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

[NoWordForFluffy]

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Phew, it's a scorcher!

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

Tx- the fires were about a mile away , lots of smoke smell , the worst one was a field that went on fire .
It does make me nervous when I hear a siren now or there's a helicopter hovering .

Evening. Life has been crazily busy (big work deadline for me whilst recovering from a weird burn out type thing, summer holidays for LO and DH is doing a building project on our house). Stressed doesn’t quite cover it - thankfully we’re away now for 2 weeks with nothing to do but chill.

I think we may have made a decision on a Christmas present for LO which is a bit strange but I don’t care.
We’re thinking a portable dvd player and a little cd case thing for DVDs. He wants some sort of tablet but he’s not having one and we figured this is a nice way to let him watch stuff when we’re traveling or away from home with no access to anything else or any adverts etc.

Have also decided we are scaling back our spending on other people’s presents a lot too as it’s all a bit much.

70 whereabouts are you? I know there’s been fires everywhere - there was a big one on the mountains near me a week or so ago that burned for days and people for miles and miles (including me) couldn’t open windows.

Plants-wise, we’ve had 2 ripe tomatoes and that’s it. Chilli’s are going great guns but are still green, as are the peppers (although something is eating the leaves so I’m not holding out hope for them).

I've had to resort to the PITA water butt as the good one is empty but I’ve filled a tin bath and thrown anything in a plastic pot in there for while we’re away, and have done similar on a smaller scale in the house. 🤞🏼 they survive.

Where are your chillies, Meeces? Mine have been a massive disappointment again this year (in a small poly 'greenhouse'). I think I might need something resembling a proper greenhouse to get a good crop again (like the year we had 100s of chillies!).

My ones from seed are rubbish but I bought a small chilli plant and it’s tripled in size and is covered.
It started in the conservatory on the windowsill, moved to my cold frame thing in June and has been unceremoniously left on a table in the garden since the start of July.
Garden is south facing and it’s been so so hot here for weeks that chilli’s and herbs are thriving. Almost everything else is crispy though 🙄

Our herbs are going great guns, as is the lavender out the front (which faces south). The lavender was just scrawny and failing when we moved it here. Put it in the front (which is standard new build, in that it's very little earth and quite a bit of rubble!) and it's thrived since. It was huge and bushy this year (what I've always wanted from my lavender and never achieved).

I will try harder with my chillies next year (I'm thinking of asking my parents for some form of small greenhouse for my birthday this year).

I’ve pretty much given up on the garden this year. It was too much and I was sort of frozen for a lot of late spring and just didnt plant things, and we’ve had weeks and weeks of heatwave and are now in a drought.
Plus DHs building project is a garden office for me so there’s just stuff everywhere.

Lavender is weird. We have some in the front (north facing) which has been lovely every summer since we got here.
We’re on the second attempt out the back. First one died, this one is hanging on but it doesn’t look great.
in our old house we had an overlooked, shady, west facing front that had an amazing lavender
Glad yours is doing well, it’s so lovely when it kicks off and the bees love it

Boilerman due imminently fingers crossed its an easy fix.

Now I have a decent pc I can spend longer on Minecraft without worrying about my pc over heating I find it relaxing and have branched out into designing and building things from my "imagination" rather than following somebody else's builds. My 12yr old DGS is seriously impressed with Nanas skills 😂 I started playing on Minecraft during lockdown as a way to stay connected with DGS and to give me something to do never expecting that 6 years later I'd still be playing and still enjoying it.

I have lavender on either side of my front door, it's surprisingly resilient and I did nothing to it except keep watering it!

Fluffy no flowers yet, are there meant to be?

I don't really grow anything. We have three rose bushes, a eucalyptus tree and a buddlia and that is about it. My husband looks after them or they would disintegrate into dust if I was involved.

Yes, flowers when spuds are growing!

I was away in hospital for a few months so missed the first months of them growing.

144 (I think)

why you remind me of DH. He appreciates anything I grow but would forget to care for any of them if it was his responsibility.
He was given a succulent as a present once. Plonked it on the bathroom windowsill and ignored it for months. I assumed fake until I realised it was withering and turning brown/black
Apparently he thought it was like a cactus and would be fine.
I rescued it, it’s now massive and has had many many babies <proud>

I’m going to rethink what to grow for next year and start early as I’ve been beyond rubbish this year. I’m blaming burn out and pretending this year didn’t happen.

Currently drinking a mojito on holiday as it’s finally cooling down and it’s bloody lovely.

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Morning!

