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

If you don't mind second hand, there's always Ralph Lauren items on Vinted. I buy all Ds's on there ( and then sell on again when he outgrows it). Worth buying now as prices definitely rise in the run up to Christmas.

Sorry, just realised loads of people suggested the same already!

This is so nice!

@georgieporgie29 also at Gretna outlet if you are very far northwest.

Does anyone have the link to the ice cream set? Or have I missed the deal? It’s showing as full price for me

@tellmewhenthespaceshiplandscoz do you mean the Scrawlr boxes get reduced to £5-7? Does this happen very often? I LOVE the look of these!

@User170451 its back up in cost

For those looking at the green makeup cases that were posted recently, Home Bargains has just posted this clear one on their Instagram for £9.99

Has anyone had this one and the leapfrog one? Not sure which one would be more fun/played with more by my soon to be 4yo, she loves ice cream so I’m sure either will go down well 🤣 but would be good to know if anyone has experience of both

We have the leapfrog one at my mother’s and the Melissa and Doug one at ours and I’d recommend the M&D one 😂 both are fab but the leapfrog one is so loud. But honestly either would work, my 4 (nearly 5) year old plays with both frequently.

@Aqqua the only offer that I could see on right now was the toy sale at Asda which will likely be sold out, but they had a 3 pack of MH dolls for £27.50, a 4 pack of mystery mini bags for £10 and small grab bags with a surprise charm in for £1.25 (all were advertised as 50% off).

General MH inspiration- there is a Monster High Polly Pocket- it's about £20 on Amazon but I bought it when it was about £17 so I'd maybe look out for deals in black Friday or the October Prime sales.

Also there are a couple of Monster High bedding sets from John Lewis and Matalan- again I can't see any sales on now but I managed to get the bed sets in a Matalan bedding event sale.

Matalan also had a MH fleece throw and a bed cushion that were reasonable prices.

Just wanted to say thanks for all the Ralph Lauren recommendations. I have joined vinted and made my first purchase ☺️

I am nearer to Cheshire oaks than Gretna I think, it is still quite a while away though so not easy to pop to. We do tend to go once or twice a year so thanks for all the recommendations.

Any recommendations for insulated water bottle please? 500ml, fully leak proof, must hold temperature for several hours, ideally under £10 but pay more if really good.

TIA

I can get to a RL outlet really easily if you wanted an idea of prices for anything before making the trip. Just let me know any time, it’s no problem.

The leapfrog one was a Christmas bargains 2019 purchase for me (£28!). I would have preferred the wooden one for my aesthetics but the leapfrog one has been a huge hit over the years. My now 8 year old still won’t let me get rid of it… She doesn’t play with it loads anymore but friends are always drawn to it when they come over!

@Doublebubblegum thry normally have the offer around Black Friday on scrawl boxes.

Thanks to everyone for explaining the posca pens, going on my daughters list now

Right lovely people. I am after a helping hand please.
My DD was born on the 21st December, so I am trying to think of birthday and Xmas ideas (from us but also the entire family).
We have expanded her Linkimal collection (from when Smyths and Amazon had them at £10 & £15 earlier this year) and I've got her some clothes, but any ideas would be most welcome.
She has a 3yr old brother, so some things we already have.
I am thinking about the megabloks pink table and bricks set, but after that, I have no more ideas.
Any ideas are most appreciated and I am seriously starting a list for years to come to make my life easier with all these fab ideas. Xx

@Clucket87 mine had a rocking horse for Christmas at 1. It’s had more and more use over the last couple of years. I got ours in beautiful condition for a tenner on Marketplace, but new the mammas and papas one is half price in a few places atm.

Also the hairy Maclairy books at 10 for £10 at the works. On our eleventy-thousand-th read through now and they’re not irritating me which is priceless!

Just a heads up I've bought 2 birthstone rings for myself and a friend from abbot lyon and within 2/3 wears the stones have fell out of both. Currently waiting on customer services response but even if they deal with it well, I'd avoid the rings in particular.

Very has a lot of Melissa and Doug on half price sale. Currently have the sandwich bar and pizza counter £25

My DD has asked for the Jellycat XL octopus to complete her collection but also as the only thing she really wants. Full price £120 for a soft toy I've found it 5% off, am I likely to find a better discount? Tried Vinted but my order was cancelled with no explanation!
Thanks

I think I ended up getting the XL bunny for 10% off last year but there is not many discounts to be had on Jellycats I have found!

@lonelyghost I think Vinted is going to be your best bet for a really good bargain.

Temptation gifts was mentioned earlier in the thread and although they're on sale they're still expensive!

Big Octopus

There's large ones too I dunno if you'd get away with that?

We asked for people to get DS their favourite children's book for his first birthday (January so already had lots of Christmas gifts) He got books suitable for then, and various ones to keep for when he was older. I got him a pop-up ball pool and a couple of hundred balls which had many years use. A push along walker. One of those crocodile rockers and a bouncy cow thing to sit on and jump. Elemenosqueeze blocks by B.
That's about all I can remember (it's been 7 years!)