I'm starting Christmas shopping now. A few items per month

[Invasionofthegutsnatchers]

Might sound ridiculous but with another fuel price hike due in October I think it's a good idea. I've just bought stocking fillers so far. In general we are cutting down presents but we'll still want a few things to open.

Toys tend to shoot up in price just before Christmas and I don't think there will be many good offers this year.

I'd love to join in but I have no idea who my children will be at Christmas! (Not as weird as it sounds, I am a foster parent). I have started saving for Christmas though so I know I will have the means to buy for whoever is here.

Already done mine...finished...only buy for 3 friends anyway so an easy task....some nice candles and face products all heavily reduced in sales etc.

I thought about that PersonaNonGarter, but I looked at it that everything is so expensive and I cannot see things getting cheaper in the near future. Without all the problems at the moments, things always go up at Christmas time. For instance, once of the children's watches I have bought is a simple Unicorn Themed Child's Watch and it cost £10.99 with case, and I am absolutely certain that this will go up once Christmas is on the horizon. I wanted to get in before the same thing happened again. I think it can work if you want to buy gift cards or give cash, then saving and buying later would be the right thing to do😀

Wonderful to see you @bloodywhitecat - I hope you are doing well. It’s so lovely how you open your home, and how you’re thinking about Christmas with children that you might not have met yet. Best wishes to you 🌻

I bought ds2's(8) main present, a squeakee balloon Dino, as it was cheap on Amazon. As he has ASD and dinosaurs have been his obsession for 6 years I feel confident it will go down well. I have picked out ds1's (14) main present (sonic Lego set) but watching to see if it gets reduced a bit more. The other 6 I have no idea what they will want by Xmas time.

I’ve said on a few other Christmas threads, I bought a couple of things on offer in March. I think if you know to buy and what will work it’s better to buy now before prices go up and maybe buy less.

Yes I have started to get some things for babies first Xmas and also her birthday in Feb. When I see things at good discounts. After all she isn't really going to have interests as such so it's easy to just pick age appropriate stuff. Also brought several items of clothes that will be wrapped for presents but are things I would have needed to get anyway but in nicer brands (brought in the sale). So far I have a push along toy, wooden hammer bench thing, clothes from frugi and gap. All brought in the sale atleast 50% off.
Also have brought 2nd hand 'first Christmas' bits as they are so expensive for something she will only wear a couple of times at most.
We are also saving our Clubcard vouchers for Christmas- either food or presents and we have a Christmas/birthday savings account.

I’ve started, got my eldest a PS5 and an extra controller

I've bought a Carhartt T shirt for DS3 half price this week
I'll continue from now on Have 3 adult sons( plus their birthdays before Christmas)
It's the best way to treat them all as I'm on lifelong disability benefits and I enjoy it

Bought two toys on Amazon Prime days. I did t a list in advance and there was only those two that were on offer. Managed to get more last year.

I’d like to get a few things to spread the cost. Going to do my daughters stocking soon as she’ll be easy enough. Any ideas for a 14 year old boy? Also anyone seen any nice oversized hot water bottles?

@Sofedupofitall funny I've just been looking at those, Dunelm have a few in online, from traditional to long ones. Starting at £6.

I usually wait till Sept but have seen stocking fillers on offer, so started last month. Planning on starting in Sept. I usually do a one day blitz a month till Christmas.

Bloody hell... new pjs and jumpers every year. We're in the middle of a draught, looming power cuts and possible food supply issues but consumer society lives on...

Thanks for sharing the Facebook Market place christmas jumper tip! I picked up a dgd a lovely guinea pig christmas jumper worm once for the obligatory school christmas jumper day, and sold last years christmas jumper for the same price so essentially free. Glad I didn't leave it till nearer the time as there is only 1 charity shop near us and its so small.

People will need extra jumpers when their power is cut.

Kids grow! New PJ's and jumpers are hardly extravagant!

But people are talking Christmas PJs and jumpers here, the ones that sit in the cupboard most of the year and come out for - a week?
Maybe my kids are slow growing, I've been using the same jumpers/pjs for years now, a new year doesn't mean new clothes.

This comes up every year, new christmas pjs don't have to have merry Christmas all over them, dgd were down to £5 in the sale, ate thick fleece came with a pair of slipper socks and have 101 dalmatians on them. She'll wear them through till May ( up north) and they'll be pulled out and worn again the following autumn.

I like the things other people do.
I may not do them myself, but hardly the point.

My kids have Christmas pj's but then wear them all year round- it doesn't matter if they have santa/ a christmas pokemon on, they still get worn. And the Christmas jumpers come out from the end of October and usually hang around till the end of January, and I make sure they get passed down to the next child if they're in a good enough condition- often they have been through enough school/ brownie/ church etc christmas dinners with gravy that they are no good for the following year. Some of us like to go a bit extravagant at Christmas but that doesn't mean we also buy things to be worn once. Kids need jumpers and pjs in winter- why not have Christmas themed ones?

I wear Christmas socks all year round too!

I have bought the santa sack gifts and 8 things for DD and 7 each for my 2 DS and a couple of stocking fillers so far.

I havent bought their big gifts yet as they are big size wise (gaming chair, mud kitchen and a fairly chonky ride on toy) and I have no where to physically keep them hid until xmas... its stressing me out as otherwise I would like to have bought them already.

My younger DS managed to squeeze himself in a 12-18 month pair of elf xmas PJ until he was 3 YEARS old. He would just randomly insist on wearing them any time of the year that he remembered them, he would magically find them then appear dressed in them (even though the full length trousers where like shorts on him lol).

They are now being gifted by him to his sister who is 1 year old (she will get her own new PJs too but Im trust trying to get him to let them go) but Im going to try and find him a new pair in his size (no luck yet though).

All Christmas shopping for DD (4) is done already, someone gifted us a brand new dressing table still in the box so that's hidden in the shed and I've been picking up stocking fillers along the way!