Tips for Organizing Christmas

Everyone who knows me will know how passionate I am about Christmas. I absolutely LOVE everything about it from the spirit of Christmas, to the magic, to the presents, to the lights and the tree, oh my god do I love the tree! I have said it before and I will say it again I am a Christmas lunatic/fanatic/complete and utter nut! For a lot of people this can be a completely disatrous time of year, where all they want to do is hide under the duvets until it goes away. It can be a stressful time of year where so many people get into debt to make it a "Good" Christmas. This I can empathise with, but i know that it need not be that way. I use ...  Read the complete review

It may depress some people (me included because im skint) that its only a matter of weeks away until christmas. Already the shops are reminding us with their selection boxes, tins of quality streets and christmas cards on display. I personally think shops should be made to wait until at least November to advertise all things christmassy but i dont think that will ever happen. Christmas can be a really stressfull time for everyone. Theres finding money to buy presents, finding the right present to buy, wrapping up what seems like a million presents, sending christmas cards, buying the right sized turkey, relatives staying in your house etc. The list ...  Read the complete review

When it comes to Christmas I want to buy quality items at a cheap cost. But everyone does right? I'd say on the whole I am a conscientious buyer because I know exactly what I want and I know exactly when to buy it. Firstly, the January sales, the absolute best time to get your Christmas cards, wrapping paper, lights for the tree, decorations etc. As it's after Christmas, shops just want to get rid and you can pick up things more than half the price they were just one month previous. Also, these things don't generally change from year to year, there's not really 'fashionable' christmas cards or 'in' wrapping paper. In a way this is slightly more crazy shopper ...  Read the complete review

It seems strange that so many people start panicking when Christmas starts to draw near. After all, it's on the same day each year so we always have plenty of notice! Since running my own household I have become more organised every year. These days, I do all I can to avoid big shopping centres at Christmas time - I hate how busy they get and I really dislike how all the manufacturers bung a few regular products - in ridiculously tiny sizes - into some fancy gift box or basket and line the shelves in their stores with them. This always happens with toiletries; if I want to give something similar as a gift, I will find a basket and fill it myself, with ...  Read the complete review

With Xmas only a month and a bit away now, we've started turning our attention towards the festive time of year. My wife, 4 year old son and I alternate each year between the two sets of grandparents, and as such Xmas can be a bit of a testing time with seeing everyone at the same time as enjoying it ourselves. As such, we like to get all the organising out of the way nice and early, as well as saving some money along the way. This year, we're with my folks for Xmas, so my wife's parents and her brothers will have some of their presents well in advance so they can open them on the actual day. Similarly, wifey's mum has already dropped the bulk of our presents ...  Read the complete review