Christmas Planning - Week 12: Attic Storage

Eeekkk - it's only 5 weeks until Christmas.  I've had a very very productive morning sorting out all the Christmas stuff and making room for it all.   OK so I emptied the cr4p out the airing cupboard/ wardrobe (in my room) and threw it on the bed then put the Christmas things in santa sacks (see this post) and put them into the empty space.
As for the things that are on the bed, well I'm hoping the magic faries will find them a home if I leave them long enough .......... what do you mean they won't ........ bugger.

Whilst sorting through the Christmas stuff I made one bag pressies and one bag Christmas Eve hamper/ things I may need before Christmas (such as festive jumpers and t-shirts).  I also listed them all on an excel spreadsheet with cost and savings.



My best buys so far:





Colour change clock - Argos - WAS: £9.99  PAID: £0.00 (as Noah is obsessed with ours and
reading numbers) - Had a £10 gift card reward from a survey site which covered this.





Lego Batman 3 for PS3 - Tesco - WAS: £38.99  PAID: £-1.00 - used a combination of £10 off pre-order game code and clubcard boost (on vouchers I forgot I had).  Meant I had £3 to pay.  However their price promise refunded me £4.





Call of Duty:  Advanced Warfare (PS3) - Tesco - WAS: £42  PAID: £27.  Tesco have a code at the moment for £15 off a £60 grocery shop for new customers.  However it works for existing ones
too.  So I added some shopping I needed to make the money up.

Photo Books (x4) - Albelli - WAS:  £337 (£84.25x4)  PAID: £76 (£19x4).      I've mentioned these before (and I WILL get round to blogging about soon).  Thanks to a fantastic Amazon offer (which is back on and you can still order in time for Christmas).



Anyways (as Noah now always says at the beginning a sentence)..... onto this week.  And we are tackling the Attic Storage.  Now as Ben and Noah sleep in here it's not a big storage space.  The side cupboard is but I only sorted that out last week.

As for new Christmas planning for this week....

• make place cards.   I'll be asking the boys to help with these as a Christmas activity in December.
• buy foil trays.  Must remember this, I meant to put them on the Tesco shop.

To-Do list update.

1) complete Christmas card list - yes I know, so easy but I've still not done it.

2) sort out the living room - must shift/ sort out the Lego .... I started ... well ok I did 2 small models  Lego is now upstairs and the room is getting there.  I must remove all the paper bits that get dumped around and prepare to switch the books over to winter themed.

3) make up the Christmas cards .... do I need any more?

4) decide on/ start the kids Christmas cards - started :)

5) get a couple of box of chocs and some snacks in ready.  - now have 2 tubs and a few bags.  Moving to 'shopping list'

6) start meal planning and plan Christmas Day meal - start a list of food to buy and when to buy it.

7) sort out the Christmas crockery/ table covers etc

8) Toys in the Argos sale.Unfortunately most of Argos stuff my boys like is now home delivery only and they let us down this way a couple of years ago not delivering a Christmas present then telling me lies and making it a horrible experience.

9) tidy/ sort my room - started done (for now)

10) take a look at last years wooden advent calender. I'd like to do 'something' to it but at the moment I don't know what.  Perhaps I'll do 'it' over the Christmas season ready for next year.

11) Medicines  Moving to 'shopping list'

12) First Aid  Moving to 'shopping list'

13) Get new Christmas Towels  Moving to 'shopping list'

14) get rid of old toys/ books.   Now under number 18

15) Start planning the Christmas gifts for boys. - started.

16) Look at what clothes are in Ben's 'bigger' box and what they are outgrowing.   Now under number 18

17) check smoke detectors - hubby's job as I can't reach them easily.  Safe to say they don't work, hubby needs to fix them!!

18) Kids room tidy  (from week 6)

        Shelves/ cupboards -  examine, toss/save/donate, replace onto shelves. 

        Games/ Puzzles - sort them out and bin any with missing pieces.   

        Get rid of old magazines, old McDonald toys, toys in pieces, broken crayons, non-functional pens. 

        Clothing - too small, old?   

        Wash curtains - yay I did this.

        Clean/ tidy under the bed   - tick - moved the furniture so had to.

        Clean the windows,  dust any wooden furniture.  

        Clean the floors/ hoover - tick, when we moved the furniture.

19) Kitchen

        Clean and tidy the wall units, then the bottom cabinets then the counters. 

        Check any open boxes of food/ storage for bugs

       Wipe down empty shelves

       Check medicines for expiry dates

       Clean all appliances inside and out (refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave, toaster, hob, oven)

       Sink - don't forget to send cleaner down the u-bend.

20) make place cards

We are pretty prepared for Christmas present wise now... just a few bits to get....

Christmas shopping list

1) Kids - Tablet...each/ between them?  On the lookout for a good deal if anyone sees one.    I think we've settled on the Lexibook between them for now.

2) Kids - Santa bath bombs (x32) from Lush - Christmas Eve Hamper and 1 each for stockings. I managed to find a TMNT bath fizzer in Tesco for Christmas Eve.

3) 2 x Olaf T-shirts (I've given up on Primark getting them in a suitable size so now looking elsewhere).  Found in Primark - £5 each with long sleeves.

4) some more jelly sweets.  bought a tub of swizzles.

5) hubby's presents ... whatever they end up being.  one down, just need to find a gold chain to replace the one he's had for years that broke.

6) A waffle maker (on Grandad's behalf for the kids).  done.

7) Lush - build your own snowman, for my niece.  (soo cool).  found a hottie I bought earlier in year I forgot about..

8) wrapping paper - I have some but need to get the ones for the kids.

9) Medicine stash

10) First Aid stash

11) New Christmas Towels

12) Christmas crockery

13) foil trays and plastic tupperware for leftovers.