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Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

Thread 25 - the one where WE GOT TO MAGIC THREAD 25!

999 replies

Reastie · 05/12/2020 06:50

25th December is Christmas Day and for the first time ever we’ve hit 25 threads! My little challenge every year was will be make it magic number 25 and we’ve only gone and done it and still 20 days to go!

Thank you everyone for posting and sharing ideas and links, so many have been helped in what will be a very difficult Christmas for many, to be able to achieve a Christmas more bumper and less expensive than they had thought they could manage,

please post any bargain info IN BOLD to make it easier to scroll through the thread.

To make things bold you:
Put a star each side of what you want to make bold like this but without the space between the star and the writing *

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 Thanks

Affiliate Advertising policy: 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 from last year on doing clicky 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 by @ing me Thanks

OP posts:
Thread gallery
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Reastie · 05/12/2020 06:52

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.

Independent online businesses to look here for links recommended or own businesses.

Cash back sites. You can order through cash back sites like Quidco and topcashback. It’s really simple, you just create a free account and then when you’re purchasing anything online you search on the cash back site the lace you’re ordering from and see if they do cash back and if so follow the link to place the order. You usually have to earn £5 minimum to cash the money back but it easily adds up. Go to the referral link page to join if you haven’t before.

Thank you fireflygirl for the info on when supermarkets opened Christmas delivery slots last year:
Last year, Morrisons opened their Christmas delivery slots to pass holders on 6 November, and non-pass holders on 27th November, Tesco opened theirs 3 days early for pass holders (27th as opposed to 30th), and Asda 5 days earlier (13th as opposed to 18th). Sainsbury's likely opened theirs 3 weeks in advance to everyone at the same time.

camel camel camel is a great page for price tracking amazon

A great website for looking up items of specific price so you hit the £20 free delivery at amazon here

Sockeatingmonster’s age old but very useful top tips for using aliexpress (note these are also relevant for wish website and anything shipped from China on Amazon and Ebay - you can usually tell by the estimated delivery time and multiple same pictures but different companies. Although you can filter search by country on Ebay. - thanks scrappydappydoo for that bonus point).

“1. Check reviews

  1. Be wary of plastic toys. There have been concerns about toxic plastics from China, and I have binned plastic figures for having very unpleasant smells. I no longer buy any 'low-end' plastic items (UPDATE: I wouldn’t buy squishiest either, for the same reason) and only ever from sellers with lots of positive reviews
  2. Aliexpress refund/complaints procedure is actually way more straightforward than eBay, and stacked in the buyer's favour
  3. Beware of mains operated electricals, many of which are supplied without fused plugs. Always message the seller first if in doubt, don't rely on the photos
  4. I don't trust dress up clothes to be flame retardant, although I don't believe this is UK law anyway?
  5. Clothes can come up very small. Quality can be variable (excellent to awful). Photos are often of similar items, so take them with a pinch of salt and check the reviews.
  6. Actually, all photos on Aliexpress should be taken with a pinch of salt. Again, check reviews (where buyers often post photos of the actual item received)
  7. I wouldn't trust toys to meet UK safety standards and wouldn't buy anything that could pose a risk (e.g. Paint might not be safe for children to gum, there could be sharp edges/choking hazards, etc)
  8. Lego alternatives don't tend to stick together as well as genuine Lego. Minifigures are still excellent value, but the odd one might benefit from a few drops of superglue.
10. Barbie and other doll clothes can be excellent value, but check reviews for fabric quality and finish (UPDATE: Type “18 inch doll” for clothes that will fit American Girl/Our Generation/Designafriend dolls. Shoes are particularly excellent value. Wash dark clothing first as dyes can stain dolls’ limbs) 11. Stationery is generally excellent value, although paper quality can be lower than expected. Type 'kawaii' into stationery and be prepared to spend a fortune!

Also to add I’ve seen a fair few posts from fb this year from small businesses where aliexpress have posted photos of their products and photos without permission, so be wary and be warned the photo might not be exactly what you get.”

Bargainmax here

Laser cut outs which have been popular on the thread here

Lisa angel is a very popular site with great regular sale discounts on jewellery etc here

Toysforapound has some well priced items here

OP posts:
EightToSixer · 05/12/2020 06:53

Woohoo 25!!!! Well done Reastie!

IggyAce · 05/12/2020 06:56

Good morning, wow finally the golden 25. Thanks @Reastie.

