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

Coxy11

Glad you got some of the cards @mandco Can understand the nostalgic element to childhood toys. DS1 took all his Star Wars vehicles from the loft before we moved which was a relief tbh!!

Great redistribution of bits for DD @Spendless no point hanging onto them if she will be elsewhere.

Lovely to see you @princesskitty29 sounds like you still have a lot going on x

Our tiny Boots has half an aisle of Christmas stuff so far. The Canterbury store had a large area roped off last week so that will be the place to go very soon. I have almost £70 of points to use due to Scan to Recycle drops.

Bought DS2 some bookends in a vintage shop today - they are silver metal AZ which made me think of the Friends sketch with Phoebe and had a little giggle to myself. He has two bookshelves and a lot of books, so these will be used.

Had a quick look at the Sainsburys food to order on the website last night. Some lovely things but as I don't know who will be with us yet I am resisting ordering anything.

fionaandphil

Enjoy your day @princesskitty29 I hope you've managed to relax and not remembered lots of things that need done while you have some time to yourself! Lots of Christmas things appearing in the shops so plenty to choose from. I have started and got bits for DH and DS but nothing major yet, although I do have their Christmas lists.

Spendless

Good to hear from you princesskitty. Be kind to yourself. I wish I understood the science behind EBSA (Emotionally based school avoidance) and ND kids. It should have been the biggest flag going that my youngest was ND, instead no one had an explanation and Id only ever seen ADHD in young boys (with a focus on the H bit) not teenage girls and no idea it presented itself differently. Still makes me mad that she was left to (directly) suffer and us too (indirectly), rather than someone explain and help.

Onto Xmas news once we are back off holibobs. I think with the exception of Dad (difficult) and FIL (even more difficult, but am refusing to get involved), I think Im going to pretty much be done. This is because Mr S is going away with work to the US. I cant accompany him as I have no more AL, plus its a city location and I wouldnt fancy sight seeing alone. Theres no pool or other partners for company. DH is taking DS instead who is quite happy with the set up. We are paying his flights and have said thats his Xmas present. In addition we will keep to the idea that we reorganise/refurb one of his rooms each year, but I have roped in a friend to help and she has resourcefulness running through her, so not anticipating that costing too much.

Then DD was talking about finances and saying she had been invited on a few days hol but couldnt afford it, so I asked if shed like it as a Xmas present. It made sense considering she wont be here to open anything big.

Then I spoke to Mr S and said that the recent (but not completely finished) refurb of our kitchen and conversatory had been such a life/game changer to me, Id rather we ploughed our money into finishing it off rather than gifts to each other, so weve decided on a nominal £50 spend each. I think I already have something in for him that covers that.

Due to going away already earlier this year I already have various bits put away for family members so dont think Ill need to get much if anything more. Will look for a jellycat for DD whilst were away hopefully exclusive to country we're visiting.

Looking forward to being able to concentrate on just wrapping everything and getting prepped early - might have time to write Xmas cards this year too - lol.

mandco

@princesskitty29 good to see you.
Hope you managed to take a little bit of me time while ds was out - all to easy to fall into the trap of trying to get other things done instead of taking time out for yourself- When they are home full time and it feels a bit like Groundhog Day with tasks that are never ending and you’re just trying to get through each day it’s hard to just stop. Sounds like you are making steady progress towards Xmas though which is great. Take care of yourself

@spendless sounds like you’re doing well on the Xmas front apart from the usual difficult recipients. Maybe this will be the year where we’re actually organised enough to take it a bit easier in dec? or fit in those tasks/activities you want to do never seem to happen as you run of time.
did dd take you up on your offer?

@coxy11 book ends now that’s a blast from the past you don’t really see them anymore. You’re doing great with boots points the recycling scheme is certainly worth the effort. I haven’t manage to do as many drop offs as I’d hoped this year but I’m upto about £50 so far hopefully I’ll end up with enough to cover some aftershave/fragrance.

I’ve had a bit if a browse of the Xmas food offerings and seen a couple of bits that look good but not sure if I’m going to order or just see what I can get instore.

Ordered a couple of small Lego botanical sets for dd that were on offer in Argos. The boys both have a couple of bit on preorder which they know probably won’t be here in time for xmas so might do them iou vouchers so there’s something to put under the tree. Currently waiting to see of I can get a decent discount or free item/shipping deal for a couple of bits on my list - they used to be some kind of offer every month or so but there hasnt been one for ages so guessing it’ll probably be around Black Friday if there is. Need to work on stocking fillers mostly stuff for ds1 thanks to coxy I found lots of bits for Taz already.

Still need to get a new Xmas tree - I have seen a couple on line that could be options though they are more expensive than i really wanted to pay and i hate not being able to see it in person to know what the actual quality/appearance is like before buying so waiting to see some instore options first.

