Treating ourselves to a huge Christmas blow out - how would you spend £1000?

[Christmas25]

Posting for traffic.

We have had a crappy year for various reasons so have decided we are going to go all out this year.

We have earmarked £1000 to spend for Christmas (ignoring presents) - how would you spend it? We’ve already ordered the Tom Kerridge beef wellington from M&S (not part of this budget), but I’d love to know what other things Mumsnetters would recommend. I don’t know where to start!

If I needed to ask strangers on the internet how to spend £1000 then I wouldn’t be spending it. I’d keep it until I found something to spend it on that I/we really wanted.

So what? Are you broke, are you suffering? Or are you taking it upon yourself to patronise those without by speaking on their behalf?

A few nice things on the day, but use the money for something close to the day? Day trip/night away in luxury hotel/new years eve in a posh cottage with a hot tub

I'd hire a personal chef for the day and spend the whole day with my feet up playing games with family and friends.

Awesome food with none of the effort.

I would go to the theatre and take a taxi there and back.

Upgrade my usual meals - so proper champagne and nicer quality of everything. As a PP has said, I would find local producers as far as possible. Minimal leftovers. I'd rather have several nice meals that we eat and then move on the next day to something else rather than keep eating ham or turkey. So beef one day, seafood another, turkey crown.

Real hot chocolate to make in the evenings.

Good quality crackers.

Buy a themed jigsaw puzzle and have it set up for everyone to spend some time doing.

The house clean sounds like a great idea.

Maybe book a family photo session.

I’d buy a ton of smoked salmon (every so often I crave it). 😁

Ridiculous boast going on here.

Surely you know how to treat yourselves. Only you know what you like.

Are you looking to just randomly blow £1000? I'd say if you don't know what to spend it on, either keep it or donate it to your local food bank.

Personal chefs aren’t cheap. My local one is a minimum of £1500 during normal times so Christmas will likely be much more.

I remember when mumsnet was full of rich Londoners and mums from the Home Counties and now it’s wall to wall with people who would literally combust if someone spent more than a fiver on Xmas dinner. I don’t think it’s for the better 😁 Op have you thought about donating your beef wellington to the food bank and having beans on toast instead?

Come on, now way is this a genuine post. Just a wind-up. No one announces they are determined to spend £1000 and they have no idea what to spend it on.

I'd rather save it for January and have a trip to the seaside in a nice cottage
If I had to spend it on Xmas I would:
Hire a cleaner to do me a pre Xmas deep clean.
Get a handyperson to come and do all the little DIY jobs I can't do myself that are driving me mad.
Book a nearby Airbnb so current relatives who will be on airbed in lounge could have a bed for a couple of nights!
Buy a lot of nice ready made stuff for Xmas dinner.
Book a spa day for between Xmas and new year.

I would definitely get a deep-clean of the house before xmas.

Maybe buy some special christmas tablecloths/serving dishes/plates - you can use these in years to come too and it would remind you of your "blow out" christmas.

I think if it were me, I do for some really super Harrods stuff - but I can't get Harrods where I am.

I don't want to sound sanctimonious but giving actually makes you feel really good. People give to those in need not just to help them but because it makes them feel connected and good. So if you aren't making a donation separately consider taking some small part of your money and getting the teens involved in how to donate it in a christmassy way - maybe donation to a food bank.

Presumably, they can also read the thread title and choose to scroll right on by if it bothers them.

@IdaGlossop not everything is for everyone. This handwringing in case someone gets upset is boring.

Op where are you in UK ? I'm not in the norrh not always fancies booths
We always get one pudding but I'd get two and also have our usual duck but maybe another small bird like a fancy chicken from a proper butcher
As pp said upgrade what you normally have...as other posters said borough market /fortnums ?

Little hamper treats ?
A big treat for me will be getting apple TV for a while...

I don't like champagne so i wouldn't bother with that...

I forgot what I actually need is a bloody table that fits 6 round it. So one of those!

Fortum and Mason hamper.
A bird from your most local high end organic farmer/butcher.
Fruit, veg, cheese, seafood from Waitrose.
That'll be a grand spent.

Fortnum and Masons will gladly take your money.

Hello, that'd be me. I'm not going to begrudge someone else's good fortune..

Yawn.

If it's not just for Xmas day then I'd have a weekend in London, seeing the Xmas displays in the shops, going to a lovely restaurant, nice cosy pubs when it's cold outside, maybe buying a new wintery item - lovely leather gloves or new boots
Maybe see if theres a show you fancy - something festive like The Nutcracker
I'd also get the house deep cleaned pre Xmas

I personally have zero budget this Christmas due to bad unforeseen financial circumstances. But it's not down to me to police what other people post, nor would I want to. It's nice that people are celebrating and treating themselves.

Everyone will have something that someone else doesn't have. There is no glory is being professionally offended.

Oh no not up North. I’ve barely returned since my student days!

OP, you could get a family spa treatment booked - you can get them to come to your house as you don't want to go out

We have ideas. But as I have said, would welcome more. Plenty of stuff I like that I hadn’t considered before this thread.