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.

We just do the playmobil because that's from Santa so it looks more exciting all set up. The first year we got some, it was the castle, and I had a great time setting up all the knights in battle round it

I would love to go ice skating! CFS is such a variable condition, it's so hard to know what we can do one day or the next isn't it. I really really want to join my DD's ballroom dancing club too but not sure I can commit.

I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia the other day too (well, it had been written on my notes a couple of years ago, but this was the first I heard of it ) and hopefully seeing a rheumatologist soon. They want to do some specific antibody tests or something.

Ooo fuzz I've had lots of antibody tests. Let me know what they do etc. I love it and find it all so interesting. I should have worked in a lab.

I agree with setting up the toys. I've been known to take everything out of the packets and put the batteries in before wrapping, didn't do that this year through.

Thanks everyone. You lot are lovely!

Yes definitely build presents beforehand.

I have to ask what - how big a reindeer was it?

Yes yes yes to building things, cutting out of boxea with millions of cable ties and adding batteries in advance. I need to wrap.more tonight and have playmobil and cantalot castle to build.

Creme I seem to be the same as that. I haven't really got the hang of it yet. Whenever I feel sprightly I rush around like an idiot and then spend a day in bed and a fortnight not right. I need to learn to take breaks really. I think that all I need is an hour off every day, but my current routine where I have to work through lunch feeding ds and then work the evening looking after him and doing bedtime means that it takes real restraint to actually sit down and rest. Thanks for letting me know. I'll redouble my efforts to half my efforts.

Good luck with the tests fuzz.

We've never built anything in advance, although I now realise that we should have done. Last year we bought a lego crane that took two of us 3 days to build. That was definitely a mistake. Fortunately ds can now build his own lego and we have bought much more age-appropriate toys this year.

It's only 50cm but ds1 can sit on it!

pointless let me know how it goes I've one to put together on Thursday! I despatched it to my mothers a few weeks ago along with the rest of santas present.
Dh is in a foul mood as his van is giving trouble, he has given me an ultimatum go to my parents for Christmas & it'll be my last Christmas that this is the family home & he's not going. It's arranged since July with his cooperation & I will not ruin everyone's Christmas because of his huff.
He can get over it or spend Christmas alone.

£7.50 on two glasses of wine and crisps with friend.

so sick of Christmas boozing and the fact my friends refuse to hang out with each other

they probably would if I asked them to

cannot wait until dry January

I'm the opposite em can't wait to have a drink after work wed! But unfortunately it won't be much as have a three hour drive thurs morn

Dry January? I'm impressed you got that for £7.50.

£15 on odds and sods in aldi.

Nk Well done. I hope their like of you converts into cash.

Wow I'm impressed too em. That would only get you one glass of wine here! Luckily I'm not a bit drinker.

Dh said tesco was heaving when he popped in after work. Glad I don't have to go there but I do have to go to m&s to collect my food order Wednesday morning. I booked 8:30 so I'm hoping it won't be too busy...

NK that's great news! Well done and good luck for tomorrow

Wow Collie, sounds like you've been struggling through treacle! Hope it gets sorted asap.

We've returned from our weekend away to, what I hope will be, the messiest part of the build. Me and DD spent the afternoon in bed watching films and actually, she hasn't been downstairs since coming home - it's just too dusty last part of demolition tmrw then it's the putting back together again.

Was a cheap back street pub. In trendy wine bar near work it'd be nearer £12 a glass.

Other spends today - £7.35 on vitamins in boots. Need vitamins. Too much stodgy food and booze.

I'm doing dry January. Going veggie for a bit and will be reducing my caffeine intake. am going to be a mardy Arse

Gah can't find any gluten free gravy. Bisto jars used to be ok but not anymore.

Em, my dry January lasted well into March this year! It's actually quite easy, once you get into the swing of it. I do it most years, normally breaking it around my birthday in mid-February.

Ipsos, pacing is the key. It's a classic mistake to do loads on the days you feel you have got energy. Believe me, it took a long time to really get my head around this. You should always try to stop your work while you still have some energy in reserve; basically, feel as if you could do one more job, but then don't. I hope that makes sense.

Creme that's the best advice I've heard in years. I'll try it. Thanks for that. I always keep going until I'm practically on fire and then do four more jobs in five minutes (because I've still got five minutes and it needs doing) and then crash. I'll try to be good. It would be so nice to just to be slow instead of intermittently out-of-order.

I'm making a list of things to buy in the January sales in the hope that I can that way put off buying anything more now and break the habit of constant spending. Do you think there is going to be a January sale? There seemed to be sales everywhere today. I was kind of dumbfounded actually.

Oh! and I got my invitation to the next sale. Yay! (In which I will probably end up spending nothing, because that's how it always works. I do enjoy looking though. )

creme I'm going to see how long I last dry wise. I reckon if I really wanted to I could go until my birthday in October. But I'm going to start with January. And take t from there.

Why thank you, Ipsos, I will tell my OT that at my next appointment.

Em, you just want to do one more day/week/until Valentines Day, once you get into it. It becomes that you need a special reason to have a drink, in my experience. That said, I am looking forward to a few glasses of Prosecco on Christmas Day.

It's something I've been thinking about for a while creme. I'm a classic binge drinker. I tend not to drink loads then go nuts all at once and have horrific hangovers. I'm on day two now. And am still not feeling great.

My skins gone to pot and I'm feeling a bit dehydrated. Will be good to see what no booze does for me. As far as I'm aware we have no parties in January. so no "reason" to drink.

And if we do I'll drive. Will save money on cabs home.

Em That sounds like a great idea. It would give your system a chance to recover after Christmas.

I'll stand in solidarity with you if you want, as I'll be trying to go cold turkey on rushing around. (It's the adrenaline rush that I like, and that's also hard to give up.)

A very close friend of mine has CFS. Prior to that she was a fitness fanatic, doing long distance running & cycling. She works as a radiographer and managed eventually to get back to 12 hours a week (3 mornings, not consecutive) which was really important to her. She has a 2 hour rest every afternoon and has made huge modifications to her lifestyle. Her dc are grown up though so that helps. It's such a hard condition to deal with especially when you look okay and people don't understand.