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Festive Frugaleers gather round the (best value and carefully researched) Christmas Tree for support, advice and chat. All welcome.

999 replies

needastrongone · 12/12/2017 17:49

New thread.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
27
MissingMo · 19/12/2017 15:57

@lonely those animals look fab. You're very talented
@laska if they're the pigs in blankets I'm thinking of then they taste just as good as any others I've had

ChristmasSeacow · 19/12/2017 16:52

Those animals are brilliant! Intrigued by the person who has ordered 6 camels... they must like camels!

Girliefriendlikesflowers · 19/12/2017 17:22

Need I hate to say it but do you think some meat might fill ds up a bit more? Or maybe eggs if he is keen to stay off the meat. My brothers were the same as teenagers, could eat a massive dinner and then be found raiding the fridge half an hour later Hmm

I have had a busy day at work, flagging now. Working again tomos and then off for 4 days - thank God!!

Lonely love the animals.

NSD.

LonelyOversharer · 19/12/2017 17:35

seacow I know! She's ordered from me before (I cba checking if it was camels last time). I'm thinking she's making up 2 nativity sets, 3 camels per set so each king has one. I might send her a donkey too, as she's paid loads of shipping.

I didn't so much twitch, as buy the complete contents of asda! I have all the christmas eve snacks in now, we have a silly movie night (lego batman, dd1 will suffer it!) with new pj's and stacks of no cook stuff. Plus I let the 3 little dc pick tea, cheese topped rolls and cream cakes, they're cheap dates! Anyway £53 in there.

Fluffycloudland77 · 19/12/2017 17:37

Lonely They're so cute!.

Need Big pot of curry/chilli with beans & lentils? 100g of rice cooks in 10 or you can batch cook & freeze rice. Try tescos vegan sponge cake recipe when you next bake. Takes minutes & is a sweet treat for pennies.

£7 morrisons soya milk & potatoes.
£5 sains & the rest in nectar points. Got champagne for Xmas day lunch for free so I am well pleased. Plus more wine for me. I've still got enough points left for a turkey crown but I'm debating loitering in sains for 45 minutes before closing to see if they go half price on Christmas Eve......

I'm sure I heard Dh say he'd start carrying a nectar card after seeing how much stuff I've got from it Shock

I got two of the free milks & they've already been accepted.

mammymammyIRL · 19/12/2017 18:15

Forgot I'd booked my car for valet until guy arrived to collect my car at work .€50 like a new car!! Mechanic will probably be €300 in January & I need two tyres too much Shock

Dh gone exchanging One of ds's Christmas presents he'll get something else for ds plus dgs present too

Pinkpeppermintteaforme · 19/12/2017 18:19

Omg Lonely they are brilliant !
Can u pm me the link to your etsy shop ?
Ive got the knitted show cats book but have nt made anything yet.
Work crap
NSD

Pinkpeppermintteaforme · 19/12/2017 18:36

need
Mine also ate masses but I found the more "nice"stuff I bought the more he ate so I stopped buying in biscuits,crisps,juice etc
Bread for toast only for snacks reduced his intake and explaining the food budget Wink

LittleDorritt · 19/12/2017 18:57

Spendy day here. I haven't actually had a NSD this month Sad Have to aim for double in January!

£56 DDs swimming lessons
£13 gift for FIL (no more gifts left to buy
£1 postage (nothing left to post
£6.25 groceries
£15 treat of coffee and cake for everyone (£12 budgeted.)

Have to do more Christmas food shopping tomorrow as have family coming for an early celebration on Thursday. I feel like the cash is just pouring away this month.

lifelongfrugaleer · 19/12/2017 19:32

Few bits in Morrison's, forget how much but I got the Christmas bonus £5 voucher.

Frugal win, tried to return something to Amazon but the box is bigger than the collect places accept. It's in its delivery box still. Also I questioned what I should stick on the box as they only sent me a qr code. They emailed me back and told me to keep it and issued a full refund. Don't care if dd doesn't play with it now £44

Need dreading the teen years, my 2 eat enough now.

Lonely the animals are fab.

lifelongfrugaleer · 19/12/2017 19:32

I will get round to sorting a Nativity just not had time

WreckTangled · 19/12/2017 19:37

Ah need dh always tells us his mum used to buy 12 loaves of bread a week when he was younger Shock (four boys!). You're good at baking what about flap jacks or something? Crackers and cheese? He's very healthy at least Grin

£4.50 parking
£30 curry's (dh Christmas)
£30 fuel
£5.20 M&S on lunch. Had the best sandwich mmmm.

Last day of work tomorrow before Christmas but I'm considering calling in sick as my neuropathy is so bad I'm in loads of pain. I usually just suck it up but I haven't got any work to do so wondering if I should stop being a martyr for one day BlushGrin

needastrongone · 19/12/2017 20:35

Thank you guys for the ideas and contributions re DS and his food intake. All appreciated. We actually only buy a cheap variety pack of biscuits each week, the cereal bars are strictly for packed lunches. The DC and DH eat meat for every meal apart from Monday (unless I make a big vat of minestrone or similar perhaps, then it's two nights max), I bake loads of brownies, flapjack and cake etc.

