Thread 9 - the one with a kink for L’Occitaine

[Reastie]

Thanks @Travelcrazy for the title. It really tickled me!

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)

Has anyone got a Lakeland Staysnug throw? It looks similar to the Dreamland Faux Fur one but cheaper. Just wondering whether to take a punt on it or hold out for Dreamland being reduced more. Cheapest I can find it is in Costco.

I missed out the other month on the Melissa & Doug ice cream kit bargain from Amazon 🤦‍♀️. Does anyone know if the other unbranded ones are any good? Or shall I wait to see if the Melissa & Doug one gets reduced again on Black Friday?

Does anyone know of a good cheap company for fun bath things like bombs or packets of sparkle powder etc? I went to Lush and love the stuff - squidgy bath shapes, delightful novel textures and fun colours, but it was outrageously expensive.

Look up Zimpli on Amazon, we've used before and great fun. Bath bombs, gelli baff and all sorts.

Basic version of outsmarted is £22.99

This Lavazza Coffee Machine with Milk Frother is £85 in Lakeland and Amazon, and other places. I can’t speak to the coffee machine, but I’ve been using the separate milk frother almost every day since it was recommended on here. Apparently it’s usually £65 on its own but can usually be found for less than that.

Does anyone know if the apothecary set is the same half price offer in store? I can't bring myself to pay postage and no option for click and collect. I may try and get one on Monday if there are any left.

I've just picked up these Barbie sized princesses for £5.99 each in Home Bargains!!
My daughter is going to be over the moon with the accessories

Thank you for the M&S Apothecary tip-off. For anyone who hasn't bought them - they're fantastic quality, a real bargain and a hit last year.

And just warning on anyone who's DD has White Fox as a must-have - I opened the parcel last night to discover the size small sweat top is ENORMOUS and they won't let me exchange it for smaller as I am one day out of the 2 week return policy. I'm so upset. It's DD's main present.

My dd wants a nursery centre thing for her dolls for Christmas but they're all around £70-80 😱 if anyone sees any bargains let me know please 🙏🙏🙏

I've just got one in store, although it does say 'selected stores' on the promo. I also ended up getting the advent calendar too. I tried to buy it all online with something else, but it wouldn't reduce the advent calendar (think it says your spend must be on full price items online) but was fine in store.

I've missed almost an entire thread (last bit of last thread and this one). Been so busy with half term last week and then getting back into routine this week.

Anyways, sorry if already mentioned, Boots have their very un-Christmassy BOGOF on vitamins today.

£6.37 for this Toomies egg baby toy with the discount at checkout

So Outsmarted you play on the TV? Whats the parents Vs kids one like? Also is that a good price?

Has anyone seen any deals on the new Barbie campervan? I’m sure it was £39.99 before but it’s £49.99 now!

I would hold out for Black Friday for this!!

Thanks - was wondering that myself!

Primark is good for cheap bath bombs and other bath paraphernalia

Is the contents of the apothecary set the same as last years one? Not sure if my mother actually used any of it 🤨 will need to investigate

@onedayatatime73 - a lot of people make this mistake! You could sell and buy on somewhere like Vinted to get the correct size.

They have some at half price in my local store, but not that many! They're with the beauty things.

Bomb cosmetics are lovely and come in really nice packaging they usually go into Amazon Black Friday deals too.

Outsmarted is a physical board game that you download an app with.
You can chose to play with the real board or the Virtual (you use the registration code that comes in the box to register your game to play)

I bought the kids V adults, it just had more child themed categories
Harry Potter
• Toys & Games
• Video Games
• Guess Who
• Space Voyager
• Dictionary Corner
• Zoo Animals
• Spelling Bee
• Animated Films 2
• Ocean Life

It is a fun game, but the only downside I found, is I thought it would be a fastest finger first type game where everyone was involved, but instead everyone has their own turn. So say I had 10 questions correct in a row for example, my kids are bored waiting for my turn to end before they can play theirs. So bear that in mind.
You can also play in Teams, which we found a lot better, as anyone in your team can answer a question, but if your mixed ages, so are the questions)

@onedayatatime73 what size did you order and how old is your DD? I ordered XS/S and DD is a teeny 12 year old. Worried now!

I ordered small/medium. She's 12 but the height / size of age14/15. It would be too big for me and I'm an adult size 14!