Christmas bargains thread 1 - just in the (Saint) Nick of time

[Reastie]

I feel like this year is going to be my year of terrible cheesy Christmas pun thread titles

Greetings and welcome one and all to a friendly and joyful corner of mn - the Christmas bargain thread. Here, we share Christmas present purchases, ideas, links and discount codes, with the aim to spread the Christmas magic and joy and reduce the financial stress.

It's a very busy thread, so see the tips below for helping everything run smoothly and avoiding repetitions of Cookiegate etc al. It's a lovely, friendly bunch and I'm so grateful to each and every one of you for building such a warm, fuzzy and generous spot on mn. I know I've save so much over the years and am so grateful to all of you for sharing.

Pull up a sleigh and relax with a mulled wine and mince pie, for Christmas has nearly arrived!

Some of the below is copied and pasted from previous years, so do @ me if the links don't work

Stock informer is a handy site http://www.stockinformer.co.uk/default.aspx?fullsite=1

Camelcamelcamel is a great amazon price tracking tool http://uk.camelcamelcamel.com

The following links compare price products including postage
www.find-book.co.uk
www.find-cd.co.uk
www.find-dvd.co.uk
www.find-game.co.uk (as in PS4/xbox etc)

@ me if you need anything or you want to let me know anything - the thread moves so fast I can't always keep up so this really helps

@Georgieporgie29 there is a RL at Cheshire oaks and it's very big, and I'm sure there's a friends and family event this weekend (sign up to mcarther Glen!)

I’m still not feeling 100% post surgery justifying why I’ve not gone back and checked

Could I have the Monster High Dolls 3 pack info? I can’t remember which shop they were in

Could I please ask those of you with the ice cream set, what age would you say your children played with it till? Thank you

@Bumblebeebumblebeebum my almost 8 year old still plays with it, I got it when he was 2 so its lasted really well (the money and menu are long gone!) But the actual wooden components are in excellent condition. I've also got 2 other children and its the most played with toy in our house for mine and friends children

Babynumber thank you. DS is 8 and I thought it was too young for him but he absolutely loves any kind of shops play still. I’m dithering!

My nearly 8 year old boy still plays with it when the mood strikes him. He's had it since just before he turned 3 and it's in great condition and has been thoroughly played with by every child that's visited. I'd absolutely recommend it.

Asda. Not sure whether they are still available

I've just bought the ice cream shop for my younger grandson, the older one has played with him most days since he had it🐏

Sorry stepped away. My eldest is almost 8 and her and her friends had a great time on play dates in the summer along with the 18 month & 3 year old also.

Tkmaxx has a Ralph Lauren pop up approx every 3 months on their website where they get tonnes of new items. Probably lots still on there now but it doesn't let you search for them by brand unfortunately as they only allow certain brands to be searchable

I've found before when it won't let you search a brand, if you put part of the name in, it seems to bring them up. For example just putting Ralp in the search box brings up some Ralph Lauren things, mis-spelling also sometimes works so Lois Vuitton instead of Louis Vuitton will bring back results. Worth having a little play if you're looking for a particular brand.

I've ordered the Melissa and Doug ice cream set too from Amazon. Looks brilliant for £25! Thanks for sharing it.

We also got a lot of play out of our ice cream set, along with this sundae one.

ice cream set

Aw I feel quite nostalgic thinking about it. My youngest is 7 and doesn't really play with it any more.

Also my HMV order has been fully dispatched so even if the prices were a glitch, it's been honoured

Does anyone have a rubber duck advent calendar that they could recommend? Or 24 different ducks that I could turn into an advent?! There's lots out there but could so easily be garbage ducks.

Can anyone recommend any Monster High related gifts please?

Looking for my niece, she already has the dolls but that’s it.

I use:
https://tkmaxxfinder.com/
which is great for searching brands

It's a lovely set of your child likes role play. Really nicely made and definitely worth 25 imo

The ice cream set has risen drastically in price, just went on to buy another.

Freeprints app have a free personalised mug (just pay postage). Haven’t fully caught up on thread so apologies if already posted.

No idea if these will be any good but with all the talk of Posca pens I just spotted these in Tesco for £11

I was so disappointed to have a duplicate in mine.

B&M also sell these and I can confirm they are well worth the price. DD uses them every day for Art and school projects. We now have the full set after collecting them for around a year. (There are over 100 different shades, I think) She does also say, however that Posca pens win hands down.

Just to note: the Aquarelle pens are like blendable watercolours (would be pretty useless on things like rocks) while Posca pens are more solid-looking acrylics (can't get that dreamy effect). Different outcomes but both great for creative recipients.

Superdrug have some good deals in their Clearance sale, especially for teens into skincare/cosmetics/haircare. They have a facial steamer which was £30, now £5 if you have their loyalty Health and Beautycard here and also have the Wetbrush Detangler Brush (only one colour) for £6.50 here. I also got Psychic Sisters Zodiac Crystal Collections, down to £5 - they only have a handful of signs here. There are various lip oils, Revolution and Elf etc discounts, but also quite a few discounts across the site. The 10% Student Beans discount also stacks.

DS was Posca obsessed for a couple
of years - a bargainous present to go with them is to go the Works and get a load of their plain wooden boxes and shapes to paint on; endless hours of creativity for really little cost, and a change from pebbles!