Foggyday124 · 05/12/2020 07:12

Fuckingfuckssake

‘Sorry, £18.99, and it's oos now at Costco, other than that it was a really helpful post 🙄’

🤣🤣🤣

yafilthyanimalandahappynewyear · 05/12/2020 07:29

Wow! Congratulations 🥳!
I can't believe we've reached thread 25 after all these years.
Momentous 😁!
Thank you @Reastie.

lifelongfrugaleer · 05/12/2020 07:31

I had to come back and say woop woop. Even though I only have sweetie stuff together.

25%off 6 wines at Sainsbury's

Probably been mentioned but thought I should actually post an offer Grin

lifelongfrugaleer · 05/12/2020 07:32

Together = to get

livingthegoodlife · 05/12/2020 07:33

Hurray! Happy 25th thread!

Amazonmulu · 05/12/2020 07:39

Yay made it to 25!!!

BalaamsAss · 05/12/2020 07:41

I’m here checking in for thread 25 - I really don’t have anything else to buy, but it’s momentous after all these years to reach the milestone so here I am! Well done @Reastie

icedaisy · 05/12/2020 07:53

Thank you @Reastie 25!!!

I've been here years under various names, anyone know how long these have been running?

PinkJam · 05/12/2020 07:53

Wow! We just needed a pandemic to crack the 25 then!

Notlongnow1 · 05/12/2020 07:58

Amazing!

Anyone seen any kids snuggle fleeces besides Next? Sizes i need not in stock sadly!

IggyAce · 05/12/2020 08:07

25% off everything at White Stuff

Speaking of white stuff does anyone have any of the white stuff? Just grey & wet here.

Puffincrossing · 05/12/2020 08:09

I hadn't realised we'd moved on to thread 25! Thank you all for your help. I think I'll have to download it to the switch. DS will be happy anyway. Next question though, does anyone know if I get it now will it go straight on his switch or do I get a code or something so I can do it Christmas Eve?

Thedarknightsaredrawingin · 05/12/2020 08:22

After all theses years, wow!

MsMiaWallace · 05/12/2020 08:32

Amazing thanks Reastie x

Luxplus · 05/12/2020 08:40

I have a 20% off code for the entertainer if anybody can use it?

Shantotto · 05/12/2020 08:50

Sorry not a bargain but seems good place to ask - I’m after peppermint candy canes that actually have a decent strong mint taste to them. Lidl’s and similar are rubbish barely a hint of mint!

recklessgran · 05/12/2020 08:53

Wow! Congratulations @Reastie been trying to get there for years and in pandemic year here we are at thread 25. Thank you so much for all the years of friendship, support, ideas and of course bargains. I've saved a fortune and made lots of lovely cyber friends here.
Almost done now I think but it looks as though my Brand Alley parcel apparently sent on 28th November is lost. Tracking just says sender has told us they've sent us the item..... Any idea how good their customer service is? There's a lot of money tied up in that parcel!

WisestIsShe · 05/12/2020 08:53

Thanks for the new thread @reastie (I always wonder where you got your name from)

I only need one more thing but I'm not sure what is called. DFriend has requested a thing like a hat but it's actually just a warm headband to keep ears warm? Has anyone seen a nice one? Possibly with matching gloves?

Jacopone · 05/12/2020 08:55

No white stuff here, although was promised on tv!😡😂
Feeling very happy and silly and singing xmas songs in my pjs. We have got a rather big tree this year that will be put up and decorated later on today. Squirrel out of my window nipping at a twig busily in wintery sun. Perfect December Saturday.
I have got 2 Naked Wines vouchers ( £75 off 114.99 case of wine). Let me know if anyone is interested.

RugsEverywhere · 05/12/2020 08:56

Someone was asking about cheap camera lenses on the last thread. This is a nice budget 50mm prime lens (I've linked to the canon version but they do a nikon one as well) price usually about £50.

Another photography gift I like is bokeh filters lots of different designs if you shop around.

Haveyoubrushedyourteeth · 05/12/2020 08:58

@sunshineskies try Morrison's for pj's. I needed 7 pairs, and although I had to do it in a couple of orders due to stock levels, I got all mine last week. They were bargainous at 12£ for an adult, and they're lovely quality.

Bluewavescrashing · 05/12/2020 09:00

Looking for switch Mario maker 2 on offer if anyone sees a bargain please!

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