I thought Christmas was supposed to be a break. A time to relax and eat Quality Street at 7am while watching kids films on TV. Not for me. I have had family over on Christmas Day and again on Boxing Day with four relatives staying overnight. It has been a time of sorting out spare beds and fresh bed linen, cooking three course meals and washing up pots and pans afterwards. Organising cooked breakfasts, making endless cups of tea and coffee and feeling exhausted.
The day after Boxing Day I was up at 5.30am while everyone else slept in until 9.30am. In those 4 hours it felt like I had hosed the house down to get it looking reasonably clean and tidy. By 11am four of us were at The Lowry shopping outlet and filling our shopping bags. I am predictable. I had to go to Clintons to fill my bags with half price Christmas themed Yankee Candles. I bought 6 boxes of tealights as I have nearly finished all the boxes I bought there this time last year. They were half price £6.99 down to £3.49 a box. I bought 2 boxes of Christmas Cookie, two of Snowflake Cookie and one each of Christmas Eve and Fireside Treats.
I also treated myself to a large jar candle in Christmas cookie which was half price at £10.99 instead of £21.99 and medium sized candle in Fireside Treats again half price at £8.99 instead of £17.99.
We then hit the clearance section of the Marks & Spencer store and I found these sparkly sliders from their Autograph range at £9. I have bought these specifically for wearing in the evening on summer holidays. They are comfortable, practical but with just a hint of glamour for the evening. I found a fabulous pair of black boots for David at £14 and was amazed to find that these are current stock at full price £79. He is really pleased with them.
I also bought two bras at just £3 each. These were the only two in my size on a rack of around 100 bras so they took some rummaging to find. David always says how amazed he is with my patience and systematic checking of just about every item to find what I am looking for. I guess to get a bargain you do need patience and you must invest a reasonable amount of time to find a bargain. He can't be bothered with it all but is happy for me to find them for him.
I also bought a snugly thermal vest for my Dad for £6 and this will be put aside for him for his birthday in March. He will be 78 next year and has started to shrink in size and stature so feels the cold more than he used to.
It was then on to Waitrose towards the end of the day to see if they had any reductions. They had half price boxes of mixed biscuits at between £1.50 and £2 a box. I selected three types and bought two boxes of each. They are best before July so there is plenty time for them to be eaten. I think I will give one box to my Dad as part of his birthday gift. I also found bags of mini chocolate orange pieces for 50p and David's favourite jelly babies (jelly Santa version) for 66p bag - they were all half price.
Finally I had a look on-line at the M&S sale. I had already looked on Boxing Day and could not find anything I liked or needed but when I looked this time I found a long line waterfall cardigan that will look great over dresses for work or as a throw-on over trousers or jeans worn casual. I couldn't make up mind whether to buy the red one or camel one so I went a little crazy and bought both.
I also treated myself to a large jar candle in Christmas cookie which was half price at £10.99 instead of £21.99 and medium sized candle in Fireside Treats again half price at £8.99 instead of £17.99.
We then hit the clearance section of the Marks & Spencer store and I found these sparkly sliders from their Autograph range at £9. I have bought these specifically for wearing in the evening on summer holidays. They are comfortable, practical but with just a hint of glamour for the evening. I found a fabulous pair of black boots for David at £14 and was amazed to find that these are current stock at full price £79. He is really pleased with them.
I also bought two bras at just £3 each. These were the only two in my size on a rack of around 100 bras so they took some rummaging to find. David always says how amazed he is with my patience and systematic checking of just about every item to find what I am looking for. I guess to get a bargain you do need patience and you must invest a reasonable amount of time to find a bargain. He can't be bothered with it all but is happy for me to find them for him.
I also bought a snugly thermal vest for my Dad for £6 and this will be put aside for him for his birthday in March. He will be 78 next year and has started to shrink in size and stature so feels the cold more than he used to.
It was then on to Waitrose towards the end of the day to see if they had any reductions. They had half price boxes of mixed biscuits at between £1.50 and £2 a box. I selected three types and bought two boxes of each. They are best before July so there is plenty time for them to be eaten. I think I will give one box to my Dad as part of his birthday gift. I also found bags of mini chocolate orange pieces for 50p and David's favourite jelly babies (jelly Santa version) for 66p bag - they were all half price.
Finally I had a look on-line at the M&S sale. I had already looked on Boxing Day and could not find anything I liked or needed but when I looked this time I found a long line waterfall cardigan that will look great over dresses for work or as a throw-on over trousers or jeans worn casual. I couldn't make up mind whether to buy the red one or camel one so I went a little crazy and bought both.
2 comments:
Great bargains, particularly the Yankee Candles. I love Christmas Cookie, it's one of my favourite Christmas scents, I think.
Christmas cookie is my favourite too although the Snowflake cookie is not too far behind. May I ask you whether you do anything with your empty Yankee Candle jars once the candle has finished? I don't know whether to use them as storage or throw them away.
Post a Comment