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

Coxy11

Sorry haven't been on here in ages 😕

You are a saint to be looking after the puppy @mandco! Great to have the hoodie coming in time for DS's birthday and the Argos bargains sound good. I'll admit to buying a Colin decoration last year a week before Christmas for HP in M&S. The Percy face one is awful (I loathe glitter anyway) and the others are just really odd and cheap looking,

We had two family birthdays last week - BIL (just a card - new rules!) and niece was 18 so she got Euro50 as lives in Dublin. Did get to see her briefly to hand it over.

I went to a National Trust place last week with Mum for her birthday in June! Has taken this long to find a suitable date - for her, not me! I bought a nice cherry flavoured rum in the gift shop for DS2 for Christmas.

Have ordered a couple of bracelets from Etsy for DD and DDIL who share a birthday. They are a paw print with name of pet on. DD adopted a kitten this summer - well we all did actually as DD lives with us. But she is the miaow-my so pays for everything. Have realised that DD doesn't own a toiletries bag as she took mine to Crete with her a few weeks ago. Will probably get a nice one for her for Christmas.

For my birthday next month I've asked for a garden kneeler, a yoga mat and some cleanser from my three offspring. Not very exciting but much needed!

mandco

@coxy11 how’s the kitten settling in? They’re cute but so much work The bracelet sounds lovely. Practical gifts might not be exciting but worth it if yiu need /use them anyway and saves wasted spends on things you appreciate the thought of but aren’t really what you’d chose yourself. the kids get quite a few of these type of gifts as what I call padding presents at Xmas.

The boys have floated a few possibilities but typically every thing they like is on the expensive side and/or needs shipping from abroad which hikes the costs significantly. I’ve told them if they make a list of items they’d like over the next month or so we’ll look at what if anything is possible- one item Taz was looking at they wanted over £100 for p&p which was more than the item cost so that’s definite no. I’m happy to spend more/most for their budget 1 item if that’s what they really want but it means there won’t be much else other than some padding presents.

Sainsbury’s have selected pouches of chocolates 1/2 price at £1.10 maltesers reg & white, various m&m’s, galaxy minstrels & Milky Way magic stars I picked up a few different ones for Xmas stockings & hampers fillers.
xmas themed stock is also slowly appearing they had festive edition labelled cinnamon spice nice biscuits, tiramisu filled creams & spiced chai biscuits today.

mandco

Ds hoodie arrived with a couple of days to spare 😁 size wise it’s going to be a bit loser than he’d like as they had to swap for the bigger size but tried it on taz and it’s not as bad as I expected as I’d say the sizing is definitely on the smaller side.

The toy drive I donate to have updated their website and drop off points are due to open on 16th November

Ds1 has decided on what he wants for Xmas I’ve told him I’m happy to get it but he can’t change his mind later as it’s limited edition that won’t be restocked so I’m going to have order it soon to make sure i get it before it sells out.

Coxy11

Kitten is (mostly) well behaved. Litter tray trained and eating well, but around 9.30pm every night it's the Witching Hour and she goes crazy, leaping about, biting, eating my hair by climbing along the back of the sofa! Little minx. Hoping she will grow out of it as she's only 13 weeks. DD needs to get her jabs done - has registered her at the vet and taken her for flea/worming plus check ups, but no mention of jabs to be able to go outside.

The two bracelets for DD and DDIL have arrived - really happy with them. They are from Etsy and were only £11 odd each and gift-boxed! Link here:

Personalized Paw Print Bracelet, Custom Pet Name Bracelet, Minimalist Dog Cat Paw Jewelry, Pet Lover Gift for Women - Etsy UK

I realised this week that I booked theatre tickets months ago as part of DD's birthday present. It's an evening with Jon Ronson and I booked 4 tickets for her birthday week. Thinking she could go with her BF, DH and DS2 as I'm not interested! Will need to go if DS2 is working though.

I see the start of September as my shift to Christmas planning properly. Will have a much reduced list this year thank goodness. Family get togethers (DH's family) are going to be a bit awkward as BIL (the one having cancer treatment) has pipped my ILs off big time, and they are not currently speaking. Hoping things will improve at some point!

Great that the hoodie arrived in time for DS' birthday @mandco but OMG to the postage prices for the other items. Did the items arrive from Tokyo Toyz okay?