Today
4 weetabix and fruit.
Sandwiches, fruit, cereal bar, koftas, popcorn
Fruit x 3, big slice of cake, nuts, cheese and crackers.
Discovered the plastic tub of 2 x chopped peppers and 2 x chopped carrots and took that upstairs.... the whole tub.
Another slice of cake.
Home made chicken Kiev, cauliflower cheese, green beans, jacket spud.
Another piece of cake.
Weetabix will be supper.

The toast idea is good. And lentil stew. Not a massive fan of eggs unless it's fried with sausage occasionally.

Loves beans on toast, uses a full size tin, with cheese, so that's an idea!

OP posts:
needastrongone · 19/12/2017 20:37

wrecked usually I would think no you should go to work but does seem pointless and you do seem in pain anyway. X

OP posts:
needastrongone · 19/12/2017 20:40

pepper - DS will go to uni in October so I'm thinking this might make him consider how much food costs. Smile

He is naturally healthy really, gets this from me, DD and DH have sweet tooth's.

Spends
£15 eBay
£3.50 car wash

OP posts:
WreckTangled · 19/12/2017 20:44

I know need. My record is ten years with no sick days. It was thwarted by a sick bug but currently I'm at four years with no sick days...

Girliefriendlikesflowers · 19/12/2017 21:36

Four years wreck?! Blimey you're definitely due a sick day! Although this year I thought similar and took a day for severe neck pain, then as sods law would have it dd and I picked up a nasty virus and were both ill for a couple of days and then I managed to get d&v so my normally very good sick record looks terrible now!!

Need I have a oat cake recipe that is super easy and quick if you would like it? It is very filling... does he like ginger bread? That's also filling.

I have £24 left in the bank! So will live of food we have, hoping we get paid Friday. ...

LonelyOversharer · 19/12/2017 21:53

wreck definitely take a sick day. Have your dc broken up yet? If not then DO NOTHING all day

NorbertTheDragon · 19/12/2017 22:03

I've missed loads as there's a whole new thread since I last posted!
*
Em*, your little one is just adorable. I love baby smiles and giggles.

Wreck, wow, 10 years and 4 years is amazing. My oldest went through the whole of secondary with 100% attendance, he never got sick. Of course he was then sick in the summer holidays after he left school!

I think I've done most of my Christmas shopping, stocking fillers to get, and some chocolates or selection boxes.

I've got bits and bobs for Christmas dinner, we're having a three bird roast, frozen one from Morrisons. I'll do the rest of the shop on Friday.

Tomorrow is the last day of school for my ones who go, and also have a home ed Christmas party for my youngest so will pick up some snacks to take. Also got 2 nights out this week! One meal, and one just drinks. Grin

NorbertTheDragon · 19/12/2017 22:05

Bold fail! And I've changed my name, I was MyWhatICallNameChange before (Cag's friend!Grin)

Cagliostro · 19/12/2017 22:45

:o love the name!
NSD for me, although Tesco shop arrived for I can't remember how much. Not even got Christmas food yet.

I am no longer sure about the plans over the next couple of weeks as we've been invited to a family friend as well but it's so last minute. DH still doesn't have his rota for after Xmas ffs.

Taytocrisps · 19/12/2017 23:02

I've just finished making brownies and cookies with DD, for her cake sale tomorrow at school. Sure, what else would you be doing in the run up to Christmas Xmas Angry?

3 days left at work. Roll on Friday evening!

ChristmasSeacow · 20/12/2017 00:35

Late night trying to get cards written... about to call it a night though.

Norbert that's a much better name than calling you 'what' Grin

Need I think you are just going to have to keep setting fire to tenners every day and feeding your DS. You can't beat a teenage appetite Grin

DS is poorly so probably won't make it to school tomorrow. So no wrapping or shopping (or singing along to Christmas music) for me. Might bake a bit though.

mammymammyIRL · 20/12/2017 05:29

Norbert I actually meet a guy quite often at work called this!
Working at 6.30am so best get up Smile
I still have Christmas cards to write! Tonight is the night Smile

Loveabaconsandwich · 20/12/2017 06:33

Great NC norbert

Unfrugal start to the day- £4.70 on parking. They were digging up the entrance to the road where I normally park for free.

Last day at work for almost two weeks though Xmas Smile

I twitched last night and bought DP some new pants. He wears his until they have holes in and never buys new ones himself.

Get DD2s nursery bill for January. Bill was £61 instead of £230 due to her turning three and the free funding, which is a result. They also say we have a credit on the account so don’t actually have to pay anything, but I have no idea how so I am expecting them to correct it at some point. But we have the childcare vouchers waiting to pay.

Someone has just let rip the worst smell on the train. I actually think I may suffocate 🤢💩

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