Well, the weather has well and truly turned here. I took the dog out in what started as rain and then became a thunderstorm. Which wasn't great as he hates thunder despite it being his name! He cheered up when it stopped, but it then started again and he decided we needed to move at a speed I'm not built for! 😫🤣

The good news is that my water butt should be full again soon enough (it filled about 4-5 inches while I was out).

I'm currently drying out on the sofa in a hooded towel as the rain was epic!

It’s raining here and I can’t see the tops of the mountains, which actually feels quite nice. Not sure how the farmers will feel about it, too little too late at this point.

There are still cabbages in the field opposite us, so I think it'll be useful for that crop. They've already harvested the wheat in the other nearby fields.

The potato crops along the road might also still benefit a bit. Hopefully.

Guys no judgement seriously but I just want to ensure everyone knows their rights. If you buy electrical/tech etc the standard warranty is 12 months. If you are buying this now by Christmas your warranty is half over before its even unboxed. Many other things will be impossible to return this late if there are problems.
Please when buying ahead just keep these things in mind. I have a background in law and I just want to help.

I think you're on the wrong thread. You probably want the bargain thread!

The warranty also isn't all that applies, as per the CRA 2015. Satisfactory quality gives you leeway as to how long something should last. It can just make it harder / a longer argument with the seller / manufacturer.

I'm also a legal bod. 🙂

Of course I'm not suggesting that all rights end at 12 months. I had to explain recently to a client that they still have an argument that a refrigerator should be expected to last longer than 18months and we are looking into their options.

However this doesn't change the issue that many people are buying things, wrapping them up without even opening them and therefore getting refunds, partial or full or replacements may be much harder. Windows for simple exchanges end and some items which have extended warranty's need to be signed up to very quickly after purchase.
This is probably important on many threads not just bargains threads. People on Christmas threads are buying very early. I am and always will be committed to people knowing their rights. Of course if they choose to not use them that too is a choice but its an informed choice. That's what people deserve.

This is not about judgement. Its not about bombarding people with legalese. It's about allowing people to make choices knowing that their options depend on time frames.

I also recommend that anyone who is having difficulty with getting a refund especially if its an item out of 12 month warranty but should last much longer (eg large kitchen appliances) to seek help. Hopefully there is an advice charity near you or try the consumer rights helpline. Yes people don't often buy these items as gifts but it also applies to many other tech items such as consoles, laptops, phones etc. You don't need an extended warranty.

I've said my piece so any replies are fine of course but I won't be reading further on this thread. I wish you all pleasant and stress free shopping experiences. 😀🩷

^ what an odd post to come on this thread and post!

We went into Edinburgh today so I could go to Hobbycraft for my pieces for the paper chains. Got 12 pieces of green and red felt (sticking to those colours only), a glue gun and some sticks, and a cutting knife thing. Just need to order a cutting board on amazon as they didn't have any in store. Gonna wait for a cosy rainy day and get making paper chains! Think I'll do mine small and thin rather than the big chunky ones in the video though.

I've also got a man coming round tonight to give me a quote for putting up Christmas lights (and taking them down in January!) for us this year. We usually have them hanging out of the upstairs windows but it looks a bit crap and I really want some to go around the gutters at the top too. No idea what price to expect but I'm excited, I love decorating the outside!

We don't much care! What a bizarre post. and it's still the wrong thread for it. Why would you go onto an unrelated thread and lecture about bloody purchasing goods for Christmas. Maybe you should've just accepted you were in the wrong place and moved on graciously?!

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There's probably good business in that task, Pearl. The blokes who did our garden recently put up / take down Christmas lights. A good way to keep income coming in all year!

Every year there's a post on our local FB group asking to borrow long ladders or recommendations for someone to put up Christmas lights. I reckon a business would make a killing. Not from this house grinch central but from all my neighbours 😂

I had lunch with my DDs today and we discussed Christmas plans. Since last year DD1 has had the patter of tiny (furry) feet and DD2 lives with her partner so I was mindful of his family when trying to arrange who does what. I really don't want to be the subject of an outraged MN post. My favourite part of the run up to Christmas is the posts about batshit in-laws and their unreasonable expectations

Mine too, Woolly. Plus the families who barely feed their guests! I'd be mortified if all my guests didn't go home stuffed to the gunnels!

I suspect my mum was the inspiration for Mrs Doyle on Fr. Ted 😂 and the need to feed is genetic.

The Poncetastic thread is coming soon - 6 weeks or thereabouts to the traditional start date of the 25th September but I think it's been the start of September for the last couple of years. That's another festive favourite.

We went to portmierion today and I nearly bought some Christmas crockery, but resisted. For some reason.

our local window cleaners often do Christmas lights. We had our electrician put up some permanent ones under the eaves. It looks rather nice and they can be any colour so not just for Christmas lights