O come all ye festive frugaleers, gather round for festive chat and frugaleering

[northender]

Haven't been on the old thread for a few days so thought I'd start a new thread as it's nearly full.

Wow nk well done you must have made a fab impression.
Collie ikwym over excited winging all day today driving me bonkers

Well done NK and good luck!

Wow nk super excited for you, hope it goes well

collie great to have a proper diagnosis at least there's a way forward now

I made my last trip to town before Christmas saturday - I did spend quite a lot in Dunnes Stores but I had a gift voucher for this so I'm ok with that.
Picked up gift packs of Christmas socks reduced from €5 to €2 for 3 pairs I'm not fussed wearing these anytime of the year at that price
Had 2x€10 vouchers for Debenhams so I got 2 new bras and Benefit concealor for €39.00. Happy with these purchases but so hard to get used to bra strap being in proper place on my back the last bra must have been ridiculously loose and saggy[hmmm]

Yesterday we were on the road visiting all day - spends were €15 on choc biscuit puddings, she only charged €1 for making my wheatfree gluten free one as I supplied the biscuits and €10 on chips for myself and dd's combined lunch/dinner

Well done NK5.

Well done collie. :-)

We're sitting in and having a quiet time now while it rains down nicely outside. I like a bit of rain to look at.

Back again but haven't had time to properly read all the pages I have missed
Well done NK hope you get to enjoy Australia as well, it's on my bucket list
collie great news, hope you can get proper help; wet and windy here as well so dc are playing Wi but older dd had a huge tantrum so I sent her upstairs to calm down. Instead she decided to scream like a banshee and slam all the doors so no more Wi or tv for her today or tomorrow.
£46 at Tesco this morning, luckily dss is at home so I could do it all on my own. I need to finish all the hampers for the family today so they can be delivered tomorrow before sil goes up to Leicestershire to visit her dd family. I just wish somebody would do all the wrapping - where is some friendly Elf when you need one

loveto we also find ourselves confiscating the wii a lot for similar reasons. Glad to hear it's not just us.

Hello all, NK that is so exciting!!

Collie glad it was a success but blimey you must have been feeling really rotten hopefully with right treatment you will feel 100% better.

We are just back from town, it was stupidly busy and I wasn't in the mood for it at all. Have woken up with period pain and generally feeling bleughhhh!

That said managed to get all the last min bits now I think.

Spends,

£2 parking

£14 in Superdrug, got lots for this including 3 packs of san pro, 4 toothbrushes, 3 lots of face packs, some posh toothpaste, some nice conditioner and a new hair brush for dd! All were on offer, so much cheaper than Boots!

£9 on lego for dn - decided I hadn't got him enough!

£22 in Sainsburys, got various bits and pieces including Articulate the game for all the grown ups to play at Christmas! It was half price though.

£3 on drinks.

£11 on 2 boxes of chocs - last min Christmas presents.

Think thats it, also got some cash out. Dd is going on a horse riding fun day tomos which is £30 and I owe my brother £15.

I think I can tentatively say I am pretty much ready for Christmas now!

Well done NK good luck and well done on borrowing a bag.

girlie I've been feeling tired and exhausted for ages. And sick at times. And just generally slow. My new GP knew something wasn't right so he made sure I got it investigated asap. I just thought it was a result of not sleeping too well on some nights. I was so tired yesterday that I fell asleep mid way sipping tea. DH thought it was hilarious!

I've just opened the oven to find its absolutely disgusting! I need to crack on and clean it

collie so glad you've got a diagnosis, hopefully you'll notice a difference quite quickly.

£10 spent on stamps for Christmas cards. I had, unfrugally, left it late so was forced into buying first class. Other than that I've been trying to get the dc doing jobs so that I can rest.........mixed results, but no spending!! Dd going to my mum's overnight tomorrow & ds sleeping over at his friend's so tomorrow, once they've gone, I will rest properly.
ipsos I felt so bad phoning in sick even though I know it's the right thing to do. Because I'm part time I've always tended to keep going and then collapsing on my days off but my consultant told me in no uncertain terms that I must have time off when I have an infection.

girlie Careful! Another riding day planned? It's a slippery slope you know

NK This is AMAZING news! Fingers crossed, really hope it goes well for you. You must have impressed them for them to fly you out there!

collie So good to have a specific diagnosis to back up your feelings of being exhausted. Have they a plan or recommendations for your diet?

love I have done my wrapping today, it took me SO much longer than I anticipated, I was losing the will to live towards the end. I didn't think I had much either, but seem to have plenty of spares!

NSD

Hope you feel better soon north, DH has terrible asthma, having had pneumonia as a child, he gets a chest infection at least once a year.

Well done NK!!!!

That sounds like a good gp collie. I've been totally broken for 16 months and they just tell me that it's "stress".

Oooh yikes I just had a text from Tesco reminding me of my Xmas delivery slot tomorrow evening! I thought it was Wednesday. Lucky I read it, as when I booked it I just selected a load of alcohol in order to check out quickly...

Going to build DD's Ikea kitchen tonight - wish me luck!

LOL! Fuzz Well caught.

Good luck pointless

Need wrapping took me ages too. I had no idea it would be so time consuming.

Also glad you have a dx Collie and that medication should help asap :)

Also glad you have a dx Collie and that medication should help asap :)

Exciting news, NK. Fingers crossed for you.

Hope you feel better soon, North. Glad you took time off.

Collie, hope the diagnosis is useful to you and hopefully they can work out the right vitamin levels and thyroid supplements to treat you.

In town today, to see my CFS specialist. We had some lovely crepes for lunch first, from a crepe stall DS and his pal found last week, and after my appointment, I took DS ice skating and then we had Bakewell tarts and hit chocolate. I also spent £20 on gas and £23.something in Wilkos, on loads of little bits and pieces like a razor and batteries and a cover for DS's bike, that I'd been putting off for ages. Total spend: £73. Ouch!

Hot, not hit!

Have fun with the kitchen building! I look forward to the annual Christmas Eve building of Playmobil. :)

I hadn't thought about building the presents beforehand. Several times at Christmas and birthdays ds has been ready to throttle us because the assembly was taking hours.

Creme what did you do to get far enough recovered from CFS to be able to go ice skating and eat all those nice things? I would like to be able to do that stuff too. I'm not sure if I have CFS but I have something a bit like it.

Definitely build in advance if you can, so much easier! Collie I hope they can help you it sounds very positive!

I spent £25 in IKEA, storage boxes for a free cupboard for ds1's room and a big reindeer in the sale. No clue what DH spent in town though I know he spent £3 on parking instead of going to the free one!

I didn't go ice skating myself, ipsos. I was there in a supervisory capacity; well in the café, as DS is 13!

I have a mild form of it, but if I go out and about one day, I need quiet days either side of it. You have to be very strict with yourself and really aware of your limits, as otherwise you relapse and end up in a bad way. I've only really got the hang of this in the last year and a half, after spending years in a boom or bust situation.