Friday Q&A on Black Friday Deals To Make Christmas Easier This Year!

0:00Hello and welcome to Made by Mamas the podcast. I'm Zoe Hardman. And I'm Georgia Dayton. And this is your parenting safe space where no conversation is off limits. With five kids between G and I, we have seen a lot. We really have. Each week, we'll be joined by some famous faces and experts, and we'll chat about the brands and products that have saved us along the way. In short, we're the parenting podcast for you. Before we get started, hit subscribe or follow so you're the first to know when each episode lands. And they're on Tuesdays and Fridays. And it really helps if you leave a rating and a review.

0:32You can also find us on Instagram. We're on at Made by Mummers. But for now, George, should we get into it? Ho, ho, ho. Merry Christmas. Look at my big sack full of no presents because I haven't ordered anything yet. No presents. I'm actually sitting in my office at the moment as we record and I've literally got presents behind me that I'm not very good at hiding. Oh, wow. Well done. They're all like stashed here. But the problem with that is that if they see them, then I have to rebuy presents. No, you do not have to do that. You just need to wrap them quickly or shove them in a cupboard. Yes, that's what I need to do.

1:07Yeah, well, it is a stressful, I've got to be honest with you, I don't know how everybody else is feeling, but I feel like the year between September and November really goes quite slowly. You know, you're back into school, you're kind of trying to find your flow. And then suddenly Christmas is switched on. And then I think, fuck, fuckity fuckadoodle doo, I haven't done anything. And then I go into total panic. Same. And also, if you're, you know, on social media or like you read magazines or whatever, it's so many gift guides. There's so much Black Friday messaging. It becomes so confusing knowing what to buy.

1:42Like everyone's trying to sell something to you. And you think, oh, like, oh, God, I should be buying this. I should be buying that. And before you know it, like you've bought a load of rubbish that you don't need. No, it's true. But it's so true, isn't it? It's so true. And I'm really like trying to not do that. Me too. Did you see Luna's list? firstly her beautiful little heart she spent five hours making that list which she did that was not the first edit that was the fourth edit that she did and designed but she's so specific on what she wants firstly I cannot believe a nine year old wants that much skin care you know it's all lip balms and you know drunk elephant I was like this is my list CeraVe moisturizer and cleanser or that bloody Summer Fridays lip balm.

2:36Seriously, dude, we should have gone into lip balms. Why did we not make my mum's lip balm? We would have been millionaires. I know. Isn't it mad? Do you know what would be funny to look at? Like Christmas gift lists from nine-year-olds when we were nine compared to now. Like I think, do you remember Dream Phone, that board game that had those giant phones? I wasn't allowed it because I think my mum and dad thought it was too promiscuous. and it was literally like a board game about like having a boyfriend on the phone or something it like i remember one of my friends had it for christmas and we were like are we gonna play dream phone i've never heard of dream phone yeah yeah yeah it was it was the hot game of the year and i think i maybe i might have even been 10 well dream phone sounds cheaper than um nike socks mini laneige set glow recipe and enough wash bags to sink a small vessel oh my god oh don't forget a small vanity mirror and a big vanity mirror to do all her lip balms in for all that lip balm wearing you must have both size what's with the mini fridge as well oh but it's that cognetics fridge because that's the thing as well isn't it right I don't know.

3:56The one I've bought looks like you can just put beers in it.

