Thread 18 - Oh god, stop me now please

[Reastie]

Thank you @luckiestgirl for the title which came from her post which I’ve copied below

‘I twitched on the moles.
And the Clinique
And at body shop (30% off)
And at love honey (I got £20 off)
And I’ve somehow bought an 8 foot Christmas tree.
And lights
And a TV.
And a fitness tracker.
And stocking fillers for the kids.

Oh god, stop me now please‘

Just a reminder you can watch the thread by clicking on ‘watch this thread’ at the top of the first message. It’s much easier for everyone than so many place marking every time which can use up a fair chunk of each thread to scroll through

Referral link here . Use this to post any links where you can refer a mner and you or both of you get an incentive. For ease and fairness please don’t post these on the main thread.

Affiliate Advertising: Mumsnet carries some affiliate marketing links, which means we earn commission on sales of some products when users click through a link from the site. Our editorial content is NOT influenced by affiliate partnerships. You may not post affiliate links without the prior permission of Mumsnet.

Here’s Barbarara’s instructions on doing clicks links:

Open double square brackets
No space
Paste link
Space
Name of link
No space
Close double square brackets

Like this
[[www.amazingbargains.com bargain ]] but with no space after/before the brackets.
If I do it again without the extra spaces only the word bargain will appear in blue

For more links etc see message 2

If any link doesn’t work or you want to add something please let me know in bold or @ me

We seem to have the chat debate every year.

@ThePortIsSunny Isn’t that thread just for referrals though? Not the same as if someone is just asking if anyone knows a generic discount code.

I personally think that sharing ideas helps as people usually then link to a bargain or we all keep our eyes out and spot stuff. I think it’s a lovely atmosphere and don’t think it needs to be so strict. Just scroll past if something doesn’t interest you. But obviously if the majority want it to simply be offers then that’s fine. But I think it would take away some of the camaraderie.

Thanks for the new thread @reastie

So I managed to drop off the other thread for a bit as we went car shopping. Of course we needed a new car right on top of Christmas. I'm not talking matchbox, I'm talking Ford garage and DH wanting most of the forecourt. Four children so big ugly family car 😫

Anyway back to the presents I'm almost done. Haven't even started on the wrapping. It's giving me nightmare and night sweats (that may just be my perio menopause 🤷‍♀️). I still need to get:
A micro sprite scooter
2x Leicester city kits
Nike trainers for DS1
Harry Potter Lego
Beanie hats for ds1 and 2 as table presents

Personally I like the gift suggestions and related chat.

I think that, a lot of the time, posters have similar sounding people to buy gifts for (we all specifically seem to know tricksy elderly people or people who have everything ) so it's useful for ideas.

I also think as a long running thread, although lots of us NC more now, there is a sense of camaraderie. To me it's similar to a S and B thread where some of us have been there for years and discuss lots of other things in passing, not just hair products or fabulous perfumes (for example)

I also think that a lot of us are fond of shopping choosing thoughtful presents, not simply bargains and enjoy thinking of/suggesting gifts for others. Equally it's a nice feeling to suggest something which is suitable, as well as being given a good suggestion.

Mind you, I love Christmas and shopping so any chat on any related subject is good for me

I realise some people don't feel the same, and some people are here for the bargains simply for budget reasons and perhaps don't want to see general discussions. Also posters might have time limitations and don't want to read through chit chat. Some people might actually dislike Christmas and use this thread specifically to see what's good value, get it done and dust hands.

So I can see both sides and think the majority should prevail , but tend to fall on the side of any present and Christmas related chat is A Good Thing.

(actually I think after typing all that, maybe as Reastie puts in so much time and effort year after year she should have the gavel)

PinkJam oh yes it is sorry. Sometimes people do ask for or post referral codes on here though. Maybe the general codes should be posted on there as well.

I'm getting less bargains this year than previously so maybe there are just less bargains around generally. I do like the chat though on here and on the countdown to Christmas threads, such a nice, supportive atmosphere! Makes a change from AIBU!

I quite like the present suggestions as I sometimes get ideas for people that I'd never have found otherwise. I don't often check out all the other Christmas threads as I don't have time, but this thread has become my Christmas staple! I also think if you restrict it to just pure bargains, it will dry up a lot quicker, as there are only so many bargains you can post, and without the extra chat and posters helping each other out it would be very dry...just a list of bargains and codes,

Anyway...I arrived late at the thread this year and I think I must have missed Body Shop doing their 40% off offer. Need to buy DH his annual stock of shower gel and moisturiser but resent paying full price! Best I can find is 20% off, does anyone know of anything more bargainous?

