Random Christmas chat.

[lunar1]

I was reading through the Christmas topics and noticed that all the threads are very specific. Can we have a general chat thread for Christmas, without me being thrown on the bonfire in the proper chat topic!

It's ok if not I can always talk to myself about Christmas. I've just been to Costco and they have lots of their Christmas stock in. Can anyone think of a genuine reason why I don't need to buy the 8ft outdoor light up snowman? I also bought a tray of their mince pies which are warming up in the oven as I type

Just had an email from Ciate saying that their advent calender is out on October 1st.

I've only done the cost thing to make how much I'm spending sound better to DH

I would love the benefit calendar. £65 seems a bit over indulgent though!

Ooh thank you for the beauty advent calendar link. I now have the perfect excuse for why I need the no7 one - it's the cheapest!

I'm very excited about Christmas. I've booked our trip to Thomasland at Drayton manor. We had a great time last year, the grotto was fabulous and it was all so christmassy. I'm going to make the Christmas cakes in October. I can't wait!

Hope I've booked Waitrose.

Well my list of people to buy for is ever shrinking as ex and I separated beginning of year so will only buy for dc 2 cousins and now my sis and her husband and my mum and her husband have said they only buying for dc this year as skint so not to bother. On that basis I am practically done already been finding things for gf family and friend to buy her dh to satisfy my fix

Hello fellow Christmas lovers!!
I am going to do my own advent this year, I have 2 dd's (nearly 4 & 16 months).
Could anyone that does this give me some more ideas please? I have things like Christmas card making, see the lights at nighttime, winter walks etc and will factor in a few special days out but any ideas will be greatly received

For my boys advent this year I have one of those candy grabbers from Amazon. I have kept all the old eggs from kinder eggs and am going to put something in each one then wrap them like a sweet. It should occupy them for a bit!!

MadameJ We had a great time doing advent activities last year. Highlights included:

• a glow stick bath (my dd absolutely LOVED this, we also had one with a Christmas bath bomb from Lush and LED tealights)
• snowman pancakes for breakfast
• making snowmen (stick cotton wool balls onto the cardboard roll from a toilet roll)
• making reindeer (collect twigs from your winter walk for antlers and stick them into an upside down paper cup painted brown)
• making jingle bell bracelets (thread tiny bells from eBay onto glittery pipe cleaners, twist into bracelets)
• visiting the reindeer at our local garden centre
• making wrapping paper on brown parcel paper (we used brown paint footprints turned upside down and made into reindeer faces, white ones for snowmen, green handprints for Christmas trees - Pinterest has lots of ideas and the grandparents loved it)
• decorating Christmas cupcakes/biscuits

We planned it quite carefully - on nursery days when I knew dd would be tired and not so receptive to crafting our activity was either reading a Christmas book or dancing to a Christmas song.

Enjoy!

Thanks xalyssx :)

3 months today 'til Christmas

MadameJ some more ideas for calendar. i will also use some of Like silver's.

my kids are older than yours now. Like Likesilver says get out your calendar/diary and plan around stuff you have on already and your busy and quiet days. obviously takes a bit of planning but once it's done we have a lot of fun.

we have some little paper triangle boxes with numbers 1-24 which we tie onto a bare branch in a pot. i'd like to say I made the boxes but I got them off ebay. lots of great ideas online but you can always peg little envelopes on a string or pin to a board if time/energy in short supply.

We have a mixture of tasks and treats

Tasks

Buy tree
Decorate tree
Make/write cards
Get house ready for Santa (clean and tidy rooms etc)
Go shopping with Dad to buy present for mum
Wrap family presents and put under tree
Go for winter walk and collect greenery for table/mantelpiece
Lay table on Christmas eve etc

The treats in the calendar can be

elaborate - panto, iceskating, see Santa, trip to cinema
Easy- some jelly beans or buttons or shiny pound coin pound coin to go to local shop to choose treat
really simple - hot chocolate, watch Christmas film, make paper snowflakes, play board game, Christmas story

When the kids were smaller I had a few Christmas story books that came out with the decorations and went under the tree and got put away again ready for next year.

Of course any carol services/concerts/school parties can have a slot too giving you a day off. Don't stick down envelopes in case you have to do last minute swap due to weather/you can't be bothered. I have a typed list so cut up the sheet of paper and put in boxes and then I have a master list so I don't forget what's in the boxes!

Phew! Sorry very long!

Thank you so much, there are some truly fabulous ideas!!! I have actually started a list (taking into consideration nursery days) and I will amend as I go. Thanks again

I got loads of Christmas stuff yesterday.

Presents, ribbons for wrapping presents, naice tree decorations, a stag throw, wine bags, a cat advent calendar etc.

I was disappointed if a shop didn't have Christmas stuff in it Don't they know I'm so excited and want to buy all the Christmas stuff in September?!

How many times can I say Christmas stuff?!

Oh I also got some Christmas pjs. There's more stuff too but I can't remember!

I have started my Christmas declutter today! I'm determined that there will be no piles of things to sort out later when I get the decorations out this year.

I have also written the neighbours Christmas cards. I hate doing cards and seem to leave it later every year. I will be organised this year even if people think I'm crackers

Where did you get Christmas pyjamas Hope?

They're not proper Christmassy ones, mama, I just got them in case I can't get to a Primark before Christmas. They're from Tesco. The bottoms are red with hearts on with little stags inside and I think stars on (I cba to go upstairs and check sorry ) then I got a navy top to go with it which has stars on it.

And I got them as they had 25% off :)

What sort of adult onesies do they have in Primark at the moment?

OOOOOOH Im HOME :o

I kinda sorta organised but then I usually am for Christmas. ( I think im totally organised early on then at last minute realise Im not )

Ive started shopping, got quite a bit ( with 4 kids,even though 3 of them are young adults who still live at home, I have to start early ). I actually know what Im going to buy everyone too,even DH who is impossible to buy for, so even if its not actually bought yet it will be. I have had so much luck with zoolily,its great

I will be making my Christmas cake within the next couple of weeks. Im relying on mumsnet to tell me when that stir up day to make my pudding is though.

Ive planned what chutneys etc I will be making as gifts and will start them soon. I did actually make raspberry vodka tonight after seeing how many raspberries I had on the HUGE bush that has taken over in my back yard.Will do my orange booze shortly too cos it takes a long time to mature (but worth every second of it )

I need help with cards though. I NEVER get them mailed to the Uk in time,no matter what I do,every year Im a stressed mess over cards.

My Christmas tree looks like an explosion in a shiny thing factory :o. Totally covered in multi coloured random sparkly shit and I love it that way. Dd1 is at me for a grown up sophisticated colour co ordinated jobbie. Nope I loves my sparkly thrown together thing. Tinsel EVERYWHERE

My DH friends think Im insane

I've bought another Christmas present today. I never start shopping this early, (normally wait until December) but I saw something I liked at a good price and bought it.

At the rate I'm going I will have nothing to do in way of prep in December other than to wait for Christmas to arrive.