4:02So anyway, you may have guessed, but Georgia and I are bringing you our ultimate gift guide Friday Q &A today. We thought we'd throw it out to you guys because it is a crazy time of year. You might be feeling overwhelmed. So we thought, can we help out with any of your gift dilemmas? Georgia, kick us off. Let's start with this one because there have been multiple questions exactly like this. husbands who don't know what they want husbands who have everything right okay do you want to start what are you going to get James yeah well so this is the thing I James's birthday is in December and I always find it so hard because he's so particular about everything as we know um but over the years I have found that for husbands experiences or like not necessarily a thing like so last year I think I got him golf oh lovely um yeah and I think that is probably what I'll do again this year so it might be like in fact last year I got him golf lessons and a new driver and that went together nicely um or I think even probably the year before I did the same I bought him a paddle bat and some paddle lessons but I think if you tap into like their interests rather than trying to guess what they want um because I don't know like as growing up it's like we sometimes just buy what we want you know like we buy ourselves the things so I think yeah an experience or this is another thing I was thinking what do we all want time to ourself you could gift each other you know an afternoon on your own you know like book a round how lovely his favorite golf course or you know or say this afternoon like here's your gift you do whatever you want i will handle everything really nice really nice yeah so i have got dozza a pair of Sorel slippers they're currently in the Black Friday sale they are reduced to 75 quid they are really great because you can wear them inside and outside so when he's taking the bins out he can wear them they're shearing so they've got a really lovely kind of soft warm inside of the foot and then they just look really beautiful like slippers are pretty old manny these are quite cool so really love that I also got him um have you heard of arnie the men's brand he really likes the arnie hoodies so i've got him like a cozy lounge set and i have actually invested a well it didn't actually cost me too much because i got it in the back of red but i got him a new wash bag um because his one was just tatty and horrible and covered in toothpaste so they're the three things that i've got for this year but again like you george i think experience is a really lovely thing to do because then it it's you know it gives them something to go out and do rather than just being like oh thanks very much for my gift that whole consumerism thing where we're constantly spending money it just really it doesn't fill me up yeah no I'm the same and I think the older you get as well like you've bought loads of stuff and you have loads of stuff already so do it tapping into you know hobbies and all that kind of stuff is the way blow jobs for a week um I would not do that and I'll buy the wash bag um so here's one from Jenna a mother-in-law that has everything yes right mother-in-law who has everything I think this is like a common theme isn't it where it's really difficult to buy something for someone who you think has everything so for my mother-in-law and actually my mum, I always do magazine subscriptions.

7:47Oh, what a nice idea. So, yeah, I love getting a magazine subscription. I get Red, Good Housekeeping, Woman and Home, and my mum gets them as well. I did the same for my mother-in-law last year, and I'll probably do the same again this year because it's one of those things that they get every month. They might not necessarily buy that themselves. And I actually did it for my father-in-law too. I got him Watt Car subscription. so I think that is a really nice thing to do but also anything personalized so like you know Papier they do amazing like stationery and notebooks and stuff like that and you can get you know get them personalized if they like writing a diary or you know they they write a diary like as in what they're doing each day um or you can get um personalized calendars with pictures on them like memories like stuff like that I think for the people who have everything that is your way to go.

8:44Yeah, I completely agree with you, George. We do for Doza's mum and my mum, we do a calendar and we put the kids' faces on various things that they've done throughout the year against the months. And it's really lovely because my mum lives in Kenya. She's not with them the whole time. So it's a really lovely journey of what they've been up to. But also, you know, she doesn't want any more things. She just doesn't. She just wants things that will make her full of joy and the kids make her feel full of joy. So I think it's, there are some really great companies out there where you know you can do like georgia said those personalized things i think that is the way to go rather than being like oh look here's a lovely scarf that i got you and she goes well i've got 25 scarves yeah yeah i do and i think i mean we we think that they want pictures of our kids they tell us they want pictures of our kids but who knows they're gonna get them who knows they're gonna get them exactly how are you navigating the gifting process when santa is involved right so before we talk about Santa put us in your ears we've given you a second if you're in the car warning put us in your ears turn the volume down so Father Christmas for me we have one list that the kids write for Father Christmas and one list that they will write for us so they're allowed two or three main gifts and then the rest is given from Father Christmas and I have to be super prepared because I have to get everything ready before we go to Kenya So the stockings come out with us.

10:07It does pain me slightly that Father Christmas gets to give them so much stuff. I remember getting stockings as a kid and I had a tangerine, some chocolate coins, a whoopee cushion, a stretchy poo and something else to irritate my parents with on Christmas Day and maybe like a bubble blower thing. But now it seems that Father Christmas gets to take all the credit, which really fucks me off. um but that is how we navigate it and um obviously with Isla who's slightly older um she's given us one list and we will do a stocking for her on fakeness and she knows that half the stuff that she's given us will be split between the two yeah yeah I mean so when the kids were little I didn't think about it so much like what was from Santa and what was from us and whatever it was just like I've already decided the night before you know like I'd be like oh yeah this pile's from Santa this pile's from us now I'm a little bit more wary so I remember someone saying to me years ago and I've mentioned it on the podcast before don't Santa doesn't buy expensive gifts because you know there might be a friend at school or a friend at football or a friend whatever who doesn't really get any gifts from Santa or doesn't celebrate Christmas or doesn't So you don't want them to feel like they've been naughty or whatever, because they don't get a huge amount of gifts from Santa.

