We're rocking around the Christmas tree, waiting for Santa to come to town. It's countdown to Christmas thread 4!!

[SideOrderofSprouts]

99 days to go

disclaimer. This thread is up early because I am old and tired and need to go to bed. It's actually 99 from midnight

Thank you Ceebs much appreciated my dear, well done on the Garmin order ......got to be done
Fridge..... Happy birthday my dear hope you were royally spoilt
Constant good luck with the cake and delicious mincemeat! I am tempted to do the mincemeat I must confess it did look absolutely gorgeous ....
Woolly well done on the stuffing my dear, that looks amazing I am inspired to do my own and not open a box of Paxo lol
Biddy how do you do it all I am agog a the card writing wow wow double nay triple wow well done! Hubbs and I not rowed yet been quite nice to each other tbh. It did help him taking me to Ikea at last to get a few things , Can I be honest and say I am slightly disappointed with the decs there ....usually we love the stuff I don't know if it was the way they had them displayed in Cardiff or what but I wasn't tempted by anything . A Fingerling is a plastic coloured monkey that clings to your finger but I am not au fait with what it does either but suffice to say it is the next best thing to a Hatchimal!!
Fridge that cake is to die for omg yummy well done it looks divine ....

I wrote out all my family christmas cards today ☺

Been to asda to buy some stuff for Halloween party tomorrow and also got a stretch Armstrong for ds, skullcandy ear phones for dd1 and dd2 stockings, gummy sweets x3 for elf treats and turkey and stuffing flavour crisps!

There isn’t really a stuffing recipe - I wing it

There were 8 or 9 slices of bread made into breadcrumbs. A bag of frozen chopped onions softened in about an ounce of butter. Approximately a jar of dried sage (I had two part jars) . A good pinch of thyme. And the sausage meat from two packs of sausages (skin off).

Put the breadcrumbs, herbs and sausage meat in a big bowl. Add the cooled, softened onions and mix together (I use my hands). I cook it in lined loaf tins for about 40 minutes until firm to the touch and golden brown on top.

Sounds lovely!

Sounds fabulous, I am going to do it!

Fluffy I actually think I’m going to be swapping places with you geographically between Christmas and New Year 😂 I’m up visiting my SIL.** If we had thought about this properly we could have done an MN house swap

I did wonder if that would happen!

And yes; an MN house swap would've been brilliant. 😁

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It's starting to feel really close now, isn't it?! Exciting!!

Eek! Had to de-ice the car this morning!

And then the other car, because mine started to 'bunny hop' and I didn't want to risk it on the motorway. Pretending to be really posh with a multitude of cars, when really it's because we got the new one on Wednesday and haven't sorted all the crap out and sold mine yet.

DS has been really clingy the last few days, which we think is because between us all being ill and DSis having a baby 3 weeks ago, he and I haven't spent as much time together as normal. So yesterday, which is my day off, we spent the whole day playing, stamping Christmas cards, painting Christmas decorations and baking Christmas cookies.

I asked him what he wanted from Santa, and he said a birthday party, with cake and presents. He's been obsessed since the summer, and unfortunately for him, he's a March baby so he's got a long while to wait. I'm pretty much done for him, but don't know whether to buy him a special 'birthday party' present - a box with one of those wooden Melissa and Doug cakes, and some balloons in it. There'll be parties and presents anyway with it being Christmas... is that too indulgent? Do I stick with telling him he has to wait until March? He's only 2, and March is a long way away and so is Christmas...

Firefly I'd get the extra present if you can afford it but I'm a soft touch.**

Annoyingly I had an email from Debenhams this morning advertising 15% off beauty products so I thought I'd get DD2 the Naked Heat palette but I can't find it on the website .* What's the betting it will reappear tomorrow when the offer has expired.*

I didn't make that bold

It's OOS, Woolly , here

I figured it would be OOS. I bet it will be back in stock tomorrow soon.

Would she be mollified with Benefit? There's a 20% off code on the bargain thread.

Ahhh Firefly I would get him the cake and pressies and cards too it's so sweet of him aren't the children just beautiful?
DD ordered an iphone 7 from Tesco and they said it was oos but I think it was because they had the price wrong , they are back in stock today huh!
Pick and mix half price in Wilkinsons here, I always buy my dh a load and put it in jars for xmas , it is a real treat for him he loves pic n mix lol the big Kid lol
Hope all ok , I can't believe you have done your cards to your beloveds Muddling!!!
Been beautiful here today, such a lovely sunny day , one of those glad to be alive days , difficult to believe it is 59 days to Chrissy with this weather .

Wilko do quite a good wooden birthday cake and I think i've seen one in a pound shop too..

She does like Benefit but adores the Naked palettes and is a total makeup junkie. It just goes to show that they may be adults but we still make a special effort to get things exactly right for Christmas

I think I'm going to see if I can do click and collect for the Harrogate store and pick it up on my weekend away.

I’m going to write my hristmas cards next month and then try not to lose them before december

Fingers crossed you find it at a bargainous price somewhere, Woolly. I don't wear makeup, so they're all the same to me slattern

It's been lovely and sunny here, as well, MrsM, but very cold. Went out to the garage after tea and I could see my breath!

Thanks for the recommendation, Fridge. At £5 for the cake, plus probably £1 for a balloon, I think I can manage without breaking the bank .

I don't have strong feelings either way on the 'something you need etc' vs 'present mountain', I just buy things I think he'll really enjoy. But he has about 20 presents now just from us, and I'm wondering if it will be too many and he'll end up overwhelmed, especially as it's the first Christmas he'll understand. What has people's experience been at that age (2.6)? Last year we didn't have as many and were still opening them a week later.

Sprouts I am still looking for a box of chocolates I bought for add last November and hid really, really well. Either that or they were found and eaten

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Getting closer! Nearly November now

I went to a Christmas craft fayre today and bought a Christmas Eve box for DS

Ahh Hello Peeps
Catching up, not bought anything Christmassy (except the Kellog Advent Cereal for DD)

Took DD to Stratford Westfield last week, quite busy and my DD does like her brands so she was happy. Bought her a top but its apparently not a Christmas present its a 'Just Because' present .

My cake is now in the oven, DS and DD sampled the raw cake before I buggered it up with fruit 'n' stuff .

After Hallowe'en and Guy Fawkes I'll work out my shopping days (I'd prefer to go out on a Friday - I work P/T - than a wekend if I'm doing serious shopping things. Saturday is fine for random ambling but only in the evening late nights )

Doing the lists at the moment.
Decided on a real tree not a new fake tree so that saves me searching but I need new lights.

DD and I were in my home city yesterday while DH had a meeting (before we all went to DMILs). Between us, we identified DDs birthday present (a rucksack for Scouts - we now know which rucksack), a life jacket that fits (she's grown out of her current one and she's very skinny so lots don't work on her) and a pair of shoes for confirmation/primary graduation (and maybe Christmas if I get them soon). And a roll of wallpaper for detailing a corner when we redecorate her room sometime soon (grey brick wall with primary coloured graffiti on it - very teeen and funky!).

Today is doing all sorts of jobs, farmers market shipping and buying a baby dress on behalf of MiL, before DD going to a new trampolining place while DH and I take MiL to a medical appt and then doing garden work (including harvesting some winter squashes that did actually grow despite being basically ignored😂). But plans are getting hatched, slowly, so things are starting to fall into shape.