Grinch Corner

My husband's great aunt Bertha used to produce the same box of chocolates each year, when they paid their dutiful post-Christmas visit. The chocolates had a sort of bluish bloom on them...

 

Today in the supermarket I saw a member of staff wheeling trolley with a tray of Lindt Chocolate Bunnies, please can we get Christmas and Valentine's day out of the way before we start on Easter.

 

I love your Christmas biscuits, @fairygirl ! The woman who's had the horrible accident needs putting out of her misery, though.

 

That sounds like the classic difference between the 'carrot' approach in UK and the 'stick' here in France. Due to the huge uptake in home photovoltaic installations, the government and EDF have decided to change the cheap-rate hours from night to day. So those who carefully thought-out and invested heavily in planning their consumption, including those who fell for the EV scam, will be stuffed. When you see just how much of an electricity bill here consists of tax ( 4 separate ones) it's not hard to see why this has happened.

 

I think we did that quite quickly @Liriodendron!
We had a good laugh making them. We did an Elton one as well as a Freddie.

 

I will tell OH to have a look. He's retired so he deals with the gas, leccy, phone etc.

 

Maybe the Easter Bunny celebrates Christmas as well!

 

I've seen chocolate eggs on sale here but wrapped in Xmas colours instead of Easter.

 

Sorry @katecat58 I should have said "giving" incorrect readings rather than "sending". I read the meter and send the readings in once a month. However, the basic argument still stands.

 

Just been in Sainsbury's. The car park was at a complete standstill, blocking the exit roundabouts and all roads to it. Such was the chaos, two members of staff had been deployed to open the emergency exit and funnel cars out that way. I've lived here nearly 25 yrs and have only seen them do that once before, during the fuel shortage. And we are only on 13 Dec! What hell it will be by the Christmas week doesn't bear thinking about.

 

My mother always used to buy all the presents, even for my stepfather's parents. He did nothing. Then on Christmas day, his parents would give him something really nice, and he would nudge my Mum and whisper "What did we give them?" and when she told him he would say "is that ALL?".

 

Christmas starts this weekend for many people. Several of my colleagues had their last day yesterday and won't be back till the New Year. I will be finishing next Thursday - I prefer to use up my leave days in the summer when I can enjoy them in the garden.

 

Oh yes I've had a lot of that - I always say that I have nothing to get ready since I don't do Christmas. They quite often admit then that they wish they could opt out too.
My boss at work said that his wife had done all the preparation - I said yes that's usually the way.

 

I have a relative (who shall remain nameless) who often ‘keeps’ presents like toiletries etc “for best” (?what?!) but often that means they just go unused. Same with a mug I bought them once - just use it! This is the same person who bought a beautiful china dinner set and it’s been used the sum total of once. I’m firmly in the ‘use the things you love’ camp.


Secret Santa. Discuss.
Doing that in big families might be a good idea - one gift to buy etc. work secret santas though - I haven’t got time for all that. I’ve seem some corkers over the years mind - including definite re-gifts, inappropriate ‘joke’ items and my all time favourite - some hair scrunchies with the signs of ‘one careful owner’! Oh and a partially used bubble bath.

 

I bought some Twiglets, just for quality control, you understand.
They are nothing like the twiglets I remember. Mind you, I also remember tubs of Quality street, the purple wrapped ones were my faves.
I still do a Secret Santa. We're in a group of 8, with 1 being in the states and 1 in AUS. The limit is £20 pus p & p. Thank goodness, I got a Uk resident this year!! My gift has arrived from Boulder, USA. We do a zoom when we open them.