I like the gift ideas, I’ve pinched a couple for my DCs I wouldn’t otherwise have though of.

In addition Mountain Warehouse have 20% with MIB19. Very happy to find that one.

argh, I've just bought from MW without that code :(

still looking for gifts for men.

I really like the chatter about present ideas. I've had some really useful inspiration.

I also think that the threads as a whole have been BUSTING with great discount codes and bargains. The last few days perhaps not so much, but I think that's because we have just been through the spasm of Black Friday and so the obvious bargains are slightly on pause now. Until the retailers decide they need to shift more stuff and they start racking up incentives again.

@doistayordoigo body shop havent done a 40% off this year. My DH normally buys my annual stock during that time and he hasn't seen it on this year. Boooooo!.
Superdrug seems great for bargainous toiletries though.

I was very disappointed body shop didn’t do the decent discount this year. I bought loads last year as it also worked on sale items. Luckily I’ve still got a couple of gift sets left. I bought loads for me but have run out now and was looking forward to 40% off again but alas no!!

I find the gift ideas nice even if not at all relevant to me, it's nice people take the trouble to help each other out here. The board might feel less friendly if people feel there are rules, it is policed and they are not sure what they are allowed to post or less welcome. Live and let live?

As for bargains, what I think is going on is partly more retailers presenting things as bargains when they aren't. I've seen for example Gap try to say child leggings are normally £20 and now 'half - price' when that half is a more realistic every day price and they aren't discounting just inflating the original price - not just trying to single them out but I feel like retailers are more frequently trying to take their customers for mugs, with fake bargains. The real bargains are more scarce. Could just be my impression though 😁

I too quite like the suggestions and like @RJnomore1 says, the chat debate comes up most years now. I personally don't see any harm.

Home bargains have a decorate your own playhouse for £6. A good activity for little ones in the lead up to Christmas.

This may have already been posted but if you’ve got a VIP card for Hotel Chocolat you can get 15% off generally and £10 off the velvitiser

Oops sorry just realised that’s been posted multiple times already I got a bit behind with all the thread chat
I’ll double check before I post anything else!

Amazon are matching the hotel Chocolat 15% discount. I was hoping to get the children some giant slabs but don't see them included but still a good deal.

Vodafone are doing a Christmas game prize giveaway. You have to be one of the first people to play all the games and beat the high score when the prize window opens at 7am. I won a £50 Pizza Express voucher this morning. There are various prizes throughout the month.

I just came on to post velvetiser deal but I've been beaten to it!

@ThePortIsSunny It’s ok. I can see what you mean but I think if people started posting generic discount codes in the referral thread then it might not always be clear if it is generic or a referral. And I think having generic codes in this thread means no one misses out. One person asks about a generic code but hopefully others notice it as well and it saves them some money. But again, happy to go with the majority.

@doistayordoigo I agree that it would be very dry without chat. A long list of links to bargains really does not appeal to me at all.

@friskybivalves I agree that there have been lots of bargains this year. At the end of the day it depends on what prices the shops decide on. Nothing we can do if something doesn’t go on offer. It’s very rare that a real bargain on a much wanted toy for example isn’t posted on here. And as you said, there is usually a lull after Black Friday.

@myfavouriterain Good post and fully agree. There are enough rules in life, do we really need to be so picky on such a warm and friendly thread?

Place marking x

I don't mind the odd present query, and most get no replies. The last one however took off like its own thread. I checked more than a couple of times if I was still on the bargain thread as I often check out other ones in the Christmas section.

I guess it was a quiet day for bargains.

The discussion about it is now getting rather dull.

There are fewer bargains/ codes posted now for a reason - there are virtually none to be had. Past Black Friday businesses are prepping for good revenue and do not offer discounts easily.
I have benefited and enjoyed the general chat. Too much hassle to keep it policed into just a bargain thread.

I like the chat aswell as the bargains. I’ve lurked on here for years and always come back to these threads every year for the bargains and the chat

I've been on these threads for the past 3 years and love them! They've been a godsend with maternity pay, followed by a drop to part time hours, followed by soon to be maternity pay again!
Don't generally mind the chat, I do get lots of ideas. And a big thank you to whoever posted the think to the thread about awkward men, got a few ideas off there

I really enjoy the chat and gift suggestions- I've bought quite a few things off of the back of them. A lot of the time people suggest bargains that I wouldn't have otherwise seen