Any Christmas tips?

For the last couple of years I've been making fabric gift bags so they can be used indefinitely, year after year, gradually building up a stock in different sizes. I use red and green and gold patterned fabric so it looks very Christmassy, and the fabric is usually on sale in January! After all, it used to be just pillowcases, didn't it?

As a singer I was always very busy at christmas with rehearsals and concerts etc, so my thing was I always bought 2 extra presents, in case I had forgotten someone or there was someone extra when family came. So I used to get a box of Anton Berg biscuits - I would call them posh jaffa cakes. Each one individually wrapped and you could get plums in maderia or oranges in cointreau etc and they would have marzipan and chocolate . These would be wrapped in christmas paper with a label put on but not signed. then I would get a book token. So win win. If I needed them at christmas time there they were at the ready. If I had been organized or lucky enough to not need them at all , brilliant. I used to invite a couple of friends to come over for an indulgent coffee in the middle of january. So we had lovely fresh coffee in china mugs, an indulgent anton berg, and we were allowed to have a great moan about anything that happened over christmas or people who had annoyed us etc. If the book token was not needed - I would keep it until about february in case there was a need and then what bliss. Any money of course was swallowed up in bills etc but you cant pay a bill with a book token and that gave me the great pleasure of being able to have a legitimate reason to spend ages choosing a book for myself. When things are fraught over the christmas time you can have a little cheering thought of these pleasures to come. Then as said before I always plant up 3 pots of hyacinths to start coming out mid January and they go on until february. They do not save you time but over the years I have been very happy when these presents have either been used or we have had fun on our january indulgent munch and moan! Just make sure that you get something that you really enjoy yourself!

For young GC I printed their photographs on paper, and stuck them on presents as labels. This before they could read their names.

Frozen roast potatoes!

Buy square boxes of chocolates for gifts! I wrapped 4 tins of Quality Street in hexagon tins last night. DH was having a giggle, but was of no help at all.

Yes, gathering up the bags to re-use is great! It also means you don’t fill your wheelie bin up with paper waste.

Last year I also reused the gift bags that Amazon sends wrapped items in but I had to declutter them when we moved house, waaah!

Our bags are re-used too.

This year I did buy a few new ones and they're brown paper with a Christmas pattern, fully recyclable.

SueDonim

With four DC and six GC, I’m just so fed up of present-wrapping! This year I’ve bought inexpensive gift bags (From Card Factory, Aldi etc) and label one for each family member. Their gifts get put straight into the bag, I artfully(!) place some decorative tissue paper on the top then seal the bag.

All done in a quick shake of a Christmas lamb’s tail! 🎄

I do that too. And the bags are reused year after year.

We don’t give presents to adults at Christmas, and the children are now old enough to prefer money, so it’s no effort and everyone is happy. We do give birthday presents.

Try to get invited to someone else's house for Christmas lunch!!!
My DH has always insisted on having Christmas at home with different family members joining us at different times.
This year we are invited to DD with our other DD and family.
If we get there considering strikes and the weather it will be the first one I have had cooked for me in 43 years and that was a maternity hospital,

My tip is to stop buying for adults, or at least to limit it to one present each for adults and even for grandchildren. That cuts down on both cost and the effort needed in wrapping and writing labels.

With four DC and six GC, I’m just so fed up of present-wrapping! This year I’ve bought inexpensive gift bags (From Card Factory, Aldi etc) and label one for each family member. Their gifts get put straight into the bag, I artfully(!) place some decorative tissue paper on the top then seal the bag.

All done in a quick shake of a Christmas lamb’s tail! 🎄

Oh how I would love to do that Greyduster just stay in bed until it is all over.
My only problem with that is that I think I will want to do that every year from now on, I am getting too old to care 😏

My main tip is plan in advance and then enjoy it.

Go to bed and pull the covers over your head for three days! Other than that, all of the above!😁

I make as much in advance as possible. Bread sauce today, sausage rolls, gravy and two types of stuffing tomorrow. Possibly some ice-cream too. Luckily we have three freezers. Christmas cards - I set up an address label folder on my PC years ago and add or remove as necessary. I hate writing addresses.

hide

Grandmadinosaur

I do that rosie it makes it much easier to remember who it’s for then.

I like the cranberry sauce idea Yammy

Forgot to say had the jar and smile.

I do that rosie it makes it much easier to remember who it’s for then.

I like the cranberry sauce idea Yammy

In January go to garden centres to buy half price or less boxes of cards and all Christmas things to put away for next year.
Hit the shops for gifts for next year as well.

If you can't be bothered or haven't time to make your own Cranberry sauce buy a jar of good quality put in a little grated orange rind and a little orange juice or Cointreau is even better if you have any and tip it into a pretty bowl.

I buy things to go on stockings all through the year when I see them - in sales etc. Yhey get wrapped and put in the stocking there and then so they are pretty much ready to go by Christmas.

I use different wrapping paper for each child with their favourite things or cartoons on them so I can remember which gift for which child

Hope I’m allowed to say . They were from Etsy.

Where did you order them from?