M&S Party food is SO MUCH CHEAPER than Waitrose. and

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I need several cakes, and I am shocked at the pirce differentce.

I am ill, I have taken Nurofen and paracetamolt and 1/2 botle of red wine, and I am about to order £372 pound worth of Dawn Chorus shite from John Lewis because I cannot have Asda Value crockery for my sons First Holy Communion.

I am sick of fucking up my life in such a way that I never have money, and I just want nice crockery for once. I am 40, I should have a nice cake platter, shouldnt I?

Yes, you should.

YANBU

Yes... but can you get it slightly cheaper elsewhere but just as nice?

Whatever makes you happy .

Shopping after wine is never a good idea - put your credit cards away til tomorrow

Happy Happy Happy.

I love the word happy. Not sure I remember when I last was happy?

I was happy for a fleeting moment this morning when ds2 climbed into bed with me saying "my cheek hurts, because it has not been hugged by mummy since last night".

Aside from that?

The m&s Victoria sponge (triple layer) from tge catering bit is fab.

Tory - that is sense talking. Dawn Chorus is very turquoise and pink, and I am very much a White China woman.

I love that Victoria sponge cake. It is ON MY LIST. Together with macaroons and a cappuccino cake.

Quint are you ok?

I get what you mean, I like to have nice things.

I like the idea of having gorgeous expensive tableware but
A) nobody comes to dinner
B) it will get broken by my careless DH and DC

Plus a quick google of Portmerien brings up sites with sales on. Wait till the morning and hunt properly. Any money saved can go on cakes and fondant fancies

quint I bought a very nice cake platter from IKEA. It looks as though I got it from Not On The Highstreet .

and it will not change your life to have nice crockery!

White plates are lovely.

You could just buy a beautiful cake stand for the cake and dress everything up with posh serviettes and fizzy wine.

Dont spend £372 on crockery.

So link to what you bought then!

You are right about M&S party food.

oh Ali, I am not.

We just spent a fortune on ds1s birthday party in April. And now we have both ds2s birthday party and ds1s First holy communion in June, and we have been hit by a £900 utility bill from EDF because the direct debit we set up in September did not happen.
My dad is upset because his home nurses have been selected for Industrial Action, and I am here, and he will have to spend the foresable future in bed without food and drink unless we can work something out.

I should not have drunk the wine, but the bottle was open, and I just feel sad. Dh is in Tesco and I just want Victoria cake and nice crockery.

I should hunt for better bargains than John Lewis can offer. I need A Nice Suit for ds1!!

Charity shops are your friend for crockery. Don't get all matchy matchy, buy loads of random old lady plates for 10p each and spend the remaining £350 on booze something worthy.

Charity shops are a good idea!!

I also googled dawn chorus bargains, and found DISCOUNTS!!!

I should go to bed.

If I am asleep by the time dh gets back from tesco, I wont have to unpack the food.

And he wont notice I finnished the wine.

!! ti hi

DS wore chinos and white linen shirt for his first communion.

Charity shops for crockery :)

Thank you guys. My credit card is safe. I am off to bed.

Just found a really ncie waist coat and tie set in the Next sale section on line. Smart. Will be good.

Well done Quint.

Be gentle to yourself today, you sound like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders.

When my DSs made their FHC they wore school trousers, school shoes, a new white shirt and a new tie. Some in our church wore sashes, too. What's the norm in your church?

Wrt the crockery, what's wrong with white, cheap crockery for a party? Most people don't have enough matching for a big party, or go with the charity shop, completely non-matching stuff. It's all fine.

I've got a cake stand from one of those pottery painting places, its got all the DCs handprints on them, its lovely and its something they did. Say no to JL.