Tesco have selected cadburys choc pouches on offer at 95p till Monday if you missed the sains deal or need extra

taste tested the M&S merry Christmas chocolates they are pretty good but the ones I had were super sweet (still waiting on taz verdict for the dark choc ones) so not sure if I’ll buy any more - I also didn’t realise the Xmas pudding one had alcohol in so thats something to be aware of.

Rosa_Damascena

Boots is going into Advent calendar over-drive - which effectively has you buying tiny samples with the intent of buying full size at some later point. They also have lots of toy ones, which are completely unnecessary.

The Waitrose Christmas food magazine is out, which has got some interesting stuff in it. The prices are so crazy, it encourages me to do the MSE thing and cook for myself.

mandco

some of the Xmas food to order prices are crazy I get it can be convenient but definitely not mse

Picked up some star shaped marshmallows in Asda today I thought they’d be ideal for the hot choc station

anyone had duck before? I took Taz to Zizzi for a belated birthday meal this week and the were doing buy 1 main get 1 for £1 so he decided he’d try the duck as at that price I was happy to risk him not eating it but he really enjoyed it and is now asking if he can have duck for Xmas. We’ve never had duck so Not sure it’s worth getting a whole one as don’t know if the others will eat it but happy to cater for him individually just not sure wether it’s better to go with legs or breast?

fionaandphil

Duck is lovely but not much meat on a whole one as you loose a lot in fat, very like goose, but you can save it and do your potatoes. You could also go with just duck breast which has the most meat but may not be festive enough looking. If you're not sure if everyone would eat it you could do one chicken and one duck? Or do a breast just for Taz and the usual for everyone else? Probably not helping!

PennysIntoPounds

M and S does duck crown in a plum sauce ready to roast

princesskitty29

So I got some more Christmas presents after my last post, I bought MiL Mary Berry’s My Gardening Life book, it was £12.50 on Amazon but I had enough Ipsos Isay points for a £10 voucher so it only cost £2.50. I bought DH, FiL and BiL a pair of Luton Town lucky socks each, they’ll all find those amusing as they’re always grumbling about how awful Luton are!

I popped into Aldi yesterday and they had the Heroes tubs on offer for £3.89 so I picked one of those up for my stash, they’ve also got the pigs in blankets crisps that we love back in stock and the Santa Claws ketchup flavour crisps – I know they sound awful on paper but I’m very partial to them! I think it goes back to my childhood days of eating Monster Munch. They had various other Christmas foods in too.

I don’t know if anyone has SKY VIP rewards but they’ve got an offer on for Gruum products at the moment, you pay £4.95 and get three products worth £35 and there are different sets to choose from. I ordered one that I will use myself as I like Gruum products but just letting you know as they’d be a good gift or to split etc.

fionaandphil yes it’s hard not to think of everything that needs doing when you’re trying to rest! Is that a female thing?? I find having lists good, as even if you haven’t started the bulk of shopping yet you at least know what you’d like to buy.

Spendless I feel for you, that must have been an extremely stressful time for you and your DD. As my DS masks everywhere no one at school had any idea, it was only because we got a private occupational therapist to help with what we thought was extreme anxiety and she identified behaviours and suggested we get him tested for ASD. He also has a PDA (pathological demand avoidance) profile which is extremely difficult to deal with and is the crux of most of our problems. It is still unbelievable that you were left to it though when there was clearly something going on, that old notion that ADHD is only in boys!

mandco oh it is groundhog day isn’t it? Although I know it won’t be this way forever, but sometimes it feels like it! I saw the 95p bags of chocolate in Tesco and bought an armful! Sorry I haven’t had duck so know little about it.

Rosa_Damascena Thanks for the heads up about the Waitrose food magazine, I like having a little look to maybe get something different or just ideas to make things myself, but you’re right the prices are definitely hiked for Christmas food!

Spendless

Nice to see you having chance to post again princesskitty and that youve bought some more presents. Its early in the morning here and Im the only one currently awake. The relatives were staying with have had a pool installed this year. Only DH knew and didnt think to say! I brought no costume! Bought one on clearance in Walmart, didnt fit. Compromised with going in in a T shirt and some PJ shorts. Was lovely floating around in the sun.

I have no idea what we'll be doing in terms of buying/making Christmas food cos I only get my work rota 1 month in advance, so I could either have a busy schedule or not much work. I also need to nail parents down to what they intend doing. They are currently on a cruise, first time they booked and got to go on a hol for 2 years, so I reckon they had no thoughts beyond that.

mandco - DD thought it a great idea that we paid for the holiday as a gift. Its her friend, who is now her housemate that has asked her and a group are going. She had considered asking for driving lessons. This option has always been open as we paid for DS when he was a teen but DD turned 17 a week after lockdown1 so never happened. Mr S thought it not a current ideal since she lives in London so she changed her mind.