Gransnet forums

Chat

What were your best buys in 2020?

(64 Posts)
NatashaGransnet (GNHQ) Thu 31-Dec-20 11:48:51

Happy New Year's Eve! grin

We're putting together a round-up of your best buys and recommendations from 2020 in our newsletter tomorrow (you can sign up for it here).

We know just how useful gransnetters' recommendations can be when deciding whether to buy something, so do let us know the purchases and brands you loved the most on this thread. thanks

PollyDolly Thu 31-Dec-20 21:31:19

A bottle of exceptionally good red wine which I opened just half an hour ago and is " going down nicely"! Cheers everyone! ???

MiniMoon Thu 31-Dec-20 21:22:47

A new car. We bought a Vauxhall Crossland x in Persian blue. I liked our old car, a Vauxhall Mokka, but the new one is much better for me to drive. I love it.

On a more domestic note, I bought a set of silicone kitchen utensils in lime green to match the kitchen tiles.

janeainsworth Thu 31-Dec-20 20:45:36

A garden room added on to our sitting room. I’d wanted to do it for years but we never got round to it.
Our builder knew lockdown was coming back in March & asked if they could work over the weekends to get it done for us.
They managed it & although we had to wait till August to get the flooring done, it was a real boon to be able to sit there during lockdown & subsequently.
Worth every penny.

Whitewavemark2 Thu 31-Dec-20 20:13:13

Veg Trugs. We bought them with the money we saved not going anywhere.

Really really pleased with them.

crazyH Thu 31-Dec-20 20:05:04

My new iPad - incredibly fast compared to the slug I had ? mind you , served me well for 8 years !!!

MissChateline Thu 31-Dec-20 20:01:02

A flight to the Canary Islands to meet up with my partner in august this year and to spend a month in our apartment together on a small island. Then back to the UK for another lockdown. A lovely few weeks.

WOODMOUSE49 Thu 31-Dec-20 20:00:47

Greeneyedgirl

WOODMOUSE49 I love the hammock, I have wanted one for ages. They are expensive but look good quality, were the firm ok to deal with?

The hammock itself was around £50. It was the wooden stand that was expensive. They had an offer on and I got both for just over £300.

Company is excellent and there's a good warranty on it. Weatherproof as well so the stand is outside all the time. I took the hammock in every night through. DH is an engineer and was impressed with the stand structure.

I recommend hammocks with the bars (see photo).

Rosieroe Thu 31-Dec-20 19:57:53

A Breville hot cup water heater. My dh drinks a lot of tea and instant coffee and would boil the kettle, walk away and then boil it again when he was ready to make a cuppa. We find the water heater is very good as it quickly heats up just enough water for the cup or mug. Saves energy and no more lifting a heavy kettle. Even better was the fact that I used £50 worth of Nectar points towards the cost of it.

merlotgran Thu 31-Dec-20 19:56:19

An electric pressure cooker/slow cooker.

I use it nearly every day. Makes delicious soups, stews and stock, steams veg, cooks a whole chicken or gammon in a third of the time and keeps everything warm until you need it.

It's also a great rice cooker.

Happy New Year to HQ

Callistemon Thu 31-Dec-20 19:47:35

Thanks, PamelaJ1 - we need a new toaster, I will look at those.

Puzzles for DH - they have kept him happy and quiet in lockdown.
Yorkshire Jigsaw Company, Amazon [sorry] and Hobbycraft.

Grannyben Thu 31-Dec-20 19:42:41

A new mattress (Sleepsoul Bliss). It's the most comfortable mattress I've ever slept on. I initially saw it in a local shop for £400 but they had a 3 month wait for delivery. I found it online for £250. I actually think it's one of my best buys ever

Genty Thu 31-Dec-20 16:55:38

A HOTPOINT Aquarius TCM580BP Condenser Tumble Dryer , dries a full load in just under an hour! whereas my old 7yr old dryer took 2 hours plus. This is a basic dryer not one that has a sensor that stops when the dryer thinks the clothes are dry when they are still da,p!

AGAA4 Thu 31-Dec-20 16:43:03

A tyre inflator bought early last year but I haven't done much driving since.

Greeneyedgirl Thu 31-Dec-20 16:41:46

WOODMOUSE49 I love the hammock, I have wanted one for ages. They are expensive but look good quality, were the firm ok to deal with?

WOODMOUSE49 Thu 31-Dec-20 16:08:00

Hammock and wooden stand. I treated myself as my 70th birthday holiday was cancelled due to lockdown.

It was my resting place in between gardening this year. Except when family visit then granddaughter claims it.

www.simplyhammocks.co.uk/

Nannagarra Thu 31-Dec-20 15:48:04

A reflective jacket from Mountain Warehouse which ‘ lights up like a beacon’ in car headlights according to a fellow night time cyclist. In day light it’s grey; in darkness the whole jacket is a very bright white.

Liz46 Thu 31-Dec-20 15:46:11

A beautiful kitten who is keeping us amused. He arrived as a tiny terrified little creature but very quickly brought us under control as his servants.

Jaxjacky Thu 31-Dec-20 15:42:15

New iPads for us both in February, been heavily used over 2020

Greeneyedgirl Thu 31-Dec-20 15:36:44

A compact Sage glass kettle. Have it upstairs for early cuppa. It’s ideal if you only want to boil a small amount of hot water and looks stylish.

BBbevan Thu 31-Dec-20 15:29:17

A jigsaw ,Hokusai The Wave. Took us 3 months to finish!!!!!

Puzzler61 Thu 31-Dec-20 15:20:59

Chicken snitzel , not smitten !

Puzzler61 Thu 31-Dec-20 15:20:23

A George Foreman grill.
We use it for sausages, fish fingers, chops, chicken smitten, steaks and gammon.
The fat runs out into a a tray underneath for disposal.

Nortsat Thu 31-Dec-20 15:19:43

A Dyson robot vacuum.
We just turn her on and leave her to it.

Our cats are not fans though ...

Lisagran Thu 31-Dec-20 14:59:40

Ooh, yes, Missingmoominmama, I recently bought a merino wool base layer top from Mountain Warehouse - wonderful!

NanKate Thu 31-Dec-20 14:58:06

An Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. I love being able to accumulate books on my small, light handheld device. I can enlarge the font, change the brightness, buy a recommended book in about 3 minutes.

I will still buy actual books from my independent bookseller but my Kindle has increased my reading fourfold. I slip it into my bag wherever I am going so I can pick up the story wherever I am.