11:34So in my mind, I was like, right, OK, I get that now. So now what I do is I usually do for the kids from Santa, like the small things. So like pyjamas and mood dressing gown. Like last year, we did things for their room. In the stocking, when Father Christmas comes at night, you'll put those things in their stocking. Sorry, again. I put little bits and bobs in a stocking and then there's presents in one room. Santa doesn't come into their rooms because they don't want him to. I'm not joking. You're fucking kidding me. I'm not joking. What do you mean? No, I'm not joking. They are like, no, no, I don't want, no, no, he can't.

12:12I'll leave my stocking downstairs. So they're quite happy for the elf to creep around at night and do weird shit in the house. But Father Christmas who's bringing presents, they don't want him near them. No. Maybe this year might be different, but every year up until now. So what I do is I put them by the fireplace in the living room. They usually have something that's not, you know, it wouldn't be a PlayStation or a bike or that sort of thing. It would be like a, yeah, last year I did a pinboard for Axel's room and I put like go-karting ticket on there. and a picture of a Liverpool player and some Liverpool dressing gown and slippers.

12:52Like little bits and pieces like that. And then we do main stuff from us. So the big presents come from us. So Father Christmas... Right, okay. This is the thing, isn't it? And I just want to say, I think, Georgie, you're absolutely right. There is so much pressure to spend money at Christmas and already have anxiety around it. set yourself a clear budget stick to your budget do not go outside of that budget do not push yourself to the limit do not spend on your credit cards this is not what christmas is about look kids if you've got amazing kids which everyone that listens to this podcast kids are legends um they're not they're not there for that they're not there for that and really you don't want to put yourself in a position where you're feeling completely stretched it doesn't have to be big things it can be silly little things like half of the presents that i get from father christmas are like a fart whistle which is so fun on Christmas day when they keep basically blaming Shushu for doing all the farting just little things like that which don't cost very much$2.99 and then you can kind of fill up the stocking with you know those those types of presents and then just be very clear on the two or three I think any more than that is a bit obscene yeah no I agree and also like I've said before I'm an only child my kids are my parents only grandchildren children and my parents do not know about limits really really presents no no no no they they probably have got better in the last year or so but that is honestly their pleasure like they love it they love buying stuff for the kids so I have to be really like just yeah yeah careful a bit more um so yeah um I think everyone navigates Santa and stuff from their houses in their own way as well we'll be right back after this short break welcome back to this episode of made by mamas now where were we so much choice feels like I'm buying things for the sake of it they don't need anything else I mean that's from Beth and I completely agree with you you know I've had to set I don't know if you've had the conversation but I had to set very kind of clear expectations around the Christmas lists like I've received Luna and Islas and I you know there was a there was a number at the end of Islas and I just said that is a really really lot she went through and added up all of the things and I said that's a really high number and I said just to you know it we can't do that so there'll be things that we've chosen from that list but you can't expect to have written it down and got everything on the list um and I completely agree with Beth I think it's really lovely to treat the kids but it's not about spoiling them rotten at the extent of your happiness or what you can do yeah and have you seen the instagram trend where people are say asking their kids and filming it what did you get for christmas last year yeah and none of them can remember of course not so so i don't do presents for my sister my mom or her partner um and dozer and i have said this year that we're not going to buy each other gifts as well so we're just going going to focus on the kids so i think that you can have that conversation can't you and like georgia said earlier on do something that's a token that's a memory or like an experience rather than just them all stuff yeah exactly yeah girl coming up to age seven not makeup skincare type presence whoa do you know