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Thanks alone1969, I get the money saving expert email every week but haven't seen the quidco one so will be having a sneaky peek!
OMG you must join Quidco. Basically its £5 a year, but its paid out of what you earn. I have earnt over £2500 since Sept 2006. I go through it to pay for ebay items, Debenhams, switch my gas / elec, mobile phones, do surveys online, book rail tickets. Its fantastic. And it costs no more. I.e if you say order from Body Shop, it gives you a % back of your spend.....
Yes, I do those too 
I've gotten two things reduced lately just by emailing the author (they were apps for my computer) and telling them my sad situation of being a single parent on benefits and just sooo poor, and how much I like their programs and could I possible have them for free, both of them gave me them reduced, one for a third of the price and another for half : )
My kids like playing computer games, they both have accounts on Steam which is a sort of digital shop come community thing, they have a mid week sale and a weekend sale and periodically festive sales, like just now, Halloween where I picked up Overlord, which they both love, for .89p. At Christmas they have a massive sale with anything up to %70 off all the latest games, lots of kids and family ones.
: )
This will be the first Christmas day that my daughter is not with me.....it's a bit of a weird one, but it is my decision to alternate Christmases and having sought my half hour of free legal advice on 3 occasions, each lawyer said that that is the norm and what would usually be agreed in Court. Despite their advice, I have also had comments from others like "I cannot believe you can be without your child on Christmas day..." My ex and I have our daughter 50/50 of the time and despite how painful it is and how much I miss her, she has been great with it. I try and be as positive as possible for her benefit and the fact that she is getting 2 Christmasses, and the 2 visits from Father Christmas is very exciting. However, the thought of not having her on xmas eve or on xmas day is very difficult. She is back with me on Boxing Day, which is great and I am with friends on Christmas Day. I shall be as positive as I can, just tired of people's comments.
Hello pocketrocket1
Yes, people can really give their unwanted views, can't they?
Well my boys went for several Christmasses to their dad, the reason I did this was I knew I could cope perfectly well on my own and their dad would find it harder. My boys loved having an extra Christmas with me on Boxing Day! What we have to remember is that the "emotional" importance of 25th December is an ADULT thing and the children are fine with it. The first Christmas on my own I got all these sympathy invites, some from people I hardly knew!!!!no thanks, I would rather have the day to myself and look forward to Boxing Day with the boys, that was my attitude.
The people who are making comments have no experience of your situation. They may get a shock one day!
Hope you still have a lovely time
Thank you, your comments are music to my ears and in all of this my daughter is as happy as anything, so to me, that's what matters. I shall have a lovely chat with her on Christmas day, head over to friends, then back in the evening. To be honest, I was actually quite prepared to spend the day to myself...but everyone said that I mustn't do that! I am likely to go to a local carol service late on Christmas eve, which I am really looking forward to.
I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a healthy, happy and prosperous new year xxx
I'm so glad your daughter is happy,
I hope you really enjoy Christmas day , which sounds lovely, and have a brilliant Boxing day with your daughter.
Best wishes
Sorry to be a party pooper, but:
My top tip would be to start calling it by its proper name CHRISTMAS. :P
My friend was here on Monday, and lived in Greece for a while where Christmas in Greek starts with an X - she was telling me that's where xmas comes from?
I've not checked this, I have to say, but did find that interesting :-)
I actually meant to add my top tip for Christmas aswell, but to be honest, a little too late now (only just posted on here for the first time yesterday) however forward planning for next year....what I would suggest is starting to buy Christmas presents throughout the year, to relieve the full cost and expense in one go. Also, what I do, if I do have friends or family round, is save up my shopping vouchers for when I buy any Christmas food. That helps lots and the vouchers are valid for well over a year!!
Thank you sparklinglime for your kind comment - love the name!! Very positive and bubbly!!.
Have a good one, one and all. For the first time today, I actually feel fine about it all...just hope that I feel that way on Christmas day!! Onwards and upwards xx
Hey pocketrocket1,
I'm glad someone is feeling fine about Christmas...I feel tired & stressed simultaneously! It is only ever really ourselves as individuals who pile the presure on, isn't it? So with this in mind, I should be kinder to myself (having already bought myself 4 Christmas presents, maybe not
)
I always start present buying around September. Come October, dry food stuffs (biscuits, crisps, nuts etc.) get squirrelled away on the tops of all the kitchen units. Its only by doing things this way that I have the time and the money to get everything 'needed'.
By the way, my daughter's birthday is Christmas Eve - so she spends half of each with me and the other half with her dad. This year, she goes to her dad's around 3 in the afternoon and comes back about 1.30 for Christmas lunch. I feel like I miss the 'best bits' when it's this way round - but the reverse pattern happens next year. And it means I get to go for a few drinks with my friends on Christmas eve. I think there's always a silver lining - sometimes you just have to look for it.
Have a fantastic Christmas and an amazing New Year!
Mary x
Squirreling things away is my usual practice, but I have absolutely failed on that score this year.
Merry Christmas from me as well.
Hi - Christmas day was okay after all, although in a perfect world, of course I would have loved to have woken up Christmas morning with my daughter. Bit of a strange one really, my ex turned up with our daughter for 45 minutes on Christmas day morning before heading off to see family. He totally went against my wishes as I had told my little one that she was with Daddy this year....am I being uncharitable as I know he wants me back, and is he playing games, or is he genuinely being nice by bringing my daughter over even for a short time? It's been a tough 2 years of the verbal 50/50 thing with our girl........However, my daughter was very happy, so that made me happy. I headed off to see friends and had a good day. Driving back at night time was a bit of an emotional one though, but I got through it. We have had great Mummy and daughter time today, opening presents and seeing what Father Christmas had left in the big sack at the end of the bed! A perfect stay at home day.
Top tip - if your children are happy at Christmas, regardless of which parent they are with, so long as they feel loved, then we, as parents, should feel happy too.
On an even more positive note, it's my turn at Christmas next year!!!
Hi Mary - thanks for your comment. I hope you are feeling less tired and stressed now, at least for another year anyway! I hope your daughter had a lovely birthday and that you had some good special moments together.
I appreciate your comments and I am trying my hardest to find the silver lining. With a bit of time, I will get there.
Have a magical New Year! :)
x
Hi pocketrocket1
I'm glad you had a good day with your daughter.
As for him turning up on Christmas day, its hard to know what he had in his head - I used to think my ex did things so that others would think 'how thoughtful'...
I'm so glad your daughter was happy, which as you say, is the main thing.
My very best wishes.
Great to hear you had a good day yesterday, pocketrocket.
Yes I am significantly less stressed out now, thanks
You're so right in what you said about if our children are happy that we should be happy too. It's a sentiment I try to stick to.
As for what your ex was thinking on Christmas day - I have yet to meet anyone who can read minds effectively, so perhaps it's best simply to be grateful you got an unplanned 45 minutes with your daughter 
With the best of wishes for 2013 x x
Hi alone1969
Wouldn`t that be fab a huge xmas party for everyone