Christmas Shopping

[sammy13]

Happy shopping all those battling the crowds today

[rughead121]

Dec 12, 2014 21:42:46 GMT Karma said:

The post is worse than usual this year. I got carded today so Mr K kindly went down to the sorting office to pick up 2 parcels which he came home with, unfortunately they weren;t mine not the same street or remotely the same house number

Luckily it is sorted and I now have my pink iStick and not some stupid overpriced carp stocking filler. Yes, I did open one of the parcels and had to think for a moment 'why the bleep would i have bought this sh*t'

I do that all the time.
Trouble is I did order it

[zeldamum]

The shop was quiet yesterday so all but completed my Christmas shopping online, just have to hope it all arrives in time. Only 3 pressies left to buy for awkward people, cards to write, house to decorate and food shop then all sorted. If I am lucky I will be all ready by the 1st January

[snow]

I loathe going shopping at the best of times and I will do everything I can to avoid going anywhere near a town or city center during the entire month of December and most of January, I do the vast majority of my Xmas shopping online and I aim to have ALL of the presents bought and actually in my possession before the middle of November preferably by the end of October so I'm not stressing over late deliveries etc. this also gives me plenty of time for any last min panics. I try to give people unique gifts usually with something home made or designed by me included. This year because of our late holiday from hell I didn't even start my shopping until the middle of Oct nevertheless I was all done by the start of November including the main bulk of this years gifts which I had designed which were ordered from China. I am also a big bargain hunter so I do get a few bits and bobs as I spot them in sales during the summer this tends to be for the previous seasons Rugby stuff which is always reduced at the start of the season. We do always buy the new season shirts but the branded "supporter wear" stuff doesn't really matter what season it relates to and I've got some amazing bargains over the years. We set a very tight budget and I aim to come in either on it or under it - I'm usually under it and yet everyone has a nice pile of things to unwrap. Last year I did hampers, I bought from places like Home Bargains and online grabbits etc. all through the year got the baskets, cellophane, ribbons & coloured tissue shreds from a wholesaler, made snowman soup and flavoured vodka etc. and each one cost me under £30 but I did find it a royal pain storing all the stuff until Xmas   This year I have been lucky as my brother-in-law is an amateur photographer who sells his photos on various sites, his pics come up on my facebook wall constantly and I spotted some interesting shots which I thought would make stunning gifts printed on things, anyway being the great brother-in-law he is he let me select as many of them as I wanted, supplied me with the high definition files and I used artscow to have them printed onto framed ceramic tiles, at the time artscow had a very good deal on so I ordered 30 of them and the whole lot ended up costing me less than £90 delivered, these I have put together as sets of 3 all of which relate to the different recipients. I've also got my son something he will LOVE I made a graphic relating to a very old and obscure master system game he used to play and had that printed onto a Tshirt which has come out brilliantly hes going to be sooooo pleased when he see's it. 

As for the Xmas food shopping most people are dumbfounded when I tell them that we do ours between 2 am - 4 am either Xmas eve or the day before depending on when Xmas falls as even the 24 hour stores don't open after Midnight on a Sunday. My tins, frozen and non perishable shop is already ordered and will be delivered this week so its then just the fresh stuff and the things that take our fancy when in store left to get. When we first started doing the shop this way years ago now, we'd often be virtually the only ones in store other than the staff, each year though it's gotten busier, although I've never had to queue at a checkout yet! By doing it in the early hours that still leaves us with time to nip out and get anything they didn't have - last year for some reason it was pate and coleslaw they didn't have so that was a 5 min nip to Lidl when they opened at 8am and we were done. That gives me all day Xmas eve to prep the veg and get the Turkey on & make the stock for the gravy so I can enjoy Xmas without being stuck in the kitchen too much.

Every single year I vow NOT to go mad with the food shop - this year I have made the same vow .... hopefully this year I'll stick to it lol 
 

[Deleted]

Just gone loony again in Iceland!that's it bar the normal food. Im done! Wrapping stuff at night so I'm not doing it Xmas eve. Pringles £1 !!! Bargain. Only idiot buy was a frozen duck ... I don't even like duck!

[robby]

Starting mine just after lunch on Christmas Eve

[robby]

Dec 12, 2014 21:42:46 GMT Karma said:

The post is worse than usual this year. I got carded today so Mr K kindly went down to the sorting office to pick up 2 parcels which he came home with, unfortunately they weren;t mine not the same street or remotely the same house number

Luckily it is sorted and I now have my pink iStick and not some stupid overpriced carp stocking filler. Yes, I did open one of the parcels and had to think for a moment 'why the bleep would i have bought this sh*t'

You have stockings and buy presesnts for your fish? !!!!! They haven`t even got legs ! 
I`ll get me coat 

[robby]

Dec 14, 2014 13:41:13 GMT @spikeyfridge said:

Just gone loony again in Iceland!that's it bar the normal food. Im done! Wrapping stuff at night so I'm not doing it Xmas eve. Pringles £1 !!! Bargain. Only idiot buy was a frozen duck ... I don't even like duck!

You didn`t get a new tree then? 

[chrisjw]

Done all mine........2 x more I-Sticks, 2 x more Hana's......bottle of JD.......all for me....no tree....no decorations.........no stooooooopid turkey.........perfik.......sorted................



"Life...........is just a bowl of tricks!!!!!!"

[sleedale]

Wow, scarily, organised people.

I hate shopping. Fortunately don't have much to do and online works for me.

would be easier if I knew if there will be 3 or 6 of us for lunch, which will have to be early as OH is on a late sleep over shift christmas afternoon to Boxing Day afternoon

[Deleted]

Dec 14, 2014 13:52:24 GMT robby said:

Dec 14, 2014 13:41:13 GMT @spikeyfridge said:

Just gone loony again in Iceland!that's it bar the normal food. Im done! Wrapping stuff at night so I'm not doing it Xmas eve. Pringles £1 !!! Bargain. Only idiot buy was a frozen duck ... I don't even like duck!

You didn`t get a new tree then? 

Tree is fine. I don't compete with neighbours or Trafalgar square! You're too fussy!

[chykensa]

Decs going up next Saturday, shopping sometime early next week, food shop at some unGodly hour next Monday (11pm!!!!) and we're all sorted. Small family, and no cards this year, just to close friends, and a donation to charity.
Keep it simple is our motto, we really don't want to line to pockets of the profiteers and supermarkets, so we will have a restrained celebration with our close family, a few drinks and a meal, and that's it for another year.
Can't wait for January 2nd!!

[Ron]

[sleedale]

Nearly all done.....son wants vape stuff.........so vape stuff he has got my favourite type of shopping and all from the comfort of my cozy kitchen. Just a few final bits of food stuffs and that's it. Low key is our motto too, especially as OH is working a late shift on the day

[reddragon]

I am so not prepared for it this year. Only buy for great nephews and great niece and they are done, but, I have done no cards (need posting on Wednesday), no decorations up, house needs a good clean, need to decide what we are eating, I am not doing a traditional christmas dinner, but have no clue what to do. Not asked who is coming, I presume it will be mum, dad and one sister.

All in all I really cba, but I need to pull my finger out