Thread 11 - the one where I’m nostalgic for a cinnamon bum kit

[Reastie]

Thanks @Beautifulsunflowers for the title. It was close between that and E.L.F on a shelf and some others - too many to choose from!

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)

Yes, definitely into avoiding waste and tries to buy any material from charity shops. I am not a sewer so wouldn’t have a clue. She’s quite short and slim and into quite casual clothes- jeans, wide leg trousers, the odd dress in a casual style eg pinafore. What sort of price for pattern books? Thanks so much @MissStilton

It sounds to me like she's into sustainability, if that's the case I'd go avoiding plastic as a guide to your gifts (my preferred option too but I feel like I'm similar to your niece).

Wild have just launched a refillable lipbalm which I am using and really like. Theres also plenty of options on Etsy. Beeswax wraps if she isn't vegan or nice glass jars/cotton bags for food storage. Ethical food brands like Divine chocolate for snacks.

Does she read? Books are always a great present imo. I think £60 is tough for secret santa if you don't know a big ticket item they'd like, might be safer to get a few smaller items.

@Webbb I looked last week and could not find it cheaper anywhere. I ended up ordering through lego and with the rakuten deal will get around £28 back. Pm me if you haven't done it and i can explain how it works

@thereisamouseinthehouse

I have gifted the Tisserand one several times and I know it’s been liked and used by recipients because they have had it in when I popped around unexpectedly 😅

I also have both it and the Neom one myself and I favour the Tisserand, although I use oils from each depending on mood.

Currently the “sleep” one is cheaper and comes with an oil. It’s the same diffuser as the non-sleep one. They are almost always being discounted so I’d keep an eye on Black Friday. Their oils are also lovely.

https://amzn.eu/d/4CkWxuk

Can I ask a question about the wellbeing pods/diffusers/oils please? Every year I’m tempted by these but as a family of asthma / allergy sufferers I normally avoid any kind of scents in the house. However, I’m thinking that as they’re essential oils we might be okay? Does anyone have these who’s an asthma sufferer and know if they’re okay?

@Ardagusdubh this might be a bit out there but have you looked at something like the Slow Stitch Club? https://slowstitch.club/

She has a book and a list of equipment but the whole ethos is learning to beautifully repair things you already own to get more life out of them.

Does not answer your question at all, and yet, I’m still ‘helpfully’ replying.
but dd has one that is a purifier as well, might be worth keeping an eye out for

Just a bit of useful info for anyone ordering elf products - tried out their halo glow setting powder and it’s amazing! Really light and gives a lovely soft glow to the skin over foundation.

This looks really lovely but she’s already really into mending and up cycling and is really good at it so I think she could probably write the book herself! Thanks so much for the suggestion, I’m trying to think who I could buy it for now 😂

At 9 I’d go with the Lidl dupes, treacle moon or the ‘nicer’ so and impulse sprays (the mists rather than the aerosol)

edited as missed a word

You generally won’t find a good discount for Jellycats (unless selling off seasonal stock/shop closing etc). Quite often, a massive discount will appear for an online company, but you can guarantee this company will be fake.

I recommend looking on Vinted or eBay, as you can get some real bargains on there (new with tags). If you want to buy from a shop, if it’s a shop you haven’t heard of before, then I recommend you look at their reviews first.

Thanks for the diffuser recommendations. A few options to look at. This is for the now teen who was a delighted recipient of the bargainous Playmobil school over a decade ago (which was perhaps the same year as SideOrderofChips had a baby)

I picked up the Lidl SDJ dupes the other day not sure if they would be acceptable to DD or not. She was thrilled and initially really liked the yellow one. Then we spent an hour in the car together and it was like travelling with a giant Werther's Original. We ended up with the windows down and she still had a headache (she is quite sensitive to smells). So be warned that it can be nauseatingly sweet and not to spray too enthusiastically. Our food banks takes donations of tried but abandoned beauty products so hopefully one of their users will enjoy it!

A waterless diffuser would be great as they don’t get manky! I’ve had this one for a couple of years and really rate it. It’s got changeable lights too which she might like.

edit to tag @thereisamouseinthehouse

Diffuser on Amazon

Was shopping in real life in home sense yesterday and they had some lovely teapots in there, around that price point (and less).

Thanks for the list of other birthday voucher places.

After saying that Hot Diamonds only occasionally send them through, they sent one last night about an hour after my post!

Brilliant thank you!

Any oodie referral or free shipping codes?

I managed to get a good deal on a couple of Jellycats last year from Lisa Angel as they had a discount code plus you got money off with their points scheme. I think it was X amount for signing up as a new member. Not sure if they will have any codes for Black Friday but worth checking out.

If anyone could pm me a code for the O2 Christmas decoration I’d be really grateful, thanks

Has anyone got an Argos code please? I’ve tried to sign up for the £10 off with a new email but can’t seem to get it to work😫

Wtf is a ginger fuddlewuddle?! Some form of Weasley?

Cheekily asking for an argos code before I make a £100 order

Going back a few weeks to the bargain Nespresso Vertuo machine … I remember discussion of there being a subscription discount. Possibly a code in the box? I stupidly didn’t pay attention at the time and assumed mine would be in the packaging somewhere, but it isn’t.

Can anyone who got one please shed any light on it? What was it and where should it have been? I’m at the point of ordering more because I only use the double espresso ones.

Any suggestions for a nice photo album for DD14? She has one on her list and I’m a bit clueless what type to get.

I got these beauty crackers for the team at work. Used subscribe and save and they worked out about £9.30 each. Crackers
They are £14 each at John Lewis