Woooooooahhhhh, we're half way there! Countdown to Christmas 2026 (thread 2)

[NoWordForFluffy]

183

Phew, it's a scorcher!

Happy birthday to 70's DD. Best date for a birthday ever!

Morning!

Glad you did the countdown Fluffy.

I ordered a couple of bits from the Starfish project for DSis so have nearly finished her Christmas bag.

I get our turkey from the local butchers and they don't start ordering till mid October.

The BEST news ever though - we are getting an Aldi!!! It will be about a 10 min drive away and previously I'd have to drive over half an hour. My mum lives near a massive Aldi so I always get stocked up when I visit. So it will be great to have one on the doorstep.

I haven’t bought much yet as I get a bonus in October and we generally use that to cover Christmas.
I’m going to try very hard not to go overboard this year. Aside from hosting dm and her partner for Christmas dinner, we’re unlikely to have many visitors so won’t need masses of food and drink.

Looking forward to getting the present shopping done though. Aim is same as always, to have it all bought by end of November so only jobs in December are nice ones (decorating, crafts and wrapping).

We need to talk to our farmer friend and check she’s got turkeys again this year. We’ve had one from her for the last few years and they’re tasty and not too expensive. Plus last year she threw in some sausages for free

70 I vote that you buy the cat Christmas tree, it looks festive and cute

I've bought all of DS' Lego as there have been good offers, so I made him do a list. I've not yet bought anything for DD, but I'm not sure what she wants (she can't be my child, as she uttered the words 'it's only September' when I mentioned it yesterday!).

I have DH's undies from M&S (10 pairs for £22.50 in the 50% off sale), which are a Christmas tradition at this point! He normally only gets 5 pairs, as I generally only have a 20% off code, so he's spoilt this year.

I also have stocking fillers for the kids from the Typo sale.

I don't buy many presents. I'm keeping an eye on the bargain thread for ideas though, as I'm lacking this year.

Well, I went to Asda and collected the order. A few subs, but we kept them as they'll do. 🍻

All 5 of the chocolate tubs I bought were in stock (£4 each) so we're now well-stocked on that front. The Asda staff member asked if we were having a party. . I did tell him it's our Christmas stock!

The £20 bonus is already in my cash pot, so I'll go back without a child (I had DD with me) to buy the advent calendars etc at some point with that money.

We're currently on the balcony having a drink. I'll do some cleaning later on. Probably! 🤣

You're doing well on the shopping front Fluffy.

I got celebrations yesterday from Sainsbury's for £4.25 I think but the tub is 500g and I am sure it was heavier last year.

I've cleaned the car and tidied front garden so feeling quite entitled to watch the football.

(she can't be my child, as she uttered the words 'it's only September' when I mentioned it yesterday!)

Though my DD does say "It's Septtember very pointedly when I mention something but in the next breath "See for Christmas this year can we have ..."

I informed madam that Friday is Ridolph Day and then we'll only have another two so planning in in place .
As usual , I want 99% done by December , that includes all the tidy up , the decorating (still a work in progress) , the shopping for presents and the food order slot reserved and everything on there .
Last minutes shopping will be in December and we have a couple of things booked .

DS is the sacriligious little Bah Humbug, I know better than to ask him anything Christmas related !
.

We have some decorating to do which I'll make sure is done on my Mondays off between now and December. A colleague talked about painting the ceiling at the top of the house, and I think I've persuaded DH it's a good idea, as the paint job at the top of the house is a bit wonky, as it was done with a long pole and brush. If we touch it up and paint the ceiling it'll work much better for neatness purposes.

DH is in charge of the porch canopy being put up and the downstairs loo being partially tiled and a vanity unit installed.

So many jobs which we give ourselves!

We have a list here too Fluffy
DH needs to finish my office, do a giant tip run for all bits and pieces left over currently making the garden look scruffy
Skirting board is needed in the extension
We need to choose and put down the tiles for the small bar between the kitchen and dining table
DH needs to set up the new unit for his sound system
We have 2 pieces of furniture to get rid of

Then same as you, I have Mondays off and my list is essentially decluttering every room and sorting pretty much every cupboard and drawer as they’re all a bit disorganised or could at least be better.
Tomorrows jobs are to sort my car (it’s awful), the Tupperware drawer and the landing, take a bag of clothes to the charity shop then pick something else off the list if time allows.

We’re just back from a nice catch up with some friends who have kids roughly the same age. LO has been running around non stop for a few hours so I’ve got my fingers crossed for a calm bedtime.
I’ve done almost nothing in the house today so I’ll be emptying bins, doing some washing up then ironing once LO is asleep, then giving myself a break because I still feel under the weather.

@Magnoliasunrise I'm excited for your Aldi! Similarly there's a Lidl being built 10 mins away from us and I'm excited, having never shopped there before. Can't wait for it to open! Hoping DS can bag a job there (for the discount of course).

