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)

This is brilliant thank you! Great discount.

This thread moves fast, I was feeling pleased I managed to post a deal then saw @halloweenscat got there first! 😂

Primary age (5-9) but also whole family games that are not too tedious. We love Dobble, rummiub, genius square, uno.

Something fast moving, not monopoly! 😆

Thanks for the mascara code - can't beat a bit of self gifting! :D

The Jellycat dupes are sold in OneBelow/OneBeyond. I’ve linked their website below, but they don’t offer online shopping so hopefully you live near one:

www.onebeyond.co.uk

@WideFootWelly honestly - funny bunny would be perfect for this age. Or hedbanz? Silly scribbler (I think it's called that - like Pictionary but with a wobbly vibrating pen - not rude I promise!). There's various versions of the card game Whot! now which can make a nice change from uno.

@halloweenscat thank you so much! Never knew I got discount on TU, trying not to think about how much discount I've already missed!

I know it's not up to everyone's standards but you can choose a free Gruum fragrance or shower bar set HERE

Just pay the 3.95 postage

I have a Vodafone code for a gruum set if anyone would like it? Just pay 3.95 postage

Perfect, thank you! That'll keep us busy over Christmas :)

Enchanted Forest could be a good one if you've younger kids, lots of rolling dice and racing around the board. Should be able to find 2nd hand on eBay, but it is on Amazon too.

Have you got Snakes & Ladders already? My DS10 still loves playing that.

I couldn't see a blue light discount. Is there one?

I just looked and couldn't find it when searching 'by company' either, but when I searched Tu 'by phrase', it came up with the 10% off offer

For those with a BLC
I always pop a search on the app (we'll, when I remember) before shopping online or in person, not everywhere does the discount but it's worth trying.
My latest finds are, River island - 15% discount online and in store and some pub chains.

Because the offers change it's always worth trying 😊

@PlanBea great minds lol!

*just to add the pub discount is on food only! 🫤

Was someone asking about Halloweeny bits for a hot chocolate station before...? I'm doubting it was on a Christmas shopping thread but can't think where else I read it.
If so: these are in Aldi.

Not a bargain but the new Billie Eilish converse came out yesterday for a limited time
Design your own from the options available- can change virtually every part of the shoe!
Very very popular already and delivery is 3-10 weeks!

Just got a lovely skirt and jumper in Sainsbury’s in store. Tapped for a receipt in case I needed to return them, and it spat out coupons for £10 off my next in store food shop (over £100) and £5 off next clothing purchase. Worth checking if you are buying in store.

Looking for suggestions please. Have DS10 and DS12. They are starting to get a bit stinky! Was hoping to posdibly get some sort of body spray for stockings as a surprise. Can any recommend any that aren't too over powering? (Not looking at lynx!). Wondering if the FCUK ones are any good as can get a set of 3 for £13 in boots (and they are in the 3 for 2 gifts). They use a sea mineral scented shower gel which they seem to get on with ok.

For those looking for football presents, you can get a light up football on Amazon which is surprisingly good. One Christmas, we got the DC one of those, hats with a light in the front of them and wrapped some fairy lights around the football goal in the garden and they spent hours out there in the pitch dark. It's always a nightmare knowing what to do with them after school in the winter - especially if it had been a wet day and they'd been cooped up in the classroom at break times - and this sorted that out nicely.

Someone asked about Yankee Candles… lots on sale on Amazon deals including Christmas scents

Struggling to link to the list but here is one of them…

Link

Bit random, but my Amazon list always has a lot of things on from this time of year from previous years where I've used it to bookmark things recommended on here. Noticed these watercolour pens are down to £6.95 -were £19.99 when added to the list two years ago it says!! I haven't used them personally but they look decent and have very good reviews. Might help someone with arty kids https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07H8CYMTC

Also, maybe everyone else knows this and I'm late to the party..! but I only just found out that there's another tab on a lot of Amazon pages that says 'pick up' rather than 'delivery'. Now that non-book items seem to say free delivery with £35 spend it's worth looking at the pick up tab to see if you can collect them from somewhere local for free. My local Amazon locker is in the sports centre and the Co-op is also an option listed on mine. If anyone is like me and can't afford prime I hope this helps x

To clarify, there's no minimum spend for the pick up so you can just get the one item or items totalling less than £35. Apologies, not sure that was clear

Hobbycraft gave 3 for 2 on orchard toys plus the £5 off £15 spend so I just got 3 games for £17 free click and collect which I didn’t think was too bad working out at just under £6 each!