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From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

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From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

Christmas

Thread 21 - the one where we all try to not eat all the hotel chocolat

999 replies

Reastie · 19/11/2020 12:24

please post any bargain info IN BOLD to make it easier to scroll through the thread.

To make things bold you:
Put a star each side of what you want to make bold like this but without the space between the star and the writing *

Just a reminder you can watch the thread by clicking on ‘watch this thread’ at the top of the first message. It’s much easier for everyone than so many place marking every time which can use up a fair chunk of each thread to scroll through

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Here’s Barbarara’s instructions from last year on doing clicky links:

Open double square brackets
No space
Paste link
Space
Name of link
No space
Close double square brackets

Like this
[[www.amazingbargains.com bargain ]] but with no space after/before the brackets.
If I do it again without the extra spaces only the word bargain will appear in blue

For more links etc see message 2

If any link doesn’t work or you want to add something please let me know by @ing me

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Reastie · 19/11/2020 12:24

Referral link here . Use this to post any links where you can refer a mner and you or both of you get an incentive. For ease and fairness please don’t post these on the main thread.

Independent online businesses to look here for links recommended or own businesses.

Cash back sites. You can order through cash back sites like Quidco and topcashback. It’s really simple, you just create a free account and then when you’re purchasing anything online you search on the cash back site the lace you’re ordering from and see if they do cash back and if so follow the link to place the order. You usually have to earn £5 minimum to cash the money back but it easily adds up. Go to the referral link page to join if you haven’t before.

Thank you fireflygirl for the info on when supermarkets opened Christmas delivery slots last year:
Last year, Morrisons opened their Christmas delivery slots to pass holders on 6 November, and non-pass holders on 27th November, Tesco opened theirs 3 days early for pass holders (27th as opposed to 30th), and Asda 5 days earlier (13th as opposed to 18th). Sainsbury's likely opened theirs 3 weeks in advance to everyone at the same time.

camel camel camel is a great page for price tracking amazon

A great website for looking up items of specific price so you hit the £20 free delivery at amazon here

Sockeatingmonster’s age old but very useful top tips for using aliexpress (note these are also relevant for wish website and anything shipped from China on Amazon and Ebay - you can usually tell by the estimated delivery time and multiple same pictures but different companies. Although you can filter search by country on Ebay. - thanks scrappydappydoo for that bonus point).

“1. Check reviews

Be wary of plastic toys. There have been concerns about toxic plastics from China, and I have binned plastic figures for having very unpleasant smells. I no longer buy any 'low-end' plastic items (UPDATE: I wouldn’t buy squishiest either, for the same reason) and only ever from sellers with lots of positive reviews
Aliexpress refund/complaints procedure is actually way more straightforward than eBay, and stacked in the buyer's favour
Beware of mains operated electricals, many of which are supplied without fused plugs. Always message the seller first if in doubt, don't rely on the photos
I don't trust dress up clothes to be flame retardant, although I don't believe this is UK law anyway?
Clothes can come up very small. Quality can be variable (excellent to awful). Photos are often of similar items, so take them with a pinch of salt and check the reviews.
Actually, all photos on Aliexpress should be taken with a pinch of salt. Again, check reviews (where buyers often post photos of the actual item received)
I wouldn't trust toys to meet UK safety standards and wouldn't buy anything that could pose a risk (e.g. Paint might not be safe for children to gum, there could be sharp edges/choking hazards, etc)
Lego alternatives don't tend to stick together as well as genuine Lego. Minifigures are still excellent value, but the odd one might benefit from a few drops of superglue.

10. Barbie and other doll clothes can be excellent value, but check reviews for fabric quality and finish (UPDATE: Type “18 inch doll” for clothes that will fit American Girl/Our Generation/Designafriend dolls. Shoes are particularly excellent value. Wash dark clothing first as dyes can stain dolls’ limbs)
11. Stationery is generally excellent value, although paper quality can be lower than expected. Type 'kawaii' into stationery and be prepared to spend a fortune!

Also to add I’ve seen a fair few posts from fb this year from small businesses where aliexpress have posted photos of their products and photos without permission, so be wary and be warned the photo might not be exactly what you get.”

Bargainmax here

Laser cut outs which have been popular on the thread here

Lisa angel is a very popular site with great regular sale discounts on jewellery etc here

Toysforapound has some well priced items here

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