I'm another who buys all presents before Dec. I check the bargains thread every day til Nov 30th then unfollow them and wrap everything. I don't like to think about presents in Dec, it feels too stressful and 75% of my recipients I need to post to, so everything gets sent first week of Dec anyway. I'm a BAD twitcher and can drop enormous amounts of unnecessary money in December so by having this rule, it stops that.

95

I am excited for your Lidl !!! @PearlsTeapot but I had bad news - the Aldi won't open till Spring 2027!!! So I will have to content myself with shopping at my mums big Aldi when I go at half term.

Its bloody freezing this morning. DS went off to training at 6.15am and I swear his breath looked frosty! So that means we will start to have the heating on argument. I push for beginning of November but sometimes relent at October half term.

I'm back from a very hush hush weekend it was DS 40th birthday which he had very very clearly said he didnt want any fuss and he absolutely did not want any surprise parties. However my DIL had booked him to do a Capybara feeding cuddling session at a local (to them) Wildlife Centre not only did he have no clue that he was doing that he also had no clue we were going to be there! Neither did DGS 😀it all went off perfectly and we had a lovely day.

The place also has a big Farm Shop and Garden Centre so whilst we were hiding out we had a good mooch around - they had loads of their Xmas stuff on display so I got a few ideas. The day before we'd been in the Designer Outlet and DH had spotted a few stocking fillers for DIL only for DH to get a bit giddy (not like him at all tbf) and decide he couldn't wait to see her face so she should have them now and hand them over to her in the Wildlife centre car park 😆 they didn't even make it onto my spreadsheet 😁

There was a big Wax Lyrical display in the garden centre and I've bought those for presents in previous years (from the bargain threads) but have never had a smell of the scents so its nice now to know which ones I liked and which I didn't.

Magic Christmas radio has started 😍🎉

Autumn Equinox today, so the radio tells me!,

Absolutely can’t get told off for mentioning Christmas from now on.. 95 days🎄

I had Magic Christmas channel on the radio in the car this morning!

And DW has put the heating on. Hurrah, I’m so cold.

We don't have DAB 😞

Does anyone remember when the other Christmas music stations start?

I have Magic Christmas on now. However, I just asked Alexa for Heart Christmas, and that's playing now!

I love when Christmas radio starts. It brings me joy to leave it on in DHs car when I use it because when you start his car, it takes a minute for the screen to allow you to change the station and he hates it
I think between me doing that and LO singing jingle bells at him he’s going to be forced into the Christmas spirit.

No heating here - it’s a bit chilly in the mornings and evening but we just chuck a blanket on.
It’s sunny and I’m overly warm right now.

I feel weird today. I had to go and have routine bloods done which doesn’t usually effect me but I came over all hot and wobbly immediately afterwards and I can’t completely shake it off.
Means my job list hasn’t been completed but I have done a run to the builders merchants for DH, some washing, ironing and deep cleaned the air fryer.
Im going to go and tackle the landing in a minute.

I did not even realize there was such a thing as Christmas radio!!! (Please don't kick me off the thread).

I've decided that this year I am not doing Whamageddon so I can enjoy listening to the radio from December 1st rather than frantically leaping on the off button or running out of shops every time I suspect Last Christmas will be played.

I popped into M&S to get the Christmas food catalogue only to be told "it isn't in yet" Honestly these guys need to sort themselves out. I had to get over the disappointment by buying a tin of the Big Mix chocolates. (£12 for 1.2kg)

Tesco are selling celebrations 500g for £3.95 with a Clubcard so slightly better value. Sainsburys celebrations are £4.50 with a nectar card.

Grace -
were the capybara nice ? They look very serene like huge leggy guinea-pigs but with proper rodenty teeth.
I imagine if they didn't want cuddled they would let you know in no uncertain manner They're very popular .

94

Morning!

I have physio today, so I have to pootle off to Broadgreen. I'm dropping my bag in the office first, so I don't have to lug my bag around.

It feels like it's a bit clammy outside. Urgh! Could do without clammy! It's so still...

Morning!

Good luck at the physio Fluffy.

M&S Christmas food collection slots now open so I just booked mine. I traditionally used to go very early on Christmas Eve morning to get fruit and veg and last minute bits. Last year I planned to get the lobster starters and my local one had lots of empty shelves even that early in the morning so I can't be arsed with that this year.

I think it is cold again here.

I think we have different perceptions of warmth, as the forecast says we're the same temp. However, we have cloud cover where it says you don't, so that could be the difference!

I don't buy much Christmas stuff from M&S. Booths and Sainsbury's are my go to, with online organic supplies for meat. You get better deals online!

Ooh, now I'm outside there is a chill to the air. If I'd walked to the station (I got a lift as I needed to get the earlier train), I wouldn't have worn a coat as it would've been too warm.

Forgot to put my rings back on after doing my hair. That feels odd! They'll be starting rumours in the office! 😬🙈🤣

Really foggy here at the moment in Staffordshire 😃

It was misty across the fields across from our house too. Definitely autumn! 🍂