got cancelled and when I complained that we were never informed of this (and were pinning our hopes on it) got told 'they didnt have to inform us'. I still have the letter saying this! That parents up and down the country are saying 'that mirrors our experience' tells me its widespread cos we cant all be wrong and it was never our child or us or our parenting which is what we all thought or probably more accurately were told. Beggars belief!

Rant over! In gift news Give me cosmetics has a 50% sale on. Ive spent £30 to get free delivery with a mix of items to be split between me and DD some for now, some for her stocking.

mandco

@spendless I wish I could say I’m shocked but we had a similar experience and it totally explains why I had such a hard time getting help for ds1 it was like playing a game of pass the buck where no one wanted to take responsibility assume it’s a case of They don’t what it to come out of their funding or have to put support in place. With taz the amount of parenting courses they made me do was ridiculous, I get some kids do have behaviour issues due to a lack of parenting skills and addressing this can make a real difference but it seems the default it is your fault so we’ll correct your failings as it’s cheap and an easy excuse to push any getting any assessments done for long periods as they’re seen to be doing something to “help”

I ordered some Xmas pjs for taz in the clearance sale but doubt they are going to fit -they are his usual size but the waist is tiny? so need to return those. Aldi had some colouring books for 99p kids/£1.99 adult - picked up a few for the donations box so on the look out for some cheapish colouring pens/pencils to go with.

also picked up a few bits for the food bank later in the year as Asda had some heavily reduced to 32p/47p tinned meat products - I’m starting a donations box and aim to add a couple of items each week ready to donate at the beginning of dec. I always take taz to do a donation shop closer to Xmas but thinking this way I can look for offers/sale items to spread out the cost more and donate some of the more expensive items like toiletries too.
Last year one of the charities I donate to supplied gifts to 317,881 children uk wide - makes you wonder how many in total receive help of some kind and heartbreaking that so many families in the uk rely on support to have any kind of Christmas.

Stay safe in this heat

mandco

hope everyone is staying safe in this heat.
i love some sunshine and we generally don’t get enough in the uk but it’s currently way too hot to go anywhere/do anything and everyone’s cranky esp Taz.

dropped off some recyclables at boots yesterday and bagged some absolute bargains in the clearance section - they had some mini gift sets reduced to £2/£3 each it was brand I’d never heard but thought at that price I’d get them anyway as they’d make ideal stocking fillers /padding presents for dd - checked when I got home on the boots website they are £20-£38 a set 😳 theses https://www.boots.com/ncla-beauty?sortBy=priceLowToHigh I got I each of the 2pc lip & 2 pc body sets in vanilla , pink champagne & birthday cake . Also got some daise lip balms reduced to 63p & a couple of soap & glory 3 pc minis gift sets £2.50

Primark had the 2pk of fluffy socks in grey/black reduced to £1.50 https://www.primark.com/en-gb/p/2pk-boucle-cosy-socks-multi-991145016935 normally around double that so picked some up as always a handy stocking filler/present padder. They also had some other winter type socks - think longer length welly/hiking style reduced.

Ordered the Lego Hokusai – The Great Wave for Taz as he likes Lego anyway but he’s currently into all things Japanese so he has at least 1 birthday present. It’s been discontinued this month so stock is limited and it went on offer at Argos so thought I’d get it while I could.

Spendless

On Friday both my Mum and son showed signs of heatstroke.

It was fortunate I was off work and had arranged to drop off DS. His phone had not charged during the night so alarm hadnt gone off and he'd overslept after a restless night's sleep. He lives close to water. His bedroom faces the waterways and its not possible to get a vehicle round. Thankfully an access route was open and I was able to walk round, knock ,shout and wake him and get him to work on time.

After leaving DS I went to parents, Mum looked shocking. Id taken her some bottled water. I asked Dad to open the loft hatches as they live in a bungalow so the heat doesnt get anywhere to rise to. He didnt want to cos 'it bangs and clatters' he'd tried it before. Seriously unimpressed I asked what his alternative was cos Mum was going to end up in hospital. Then I made him open windows instead to create a crossflow. Dad cos hes heard of hearing struggles with listening to conversations but wants me to believe he can hear 'ghosts in the attic' Urgghhh perfect example of being in the sandwich generation!

Ive been looking at items for DD's graduation. I know she'd dearly love a Jellycat graduation bunny but currently oos at main stockists. Fingers crossed they get more in. Ceremony isnt until September.

PennysIntoPounds

Aldi currently have a very smooth (worryingly gluggable 😁) rosè on offer at 3.99 if anyone has rosè fans to stock up for, or just requires some in these temperatures!

mandco

@spendless hope they are doing better it’s so easy to underestimate the effects the heat is having.
Popular Jelly cats are notoriously hard to source which is frustrating as there’s no need for it it’s simply a case of producing more stock -lack of availability just drives up the prices via 3rd Parties and doesn’t benefit the company. If you’ve signed up for alerts keep an eye open as previously I’ve had restock emails sent in the early am and it’s already oos again by time I saw it. The current peak graduation period is coming to an end so Hopefully they’ll restock in time for DD’s graduation

@penniesiintopounds I’ll have to pop in and see if my local has it it in stock - a friend of ours who’s birthday is coming up is very partial to a rose

still ridiculously hot but had a glorious fresh breeze blowing in the early hours this morning which has helped drop the indoor temp a good few degrees - even if it did mean staying up so I could have the windows open - our downstairs windows don’t have latches as a safety measure but it means they can open enough for someone to climb in - theres a reason burglaries increase in hot weather.

Coxy11

Hi all,

I'm back from Cyprus having dropped DDad back and spent a few days with him and Stepmum. Quite a challenging week in many ways, but I won't bore you all!

Got DD a knock off Coach handbag for £38 which I'll put away for Christmas. She had one on her list last year and I came close to getting one from V!nted for £125 but tbh she will only use it occasionally. Bit like the Dr Maartens heart shaped backpack I got her as an extra as she was dumped just before Christmas the year before. I think I've seen her use it twice!!

Also got a pack of two boxed lip sleep masks from Laniege on EJet duty free, so those will go to DD and DDIL. I spent £23 for the two and they are usually around £22 each.

Great Boots bargains there @mandco and good to get Taz the Lego on offer too x

Sorry to hear about your DS and DMum @Spendless how terrible. Hope they are both doing okay now? xx

Spendless

Its already feeling too hot to do anything and I had plans (in my head!) to sort out our smallest bedroom in anticipation of making space in case its needed for items when our kitchen is refurbed. I will have a coffee and a shower and reassess situation!

Mum is doing better thanks, has been very tired but improving. Son bounced back after a night's sleep! Difference between being 20 something and 80 something!

Thanks for suggestion mandco to sign up to see if/when graduation bunny comes back into stock. Have done that. Meanwhile I am starting to purchase items for ceremony only got a keyring so far though lol. My DD rarely uses bags either coxy, think its a generation thing. Their life is on their phone that they hold in their hand or have in their pocket. Though a friend recently gave me a bag for DD, I diplomatically took it thinking it wouldnt be used and what do you know - she adored it!