what this is so interesting because gg's six this year and you're you know you're saying you know not makeup and skin care type presence and already i'm getting that from Gigi and she's six so I totally feel this person because it's difficult like when they're seven six and seven and you think I don't want to be buying skincare and makeup for them just yet um so do you want to go through with what you've got yeah I mean for me like I think if they're in if they sort of want skincare and makeup but you don't want them to have that yet there's like some fun little bits and pieces that you can get that still feel like girly and creative because I think essentially makeup at that age is about creativity yeah exactly so like I've bought these on from Amazon I think they're a 9.99 and they're like hair chalks where they can you know draw in their hair I've also bought I don't know if you've seen I don't know how you pronounce it it's slime it's g-u-i-g-u-i slime it's the slime that all the girls seem to want but again it's like you're adding sparkles and you're adding shimmer almost adding makeup to the slime so things like that I've bought and then also I've seen this um VTech notebook which is like have you seen it yeah I was gonna say that it's basically locked but it's very like it still feels young but to them that would feel quite grown up um also this last year I bought Gigi that Instax camera the Polaroid camera and again that is such a fun gift for a six seven eight year old because they can take photos and then they can you know pin them on their pin board in their bedroom or they can put them on a little string and they can decorate them and I don't know I think if you're if you've got a daughter that's into skincare and makeup or likes that sort of thing it's probably more that they like creative stuff so yeah I look down that sort of thing I agree with you George I think that VTech library the VTech diary sorry I got that for Luna and for Isla when she was a bit younger and they absolutely loved it loved it it's such a brilliant present because it's creative it feels like they've got a screen but they haven't yeah and I also think things like we do this how to draw subscription and it's a really lovely present to give a child it's 7.99 a month but it teaches them how to draw and my kids probably two or three times a week they will sit there rather than going on the telly after they come back from their clubs and they'll just sit and draw for 45 minutes and that i've put that on there i said to them do you want me to carry this on as a subscription that could be one of your christmas presents and they both said yes so that's quite a nice thing to do it's cool i think it's called simply draw simply draw i was going to ask you that because um my dad does bits like that with the kids after school i'm gonna i'll get him to also loom bands are a really good idea i don't know if they are into loom bands but luna apps she's nine isn't she but she does it all the time with her friends loom bands is a really good suggestion um also things like um bracelet making and anything that's kind of really creative i listen if you sit down and do it with them they'll do it yeah and i also got gg in the summer she loves like designing dresses and like things like that on her barbies and it was from amazon and it was a basically a barbie dress making kit amazing and they have like little um what are they called the little oh my gosh the things that you make a mannequin tiny little mannequins and they can design a dress from all this fabric on the mannequin like she loves that sort of thing again feels grown up but it's not that grown up so i've done a lot of my shopping actually from smiggle and they've got an amazing black friday sale on at the moment and there's something on there called an led scribble screen which is really cute for the for boys and girls actually and luna's got had one from last year but obviously classic lost it um but i'm definitely going to get both the kids those and i think it's like four pounds fifty or something yeah amazing yeah so things like that that like we were saying that are kind of creative and interactive i really yeah rather than like you said like skincare bits i'm like god she's gonna start a bloody shop the thing is though i can see at luna's age like that is what they want but you know when they're like six and seven you're like i just want to like hold on as long as possible i mean having said that gg takes my flipping Victoria Beckham lip balm to school with her.

20:38So, you know, I can't be bothered to argue. So there we go. Good intentions and all that. We'll be right back after this short break.

