Preparing for Christmas 2011

toddles* · 30 May 2011 at 5:33PM

As I have a newborn in September, Xmas shopping and planning will not be happening in the run up to xmas so I have been planning it for a while now. I have been to lots of NCT sales, carboots, etc to buy my DD pressies. she will be 3 at xmas so will not care in the slightest that the toys are not brand new.
I also bought loads of decorations and few pressies for friends in the Janurary sales. I have all my xmas wrapping paper 10p a roll from the sales.
my OH and I dont buy for each other, unless its something we would really like, (meaning we never buy for the sake of it).
all I need to do really is some menu planning, but hoping that we get invited to my mums this year for the actual meal

but I will still be making my ususal Christmas cake probably in August before baby comes.

psso · 30 May 2011 at 5:35PM

Bugeteer,sorry to tell you, you`re a bit slow off the mark.

Was off shopping yesterday and passed one of the local hotels. They`re advertising their` bring a party to our Christmas party` on a huge banner outside the building.:eek: They`re obviously getting geared up already :rotfl:.

I was just thinking the other day I`ll have to get my thinking cap on for knitted pressies and bits and pieces for the grandkids seasonal school fayre. Lots of snowmen and santas maybe.
I have to start early as like a lot of others, cash is limited so buying things bit by bit is the only way to do it for me.

I`m putting away £1 a day, when I remember

so should have a nice wee fund building up for the extras. Wrapping paper was bought in the sales in January so just need something to wrap in it now.

[Deleted User] · 30 May 2011 at 5:39PM

toddles* wrote: »

As I have a newborn in September, Xmas shopping and planning will not be happening in the run up to xmas so I have been planning it for a while now. I have been to lots of NCT sales, carboots, etc to buy my DD pressies. she will be 3 at xmas so will not care in the slightest that the toys are not brand new.
I also bought loads of decorations and few pressies for friends in the Janurary sales. I have all my xmas wrapping paper 10p a roll from the sales.
my OH and I dont buy for each other, unless its something we would really like, (meaning we never buy for the sake of it).
all I need to do really is some menu planning, but hoping that we get invited to my mums this year for the actual meal

but I will still be making my ususal Christmas cake probably in August before baby comes.

Wow, you're doing well :beer:

youngmummy · 30 May 2011 at 6:15PM

ohh i love xmas,,, its a wonderful but expensive time of year, when i have the spare cash will start buying things for OH and LO from june. most of the things for my LO are 2 for 15 pounds at ar**s. already have planned what we want to get him but keeping my eye out on gu*t**e and e*ay oh and am*zen as many get them cheaper i havent got any money saved yet, exept for my sealed pot :money:... we are trying to get the garden sorted at the moment once that it done i will concentrate on the financial side of xmas just preparing for it at the moment. how is everyone else doing x

just write out my list of people to buy for for xmas 45 people and the total is £1150:eek::eek::eek:!!!
i was going to buy each couple a tin of sweets £5 when on offer any cheaper alteratives if not i will stick with the tin of sweets

SparklyClean · 30 May 2011 at 6:27PM

Yay! THankyou for the thread. My mom thinks I'm nuts planning Christmas already!

Have got a few presents for my 2 DDs, they were on offer, and something for my sister.

Am planning some HM pressies so want to get started on them,and would really love to do some fudge making/chuntneys/jams and that sort of thing this year. I'll have probably eaten it all before Christmas though:o

Penelope_Penguin · 30 May 2011 at 6:52PM

budgeteer wrote: »

Now, Now. This is why there is an apology in my PS. You either love it or hate it. But for those who love it, it's never too early to prepare :j

I love Christmas, but it's still May :eek: I haven't even planned my summer holiday, so plenty of time yet

I'll move this to the Special Occasions Board for now.

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere (please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com"]forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

NiceGuyEddie_2 · 30 May 2011 at 7:13PM

This thread http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=2943918&page=13 is a good place to have a look OP. It'll slowly crank up a gear as we get closer to Christmas, come Sept/Oct time it'll be v. busy

sammy_kaye18 · 30 May 2011 at 9:02PM

youngmummy wrote: »

i was going to buy each couple a tin of sweets £5 when on offer any cheaper alteratives if not i will stick with the tin of sweets

Could you not bake or make something yourself?

Truffles
Peppermint creams
fudge
shortbread

are all easy to make and require little effort or fanciness and then you could wrap them yourself in cellophane bags as gifts. Might save you a few quid

x

Wee_Pilsbury · 30 May 2011 at 9:20PM

Hi all

It's amazing how quickly it creeps up on you - i swear I looked at the calendar a few weeks ago and it was only February :eek: where does time go?

I actually did some Christmas shopping on Saturday :rudolf: - I bought my one and only brand new(ish) nephew some toys from Argos - using the vouchers I've managed to save from Shop and Scan and Valued Opinions. Best of all, I got another £5 voucher from Argos for spending over (just) £50.00 :j.

This year, for the first time, I've even managed to persuade the family to have a cost limit on presents for the adults (£15 max) and just to buy for the wee ones. That will certainly help my budget and I'm sure everyone was at the very least secretly glad we all agreed!

So, now my challenge is to get the best presents possible for £15 per person including any that I make. Should be easy for the first time in donkey's years

pompeyfaith · 30 May 2011 at 9:25PM

Now, Now. This is why there is an apology in my PS. You either love it or hate it. But for those who love it, it's never too early to prepare

Never said I hated Xmas just that May is way too early for me when I can get it all done in 6 weeks.

And like another poster said summer holiday comes first in my book too.

Preparing for Christmas 2011

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free