The 2008 Xmas Savings Thread

smilelols

The Pier in Brighton, have a clearence section upstairs where they reduce loads of there stuff to at least half price (I'm sure they have these clearence sections in other branches as well)

Anyway, they've reduced packs of six floating candles (red, glittery colour) from £3.50 to 37p. They've also got (in te same range) votive candles - pack of 7 down from £4.00 to 67p.
Ideal little present on there own, or pick up a cheap bowl or votive holder to go along with them (best place for floating bowls - tesco. Votive candle holders - Ikea pack of 4 for 69p)

I've picked up a few packs the other day - great bargain!!!!!!!!!!

SugarSpun

I'm joining late too - well done everyone for getting so much done already!

I'm aiming to be neutral this year, I've spent around £100 and made back slightly over with ebay, pigsback and quidco. I've also done most of my shopping - I still need my grandmother's gift (will all be from H&B, she likes Cuticura products and Lambrini and I'll get some large print wordsearch books too) and my OH's gift (no idea, but this could kill my aim for neutrality!). I'll also need to stop at the supermarket on my way home for Christmas and pick up beer, sausages and mustard for my Dad.

No savings yet beyond the £8 or so in Quidco I've not yet spent, but I've just started a new job so hopefully I'll be able to cover my debts this year and do some saving for Christmas.

mummytummy

This is where i am so far:-

Tesco vouchers £12.00
tesco stamps £25.00
sainsbury stamps £0 spent on sons b'day party
High st. vouchers 500.00 (paying monthly up to october)
post office account 177.00

Still feeling very pleased with myself at the moment:D

Triggles

I definitely need to get to work on Christmas stuff soon, but realistically, I won't be able to do much until June, as we're moving house in May. So far we are at least started:
Nectar points through Sainsburys for holiday meal/food £50 so far
Boots points £27
Already have some children's books purchased in sales last year that I put aside for presents this year
Will be making Christmas cards and wrapping papers/gift decorations
Home made goodies (cookies, peanut brittle, pumpkin/banana bread, or other items) in an assortment platter or tin as "family gifts" for family friends (rather than buying individual presents for all the children, as it just simply gets too out of hand!)
Also knitting a few gifts for children in family
I need to get moving on getting things together though. I didn't think of using those £5 off Boots coupons for £5 items to use for gifts - thanks for the idea!

Purple_Sparkles

Smilelols - well done on your candle bargains, I love candles.

Mummytummy - keep up the good work, you should feel very pleased with yourself.

Triggles - Congratulations on the new job. You've already made a start with things, I wouldn't worry about it, you've a house move to contend with - I don't envy you, but I've moved more times than I care to remember, I've been in my current house for just over 3 years (a record for me) and unless I manage to get my hands on a smallholding (I can dream) I'm staying put.

Welcome Sugarspun - it's never to late to start, you sound like you have a plan.

Lillibet - wow I am impressed, you sound so organised. You've inspired me to get myself sorted out for Yule & Christmas.

My family are not Pagan other than myself and my son and we always celebrate Yule, more so than Christmas.

I'm setting up a craft room which will mean I'll be more organised on that score and have the room to make lots of gifts/decorations etc...

I have got some gifts but can't remember what, I just put them all in a big box, I'd better have a sort through it now and make a list of who I still need to organise a gift for.

I make wine, cookies, sweets etc and give them as additional gifts, my family always seem so ungrateful when you give them something hand made but after they've eaten it think it's great! They are all shopping addicts and love designer labels etc... not like me who makes most of our clothes, furnishings, food from scratch yada yada....

They don't understand my longing for chickens and why would I want to grow my own veg, it's already nice and clean, wrapped in plastic in the supermarket!

Sorry going off thread a bit there, by next week I'll have festive purchases organised and will start making the cards.

I'll update then - have fun everyone

jak

Have got gifts for the majority of my family already, just my sister who likes her expensive pressies and the inlaws to go. For my Dad i'm making a this is your life photo book- £4 from Wilco plus photos- i've written to family members to get photos and stories etc. Everyone else has benefited from the sales so far this year!
Also everyone is getting a framaed pic ofthem and baby, plus a mug with baby's hand print and their name 'aunty..' 'grandma' etc.

Lillibet_2

I made a start on our Xmas cards this week:eek: Usually we take a nice photo of our son in November & home print this into cards, but this is a pain as it can't be done too soon or the photo is out of date. As our son iis nearly 3 now we are going to kill 2 birds with one stone by getting our cards made & keeping him occupied when he wants to do craft-y things.
I have fianlly found a use for all my leftover/horrible/thin cheap giftwrap that I will never ever use (I'm anal about gift wrapping & if I think what I have isn't good enough quality I won't use it, NOT very MS:o). I have cut out lots of Xmas shapes from it e.g Xmas trees, snowmen, snowflakes etc & folded a batch of coloured sugar paper into card shapes, just going to let Spud create original works of art using the gift wrap shapes, glue & glitter. I don't obviously expect him to make 50 in one go, if he just makes 2 or 3 a week in seperate craft sessions that will be great. Might include a photo of him too but we can just pop a loose on in nearer the time if we get a good one, and people get a HM card which doesn't have to be of any great standard (so no pressure on me:D) as it's made by a 3YO;)

buxtonrabbitgreen

An update. oh is back at work for 6 months anyway, so that's good.
I had a £10 voucher a couple of weeks ago from USDAW for getting a home insurance quote. Local Woolies is closing down next week and have an up to 70% off sale. So I spent it today. 3 bottles of perfume reduced to £3.75 each. Ok, spent a bit of cash. but preety neutral.

sparrer

Well done BRG and great news about OH's work situation.

I found some nice little coffee jars (without the product name on the lid) which I'll decorate with glass paint/stencils then fill with hm bonbons for the youngsters, biscuits or truffles for the oldsters.

The daily clicks are now up to £79 and another £30 of vouchers so what with that and the £250 the government is so generously giving me for Christmas (never mind they tax me on my meagre monthly pension:mad: ) it promises to be brighter than I first hoped for.

How's everyone else doing? Keep the ideas coming in, I for one could do with a few more :rolleyes:

Sparrer

Jo_R_2

Hello!

I'd like to join if I may

Got two LOs (1, will be 2 in a few months, and 4) to buy for, then my parents and my sister, and OH.

For the last few years have been horribly disorganised at Christmas, full of good intentions throughout the year but not much has come of it then do the usual panicking and end up being rather broke over January

I've just been made redundant and am having a thorough spring clean of my finances, and got thinking about how to "manage" Christmas. Have been reading through the posts to get some ideas of how people handle the finances.

I'm thinking along the lines of small homemade gifts, nothing too complicated, or some little cheap and cheerful bits. Like to give 'useful' presents, hate the thought of giving someone something that they won't like or will never use!

Main worry is the LOs. I usually tackle it by buying each of them a 'big' present that I know they'll like (DD1 asks for specific stuff, DD2 I buy her stuff I've seen her play with elsewhere so I know she'll like it), then lots of small cheap bits and bobs, such as felt tips and colouring books, plasticine and non-specific pink things

Am thinking buying presents starting now might be the way to go for us, going to have a think about it though...