Tacky tinsil and shop bought chutney, we love Christmas too thread.

[VoldemortsNipple]

For those like me who love Christmas and are slighty envious of the homemade Christmas threads, here's one for us.

A place to share the best bargains the internet has to offer. Confess our sins of being onto the third copy of Boots gift guide. Shout how much we love Aldi three bird roast with paxo stuffing. You get the idea.

Only 5 full weeks of work left. Whoop Whoop.

There's so Much to do and time's flying by now. I'm constanly on the look out for bargains and good ideas. I'm pestering the dcs more than they are me. :o

I've just been looking on quidco and Amazon's Black Friday event starts Monday.

I'm hoping I will be able to bag some bargains. I've never heard of black Friday before so I'm not sure what to expect. The dcs have expensive but practical laptops for Christmas. They know they're getting them so haven't asked for anything else. Hopefully ill be able to get some bargains.

We normally open all the presents in the morning, but as the dcs are getting older and less excited, I was thinking of putting something away for later in the day. Something a bit exciting that I know they would like but won't ask for. DD would like a swatch watch. Ds1 would like good headphones like skull candys. Well he'd like Dr Dre beats but he's got no chance :o Ds2 would like more harry potter lego.

Do you think Amazon will be kind enough to put all my requests on black Friday :o

DD has informed me that ds1 has been rummaging already. I'm going to have to do some extra good hiding this year. He can even get in the loft without a ladder.

Went shopping with my sister to Liverpool today, and as my first ever Christmas shopping trip with a pram (and not a small one either - I bought it because it looked strong enough to carry all the shopping!) I have to say NEVER AGAIN!!! It was mental and I've never wanted to haul the massive pram onto an escalator so much in my life!

When we go to the Manchester Christmas markets in a couple of weeks ds will be in the mei tai, no compromises!

I still need to get some nice wrapping paper. I am a wrapping paper snob and I hate the thin stuff because it's a nightmare to wrap presents in.

I really sympathise with you Magneto Shopping and prams just don't go together. They seem to attract every rude person in a mile radius to stand in your way.

Did you get any nice bargains :)

Last year I got 2 big rolls of reversible wrapping paper from Costco, so basically 4 colour coordinated designs on 2 rolls. They were so big, I don't need to buy paper this year, there was loads left over.

I helped out at the school Christmas fair yesterday. My first Christmas engagement :)

Hi

I can't believe that it's only 5 weeks to go! I've never heard of black Friday before voldemort, but will have a look on Monday - although we are a bit skint until pay day. Why do all the big bills materialise at once?! Have you tried play.com - they seem to have a lot of bargains and it's free delivery. Also every Monday they have some really big offers, they had regatta fleeces down to a £5 last week - really wish I'd managed to get one for FIL.

Sympathies magneto my dd was about 5 weeks old when we went xmas shopping the first year. Like you we have a massive pram, and I couldn't believe how rude people were. Especially when waiting for lifts, everyone pushed past me and I couldn't even get on. It was so infuriating as everyone else could use the escalators. I'm glad this baby isn't due until January so should miss all that. Although DD is now 3, and there isn't a chance I would take her xmas shopping - she would scream the place down whilst trying to escape from her buggy!

All my personalised photo calendars and diaries arrived the other day, all look really good. So just need to get some bits and pieces to go with these, but will have to wait until pay day. I saw some lovely decorations in a garden centre last week, it was very hard to resist buying lots of new things!

I got a nice jingle bell wreath from Lakeland, along with some glittery stick on snowflakes for the windows and a couple of sparkly birds with green and red hats on! And picked up my secret santa pressie for work from Lush. I don't know who I've got yet but some smellies is pretty safe .

Also helped my sister pick her present for my dh - the complete collection of Thomas the tank engine original stories (so he can stop moaning about how much he wants it! Plus anything that encourages him to read more, especially to ds is a winner imo).

I'll see if I can get MIL to go to costco soon to check out the super wrapping paper!

evening all....have been a bit distracted busy with work/real life etc.... but am back in Christmas planning mode now!
Made some nice ginger christmasy biscuits today that I have frozen to ice later for pressies for teachers, and have re-made my Christmas cake in my new oven - yipee - it has turned out great
Cant buy anything else till Thursday (pay day!) as new oven has all but cleared me out this month LOL But have my list ready of last few pressies I need, plus some little baking bits (pretty bags/boxes etc to put biccies in) Still also need to sort xmas eve pags (pjs , mugs, books for dc)
Have Ocado order sorted for 22nd....
Feeling slightly organised this year - but must keep up the effort or I'll still end up running round madly in last 2 days!
5 weeks - whoo hoo!

Hi all,

I am suffering from a severe hangover after a fabulous night out in Manchester last night.

Finally got my Christmas shifts and I'm off Xmas eve and day looks like I now have 20 odd people for a Christmas day buffet

what's everyone else doing?

Good evening everybody. Sounds like everybody is beginning to pick up speed and get organised. buzzgirly I can't remember who mentioned black Friday on here but I hadn't heard of it either. Basically amazon has loads of big discount offers for a short period of time and you have to grab them fast. Things like cds for a pound and xboxes for 50.00 Hopefully I'll find some stocking fillers.

