Christmas Bargain Thread 1 - the one where my dad is 17

[Reastie]

Thanks @snowmanshoes for the title!

Hello everyone, so nice to see you all. Pull up a chair, have a mince pie and a peppermint latte and share your Christmas bargains and ideas. In message two are the links and info from last year - if anyone has anything they'd like me to amend or add, please do tag me and I'll update.

A reminder not to post affiliate links in the thread but that MN do change amazon links shared by posters into MN affiliate links.

Please do watch the thread rather than post to mark place to make it easier for everyone to keep up and find relevant info.

A massive thank you to those who have contributed and/or run the prequel threads this year. I can't believe it's another year! I started these when DD was a baby and she's just gone into Year 8!

Loving the 90’s chat 😂 my offering is
hubba bubba
pop swatch
and
a can of Diet Coke to remember the Diet Coke man 😂

If you're considering this take a look at the yoto too. I looked at both and went with the yoto in the end as it had a better (and cheaper) range of audio. There's plenty of free podcasts and radio stations available too and I just felt it had more longevity than the tonie which seemed more aimed at younger kids.

Our yoto is used daily and one of the best value for money presents my son has ever had.

Thanks @WhyDoesItAlways - yoto was our plan but my friend brought her little girls tonie box when she came to play and my little one just absolutely loved it. Shes not quite 2 but she worked out putting the figures on made noise and she was just so excited. (I’m a bit gutted as I thought yoto was the better idea for longevity!!)

I got ours in the Black Friday sale and my little boy, who is 2.5 loves it and likes to put them on and off
The deal I got at Black Friday was £96 for the box and 5 figures.
I know there is a lot of different views on Tonies and Yoto but I had found I can pick up Tonies for 3 for 4 at Smyths and they sometimes do deals on boots, WHSmiths etc.
I have picked some up through the year and they are ready for Christmas. Also they send you a weekly email with new Tonies that are coming out so if you know little one likes something specific, you know when they are coming out.
The whole paw patrol team is now out so I just need to get rocky and Zuma now lol. Xx

There are boxes of different beer bottles in home bargains - 12 pack for 11.99 - good for an advent calendar I thought….

Amazon have got a deal for 2 Echo shows (the Alexa speaker that's also a screen) for £90
https://amzn.to/3r7sD54
Use the code ECHOSHOWS at checkout

These are really good for kids rooms as they have a camera so you can "drop in", you can also use for video calls, ring doorbells, youtube, films/TV on Amazon prime... plus playing music etc.

I know there's been a lot of yoto/tonie chat but do you think they are any good for older kids. My 9yo dd loves reading but not sure if the range of books available would be old enough?

I went real life shopping and at The Works I picked up a few watercolour paint sets (Crawford and Black, old style packaging).
It's a 20 piece set (12 tubes of paint, 4 brushes, a pencil, sharpener, an eraser and mini palette). It was reduced to £2 (From £7)
It's a decent size set - about the size of A4 paper. I also bought watercolour pads (reduced to £2) and they'll be great presents for all my DD. Ideal for budding artists!

And thanks to the PP who mentioned the Snakes game. I got it for £5 in Poundland. It will make a great present.

@hby9628 my daughter is 8 and uses hers regularly. If you look on the yoto website, there’s a library of cards and you can filter by age.

@hby9628 we have a yoto for my 4 year old dd which she got aged 2 and it has been perfect for her- lots of short stories and we can take it in the car when collecting her sisters. She was able at age 2 to control it no problem. It will grow with her with several older books available.

But I would buy one for DD age 9 (or even my 7 year old)? No. There are many books available, but the choice is just not as wide as audible. Yes you can record a book from.audible onto a card, but at this age an echo has been far better for her. (And simpler for me). That said some people aren't wild about an alexa device for their child and I suppose the yoto would give you more control.

Which badge maker do you have please? Reviews of many are very hit and miss. Any recommendations gratefully received.

www.cocobachocolate.com/collections/summer-sale
Some decent chocolate offers here

For the 90s people (my people!) Savers are stocking Inpulse 02 and Air (? I think?) at the moment for £1 each. One blast of that and I’m instantly transported back to 1995….

Given it’s the valentines range I would be worried about BB dates.

@SadlyACupOfTeaDoesNotSolveEverything
Oh yes maybe. I don't worry about best before dates so didn't occur to me.

@Reastie perhaps the next thread title could be moving on from the 90’s?
with all the suggestions for 90’s items I’m loosing the real bargains! Maybe it should have been a separate thread? Anyway that’s my moan over - I’m not normally such a Christmas grinch! Honest!

Not a Christmas bargain but just had a look for the baked in cinnamon rolls of the last few years. Didn’t realise they’d gone into administration so no more cinnamon rolls or gingerbread houses 😞 the gingerbread house I got from them last year was fab.

My local ASDA were putting out all the toys for their roll back event today, sadly nothing on my list but might be worth a look for others. 🙂

Keen to hear if anyone sees any Cry baby bargains. Little one seems to have taken a shine to them.

I’m not too stressed for myself, but I wouldn’t want to gift someone anything expired by January etc.

Temu have cassette tape earring, "made in the 90s" t-shirts, Polly pocket purses, rainbow striped arm warmers, care bear dobble

My post was a reply to this. Also Charlie red spray!

Extra 30% off outlet at Fossil, discount automatically applied to basket, Link

If anyone is looking for photo gifts, Snapfish has 50% off home decor and gifts with code DAYS923 (must be used by 17/9).