money saving christmas tips

good news is about 22 they turn back to the lovely 12 year old you used to have

Eh??

My twins turned 12 today, I think the last time they were lovely was at least 2 years ago!

pmsl.

mine must have been late starters  ;D

When i was working at a large office we used to do the same as mentioned here, by putting everyones name in a hat and picking one out, we had to stick to a certain limit of cash usually only a couple of quid but the pressie had to be funny but functional, it at least eased the stress of trying to buy the real pressies for family that are never easy to buy for, and was a real eye opener when seeing some of the gifts bought

maybe if you have a large family that all get together over xmas you could all do the same.

not that i'm advocating large get togethers, after all who has to prepare and clean up afterwards >:(

instead save ur money sod em all and go away for the festive period, let someone else take care of you. ... ah bliss. ;D ....................................................................................................................................................................
oopps reality check..ah well it was nice while it lasted

PS, i know this is a xmas link, but thought i'd join in with the subject of teens

my eldest is 17 in Feb, and has been threatening (or rather promising lol) to leave home since she was 13, you know the score, be home at this time, dont do that blah blah blah, response " your ruining my life, everybody else can go there, do this have, the other" yea right.

we explained she couldn't leave till she was 18, cant buy or rent till then

anyway to her credit (or may turn out to be stupidity, we'll see) she found a place called BASE, Bolton Accomodation & Support government run scheme that provides help for teens.

upshot is shes now moved into a lovely 2 bed terraced house on a very nice road all fully furnished, gas central heating, double glazed pvc windows (its better than my house lol) and essentials provided, they've bought her a new bed, mattress and cooker provided her with her first weeks shopping: food, cleaning products, toiletries etc, she pays £2.50 a week rent and £2.50 a week for gas/electric and although its only been a few weeks shes loving it.

obviously its not the ideal situation although she was hard work, i never really wanted her to leave home, just learn to behave and abide to some very lenient rules.... but that said it seems to be working out ok, i see her more now than i ever did when she lived here and everyone seems to be happier and less stressed.

I just hope everything works out ok for her, its only down the road from me so i check on her regualarly and pop down late at night, but dont tell her that :-X

its not the solution everyone is looking for but if you need some help and advice might be an idea to check if this is available in your area too.

i remember my first home council flat no furniture and hardly 2 pennies to rub together, not much changed there then lol. how i wish this was available then.

good luck and remember when they've gone you can always look forward to the grandkids