Magneto the snowman soup went down a treat yesterday at the Christmas fair. I've had orders from some of the teachers. I wasn't planning on making them to sell but was put on the spot. Any idea what I should sell them for? Do you think $2 would be ok.

I've found a great little app for my phone. A Christmas planner. It keeps track of all the gifts I've bought and want to buy and keeps tabs on my budget. Best of all its password protected, so DS can't snoop :o

norma I'm glad you have Christmas off. Although I don't envy you having to do a buffet
Luckily enough for me, my mum has offered to do Christmas day lunch this year. Plus she is having the dcs for 3 nights between Christmas and new year. Dh and I are going to a wedding in Dublin, and because his sister can't be arsed to let anybody know what she is doing, we've had to leave the dcs behind. If SIL decides to come, there will be no room at the inn. Grrr

Which app have you got voldemort?

Are you looking forward to the wedding? There seems to be loads this winter. We are at one nye then another early feb. Excited for the new year one though, the menu is fab

I am so busy after this week. Every weekend has something on plus I have to start all the Xmas prep.

The app is called Xmas organizer. I found it in the Android marketplace.

I'm really looking forward to the wedding. If there's one thing I can say about the Irish, its they know how to throw a wedding. Every wedding we have been to has been a grand affair. One of the teachers where I work said her sister had her reception at the same hotel and it was really nice so I'm sure we're on for a good one. We also have another wedding in February but a little closer to home.

Advent officially begins on Sunday so I'm definitely getting excited.

How's everybody getting on with preparations or are you all twiddling thumbs like me, waiting for payday :o

I love virtual shopping on the internet. And now Thanks to my Xmas organiser app, I pop things on my various lists and feel like they are in my shopping basket. I just need some ideas from my Mum on what she would like and my presents will be sorted.

Wednesday I'm striking giving the house a good clean, Thursday I'm shopping, Friday I'm wrapping presents and next weekend I'm putting the tree up :) :) How Christmassy is that! I might even have to get creative and make buy some mince pies

It's Advent calendar eve. (is anybody here, I'm afraid I've killed the thread before we've even got to December)

Ds2 is driving me potty ever since I showed him his lego star wars advent calendar earlier. He is asking what time he can get up in the morning to open it :o

We have 2 Thorntons calendars, a lego one and a pedigree chum one. (The lego one is an early Christmas present)

It's starting to feel really christmassy now, I can't wait to go shopping tomorrow.

Hello everyone

1st December at last, I can finally put on my Jive Bunny Xmas collection - it's cheesy and i love it!! DH does not though! I will have to get some carol music this year too.

Voldemort What are the lego advent calendars like? Do you just add one new bit a day? Can you reuse them every year? I have never heard of them before.

Norma That's great you have xmas off! Your xmas eve buffet sounds good, is that for family?

Well I got a bit caught up with the Elf on the Shelf madness, so this morning DD got elf with advent calendar and a few other bits. You should have seen her face when she realised she was only getting one chocolate - she was furious!

We did a huge chunk of our shopping on Monday, most of which I've already wrapped - i love wrapping presents. Bought mil and fil new jackets from Blacks which were in a 30% sale, checked online yesterday to see what else there was and noticed the jackets were half price online with free delivery. So ordered online and taking the other ones back to shop - should save £40! I love a bargain!

Going to try to do somethink xmasy everyday with DD, she's only 3 so hoping this will help get xmas more. Going to try salt dough decorations at weekend, hopefully I will make a better artist than baker! Santa is also coming to our town tomorrow afternoon to turn on Christmas lights so will be going to that.

Good luck with your shopping!

Hi buzzgirly. DS was delighted opening his calendar this morning. He had a little bag with all the bits to make a little spaceship. Some boxes have figures in, like Santa Yoda :) I wouldn't say you could reuse it (unless you were really anal over never losing any lego) The doors open like a standard advent calendars so you would have to be really carful with the box and then tape them shut next year.

I've been to the Trafford Centre today. I didn't get too much, there are too many clothes shops and not enough gift shops. We had a lovely day though and didn't have to brace the weather.

I've found some lovely personal presents on tintaweb though. DD has a Harry Potter quote set in a necklace and ds1 has a swiss army knife with his name engraved on the blade.

Can't wait to start wrapping. I have my Christmas cd ready and waiting :)

Can I join? I'm having a real tree this yr only because my DP threw out my brill plastic Argos one (downsized, nowhere to store it). DP does not yet know about impending arrival of said tree... I'm so excited. It'll look good with all my mismatched dec's bought on sale at the Pier before they went bust a few yrs back. Still got my multi-coloured B&Q lights too. And a nativity set from Paperchase. Also considering getting a tiny tree from Paperchase for DD, fluorescent pink colour. Love all Xmas stuff in Paperchase.

Not handmade anything this yr as got a 6 month old, though got some things with kids photos on from Jessops for family, looks really sweet and didn't cost an awful lot. Got an iphone 'skin' for DP with babies photo on it. This is about as creative as I get this yr!