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)

£5 off a £30 spend at Argos. It needs to be used today and nothing I want is in stock so hopefully it'll help someone else: AHGZVW7VF8MM.

My friend has a magnetic tile one. The kids love it, the parents detest it. It's so blooming tricky to fit together, have to get the weighting just right, if a child touches it with their foot in the wrong spot it all comes tumbling down. Would avoid if you can!!

This zombie thread might be handy? https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/christmas/4901584-marble-runs

thankyou I just did this too and the £2.40 is already in my bank paid out, fabulous!

I did the Laithwaites order with a code from the referrals board, got 9 bottles of Prosecco for £4.44 each, delivered already and will be fun to try different ones over Christmas - thanks for the tip! 🎄🥂🥳

The VTech ones are very good. They're chunky and easy to use. My 9 year old has asked for Gravitrax this year which I think is a direct result of "helping" his little sister with the VTech.

Has anyone bought / used the Play Factory balance beams and stepping stones from Smyth's? Both of mine have asked for them for playing the floor is lava, but they're 5 and 9. The beams seem to be aimed at toddlers so I'm not sure if they're strong enough?

Thank you @kkr168 and @redjoker Sadly none in my local two.

Has anyone seen the posters for the Cadbury secret Santa free chocolate bars yet?

@Changingagain not quite the same but Decathlon have a balance beam set which says for up to age 6 but goes up to 50kg max weight limit, so should be fine for a nine year old?

Thank you but alas only on that particular colour and of course being a teen it has to be the exact right colour...

@Ladybaga we bought DS who is 4, the VTech adventure set for Christmas last year. Really sturdy and he plays with it a lot. It's currently £45 on amazon but we had it on a black Friday deal for £30 so I'd keep an eye out if you have no joy at Sainsbury's.

Have you looked on Offcuts site? They are the outlet store for Office shoes. They seem to have a few of the Handball trainers in stock. Obviously size dependant :) https://offcutsshoes.co.uk/collections/ex-display-adidas

Does anyone happen to have a asos code?

I normally have them but the one I have 20off isn’t working on the one thing I need!

oh no I hadn't - thanks @Iknowitsover ! They are so popular at the moment I suspect I won't be lucky but really good to know

Good to know, thanks, will keep an eye out for that price! A few people have said vtech now so seems like a good bet.

Is there a secret to getting a Laithwaites code to work? I can't get either 30OFF or a referral code to work, I've tried on different browsers as well.

@Changingagain I have purchased these for Christmas, they feel very strong & it says a maximum weight of 99.8kg. I paid £29.99 so if you go for these its probably worth waiting for black friday.

I also ordered these from temu, they also seem very strong.

You have to order at least £80. No champagne, and a few of the other bits excluded. All I will say is if you call them they are very very helpful and always help you get the code applied. The online chat is pants. I have ordered alot with them and used alot of code, out of 12 ive had over the last 2 years none have worked unless ive called (!)

@SettlerOfDivan maybe try with a different email address? Or go in a private browser window? It’s not one where you have to go right through check out to add a code so it should work easily.

@Daisychain789 can you use a different email and get 10% off as a new customer?

@Arewesureitisntbedtime @Theraffarian Im new to top cashback, is there a separate bit for gift cards? I can't find Costa on it. Thanks!

in the piccy below

Sorry I don’t; my ‘kids’ are now adults. Just spotted this and thought it may be useful to someone.

@redjoker thank you! I was looking on the app.

The links are live but they run out fast, apparently you just need to keep refreshing ...and hoping!

@kkr168 The Disney Quidco bonus can be used with the 25% off as the discount code is listed on the website.

Just make sure your spend qualifies (possibly £60 net of VAT and 25% off).

Boots have it on offer which sounds like a good price?