Thread 6 - the one with Otis and the Christmas miracle

[Reastie]

@Cupofteaandbiscuits and @NewtyCutey loved the happy reunited story with Otis.

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!

@ 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

A few pointers to make everyone’s life easier and the thread be as useful as possible:

• It’s handy to put in bold the bargains so they’re easy to spot
• No affiliate links
• No need to place mark or post messages of hello or thanks at the start of a new thread - use the ‘watch thread’ button
• Be nice or leave

The current referral thread for sharing referral codes https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/christmas/4940918-4940918-bargain-referrals-thread-6 . Please use this rather than this page to share referral links to make the sharing fair.

To make clicks links, you set it up like this only without any spaces apart from between the website and the word(s) you’re writing: www.bargainsahoyeveryonecomehere.co.uk

Thanks @RainbowZebraWarrior for the instructions below.
To make something bold, put this star * either side of the word you want to bold (with no spaces in between)

So starhellostar would look like this.

hello

Obviously use the * not the word star

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)

I have a £10 off £50 spend voucher for Boden if anyone wants it, needs to be used by 25th Oct, can't be used on sale items etc. I will PM the code to the first person that comments they want it. (I long for the days when they would send the voucher and there was no minimum spend!!!)

Do Smyths ever do discount codes? Sorry I'm sure I've scanned through 100s of posts about this on these threads.
I want to buy a Sylvanians set that's only sold in Smyths and at £90 any discount would be helpful, not sure whether to hang on / if they do BF etc

They recently had a £5 off £50 spend. Unsure if they will do it again.

Not read the whole thread so apologies if this has been said...
Hobbycraft have £5 off when spending £15, 3 for 2 on children's gifts and their huge cardboard castles/trains etc are half price!
Just got the big castle, a jigsaw, colouring book and sticker book for £21 click and collect, I think I've saved £8

Can any bargain hunters help me?

Last year I ordered DD a large poster of a concert she went to. It was from printerval and cost about £20. It was an add on present but she loved it and it was the highlight of Christmas for her.

She's been to see a different band this year. I thought I'd do the same again. But printerval don't have the tour poster. I can get generic band posters for the same price.

The only place I've seen with the tour poster is prints4u but it's £60 for the A1 size .

I can't justify that. Does anyone have a discount code? If not she'll be getting a band poster from printerval again.

@wibdib 🤣🤣 I just had another look after you saying it had Evil Edna eyes, those are it's rosy cheeks, the eyes are above them and kind of cute but the dark stitching makes them almost invisible 🤣 now I can't unsee Edna though!

I can't say I thought any reason why not. The deal is being quoted on Hot Uk Deals too which is very reputable. Well, they've got my money at worst!

Any suggestions for photobooks right now? Have used snapfish before but wonder if any others are easier / cheaper?

@handmademitlove

I always use freeprints for free photobooks. Just pay for postage. You can upgrade to hardback books for extra.

@handmademitlove eta; oops apologies you mentioned NOT snapfish

Thank you so much. I went for the Bundle as our family Christmas game! Very exciting!

@yoshiblue theyve got my money now too! 😆 i did have a good look around and went through the link on trust pilot and it all seems ok..... its just such massive savings on a really good brand so i got a bit suspicious - will report back when/if my order arrives 🤞🤞🤞 (have put on a credit card so easier to do a chargeback if its not ok) - ive been desperate for a new stand mixer so its worth a shot. Thank you for sharing.

May already have been mentioned but TurtleDoves currently have big savings on some of their fingerless gloves. Great present for older folks. I live in mine all winter.

30% off at white fox with code shop30

Actually this website that @yoshiblue cleverly found has some stonking bargains apart from the mini food processor.

www.cuisinart.co.uk/sale.html

There is an automatic wine bottle opener for £15 down from £80 (charges by USB) plus amazing cheap kettles and toasters that would be great for DCs setting up in new homes etc.

Thank you for the Outsmarter bundle. We've just bought one, can't wait till Xmas day!

I could do with a smyths code too.

Of course, DC have decided they want something 'only available at Smyths'

I hope the Sainsbury's toy sale helps me out this year, anyone know what's in it yet?
I asked a staff member when the toy sale was and she told me it's top secret and only VIP know!

Matalan are offering 20% off £40 and 25% off £60 for members with the code TREAT

This is a bit of an odd one, but I’m trying to find a vicar garden gnome for a comedy present for a friend… has anyone seen such a thing?

Or even one without a beard that I could paint as a vicar?!

Thank you @yoshiblue for the Cuisinart tip! I ordered a stand mixer for me, a posh 4 slice toaster for DS’s uni dorm, and a bottle opener for my brother. Everything checks out in terms of domain registration etc on the website so seems good to me.

@Greydayswithoutfags I've sent you a pm ☺️ ahh sorry, even though it was in GBP, the seller is in Texas. My apologies 🙏

Amazing, thank you!

Used the £8 voucher you click on to bring the carriage to castle down to £28.99. And the 6 dolls are £24.60.

Sorted my 3 year old's main wow present! I wanted to get her something like a princess castle but didn't like the price tags. Also, didn't want something that would take up half my living room.

John Lewis have got some toys on sale including some lovely wooden toys and squishmallows

Thanks so much to whoever posted about the Cuisinart sale. Bought an on the go blender for us and two electric wine openers as presents. Brilliant

Edinburgh Woollen Mill have some Xmas jumpers and Xmas t shirts at reasonable prices and some giant snugglies/wearable blanket things as well. They also had a bit of a sale on in the one I popped into today.

In the Xmas decorations and homeware section, some stuff was reduced - decorative tea light holder for £2 for example, and 3 4 2 on things like Xmas tea towels.