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

C_J

@Spendless - is it the Bashful Bunny graduation Jellycat? If so, there are quite a few of them available on eBay.

Spendless

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82085697#Comment_82085697

Yes it is but unfortunately theres some fake ones around and I wouldnt know the difference (but DD would) which is why I wanted to go via a certified stockist. If Id realised theyd sell out Id have ordered earlier but I put it off cos theyre expensive and when places were down to their last few (unknown to me) that's when it was discovered that DD hadnt ordered her grad ceremony tickets by the date she was meant to so I waant convinced anyone was attending anything. By the time it was sorted everywhere was oos.

I learnt yesterday that one of her friends doesnt have her grad ceremony till late November so I suppose theres always a chance they'll restock.

Thank you anyway.

mandco

Argos have updated the clearance section and there are some great deals if you can find anything actually in stock locally - reserved for collection a pack of 20 Xmas cards 45p, a few different candles 40p, 2 rolls of stitch Xmas wrap 50p plus a few toys under £3. Also got stitch & Jack skellington hanging decks £1.80/£5.20 for Halloween.

ordered some bits from Tokyo toys for Taz to be split across his birthday/xmas including a few stocking fillers which is an area I always struggle with for the boys so thanks again @coxy11 - I’m always a little wary ordering from places I don’t know and that don’t have a lot of reviews but aside from poor shipping updates - tracking didnt work can’t fault the service shipped & delivered within 4 days. The quality seems decent though obviously not actually used yet so won’t know for sure till later and they even added a little hand written note saying we hope you enjoy various items I’d purchased. It’s a smaller business and guess it’s a sign of the times but I was a little surprised the see a tip option at checkout - I did tip as they’d sent me a 5% off discount code for signing up to emails so didn’t really cost me anything but it’s not something I’ve really seen before. I wonder how long before it becomes more common?

@spendless it’s a tough one when you know they’d love something but it’s not available anywhere. A lot of fake jellycats really do look legit and it’s really hard to know for sure unless you buy direct some people don’t care but if dd would know the difference it’s not worth the risk and tbh if I’m spending that kind of money I’d want the real thing. Fingers crossed for a re stock if not maybe an iou for next years release?

mandco

we’re just into August and the Xmas food sneak peaks have started - not usually a Waitrose shopper but quite liking the look of the polar bear bao buns, polar bear cheesecake & the frosted raspberry snowflake. They have a few other interesting offerings too so will definitely be checking out the full range once it’s released.

Mars are going to be doing snickers selection boxes apparently aimed at men and white chocolate Malteser boxes the latter I can see being a hit with my lot.

PennysIntoPounds

MSE-blagged deal of 6 wines and 6 beers for £45, no subscription required, might be good for Christmas gifts
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/wine-52/#4NeeuSDBCjx9rT6a2OV6qt

mandco

on the Xmas front I’ve pre ordered a couple of items ds1 has asked for as the pre orders close this week. They do this thing where you pre order up until a set date then they get the orders made so things don’t ship until 3-4 months after pre order closes. It makes sense as they then only create the amount of items needed but going by the fact the stuff I pre ordered in April still hasn’t been shipped yet there’s a good chance they wont come before Xmas but he’s ok with that.

Really Need to replace our Xmas tree this year so currently looking at options - why is so hard to find a reasonably priced one that actually resembles the pictures in real life? So many look good in the pics but reviews over appearance in person are not great. I do love the look of some of the balsam hill ones but most of the ones I like are in the £600- 800 range which is a crazy amount of money for something that’s only used for a few weeks a year. Long term it’s probably worth it so maybe one day but right now I’m looking for something significantly cheaper.

Spendless

Thats good news about pup and I agree about the lots of time outside. Our dog came to live with us when he was around 9 weeks old, we'd first been to see him.at 4 weeks. He's an accident between household pets so a rather unusual doodle and terrier mix. He was a litter of 8, plus both parents and another dog lived there so 11 dogs they all had to have a lot of outside time with the consequence he was house trained before coming to us.

Currently I have kitchen fitters in, so house contents spread everywhere plus DD's stuff as we did stage 1 of clearing her out last weekend as she ends student life and starts graduate life. She's got a 3 day gap between old tenancy ending and new place starting when she'll have to sofa surf so not looking at buying anything yet towards Xmas.

Dont know if any of you buy from a company called Valentte? They do gorgeous smelling candles, diffusers and both/body items. Often have a freebie offer on. Worth a look if you buy for anyone or for yourself.

mandco

@spendless I’d never heard of valenette but they have some lovely looking bits and some great deals

Frustrating dd has a gap in her tenancy which means extra clutter on top of the kitchen renovation and extra work shifting it all twice no doubt you’ll be glad when things get back to normal.

Luckily I paid the extra booking protection fee for DD’s spa day just in case I wasn’t well enough to go as we’re still puppy sitting so we couldn’t go as planned and they didn’t say they were going for this long 🤬

I ordered a limited edition hoodie for ds1 nearly 2 weeks ago which was in stock and supposed to be shipped within 3-5 working days but it still wasn’t showing as dispatched so chased to up and have been waiting in an answer to be told apparently it’s now oos in his size and they won’t be getting more so my only options were to go bigger or get a refund. it was meant to be a surprise for his birthday but had to ask him if he’d be happy to go with the bigger size or not as he very particular about fit and stock was down to less than 10 left so needed to make a quick decision which means he now know he’s getting it too 😡 hoping it'll actually get sent this time though not sure it’s going to arrive in time now either.

Picked up a few more bargains in the Argos clearance though mostly bits for the Xmas donations box. That’s filling up nicely now but still need some bits for teens which is always the hardest category to find suitable gifts at cheaper prices that aren’t toiletries.

mandco

got an email to confirm they swapped the hoodie for the bigger size and it has been shipped with an estimated delivery date of the day before his birthday so fingers crossed it’ll come in time.

noticed a lot of Xmas themed stuff has been getting added to vinted over the last few days.

mandco

so what so you think about the new M&S food Xmas baubles? I get the Colin/connie ones as like Percy they they have a big fan base thought what they were thinking with the Percy face design who knows it looks like a cheap knock off version but can’t see the appeal of the rest unless your a big m&s food fan in which case they are a Novel addition but not to my taste and especially at that price point.