20:52Welcome back to this episode of Made by Mamas. Now, where were we? Hard to buy for my little boy who's four and is into everything the four-year-old boy already has. right okay so he's two yeah yeah because he obviously just wants what his four-year-old brother's got which i think is really really difficult and then you just end up buying two of everything and then that's just a complete waste of time but i guess you have to see them as individual people rather than being like because i sometimes look at the kids and i think well why would i get that because isla has got it so why would i get it for luna but luna also wants her own one yeah so I guess you kind of have to think what are the toys that he's are you saying that he'll grow out of them the four-year-old and then you would give them to the two-year-old anyway yeah I saw I see this in yeah one of my friends has two boys and they're about two or three years apart and she said the same thing she's like it's so hard to know what to buy the younger one because you know they've got the big fire engines they've got the you know the bike and then it gets passed down like and I totally get that but I was just thinking about like things that you can add to so like if you've got a Tony box or a Yoto box which I think a lot of kids have now you can buy the younger one their own you know Tonys like ones that they're specifically interested in or like personalized stuff like at two you've got to remember they don't know what they're getting not really really like they probably just want the fuss of opening stuff so you can either like not really get them that much and sort of they they'll be happy anyway or you can get them stuff that you want them to have you know like do you remember the times when you could just buy your kids whatever like clothes or really cute lovely stuff and they'd be happy with it but now they would not have any of that no of course not i was just looking at um on the website not another bill have you been on there it's all so beautiful like they do adult stuff on there as well but they've got like a kid's apron and you could have their name embroidered on it and I think at two years old you can still give a gift like that because they only really want wrapping paper and then that's something cute for you to have in the house also I was thinking Facebook marketplace is a really fantastic really fantastic yeah to get second hand so for example at two we got kit his first little like bike which they use with their legs would they sort of run the balance bike sorry that's what they're called um there'll be loads on there at this time of year have a little look for stuff like that what you want to do is make the two-year-old also feel that he's not just getting his hand-me-downs from his brother so you I think you know like Georgia said you can kind of you can still get away with giving them stuff that you want them to have but at the same time you know really making a fuss of them and maybe going down the second hand route and steering away from already the stuff that his that his brother's got because he's going to get that anyway isn't he yeah it but it is it's so You need one wow present.

23:49You do. That's true. You need one wow present. Because that's all they can, like, take in, really, anyway. I got this, when was it? I think Luna must have been about five or four. I got her this really cool pink electric car from Facebook Marketplace. I drove around to this lovely lady's house, and she was selling it for, like, 35 quid. But she'd just charge up, and she was just driving down the street, going to the park, and it, like, wow, wow. And she loved it. They only just stopped using it because she can't get in it. Yeah, but that is a wow present. that's a wow present and you can yeah get them pick them up on facebook marketplace or i think vintage sell electricals and toys and stuff now don't they so yeah it is it is such a good way to go um gifts for teachers how much do you spend oh my god olivia i don't even know i just get reminders from people on the whatsapp going has everyone contributed to the teacher's present i normally put 20 quid in yeah yeah 20 quid yeah I think that is that for the teacher and the teaching assistant or is that all in one pot yeah 10 quid each there's a class of 30 people yeah yeah I mean most of the time I pay into the collection and on the odd occasion that I haven't because I've forgotten um to pay I then end up spending more because it's it's hard isn't it when you've got to buy two gifts.

25:13So yeah,£20 I think is perfect for a joint collection and however they distribute it, they distribute it. But remember we did a couple of years ago on our stories, we asked our followers who are teachers what they actually want. And I think 90 % said vouchers, which I know feels boring to give someone, but you have got to remember that if 30 people in the class for individual gifts like little things that's a lot for the teacher to take home like my dad 30 bottles of wine though yeah that'd be nice my dad but christmas sorted yeah he was he was a head master and he used to literally get like i'm not joking hundreds of presents at christmas and bring them all home and me and my mum would like raid them but equally that was a hell of a lot of like stuff like 10 15 pound gifts like it's a lot so yeah I would go for a voucher or go into the collection the one thing I also think is a really nice thing to do is to write a special card that you're not just signing the group card if you've got time and you know because this is what I go back to this is not about spending money this is about the thought and you know the thought that counts but I really do believe that the only thing I ever want for my birthday is a card that the kids have written and made me that's it I don't care about anything else it's just like mummy you're the best mummy in the world you know you're the best teacher in the world thanks for everything that you've done yeah love janie oh do you know what i one year for gg's preschool i did um was it deliveroo or a costa card and i loaded it up because they used to get deliveroo costa at lunchtime or whatever you're brilliant and then they all could obviously get their coffees in the new year so that's like a that's a nice thing to do a useful gift you would rather have george as one of your parents than me because I'm going to make you a shit handmade card and George is going to get you cost of vouchers.

27:08But you know, the thought is there. That's more thoughtful. Everybody just wants money and I hate giving people money. Me too. Me too. I don't get it. I really don't get it because I just think what's the point? Like if everyone's exchanging money, you might as well not bother. I know. You might as well keep your own money. Yeah, you keep your money, I'll keep my money and we'll just say Happy Christmas. Yeah, I don't get that. I feel like gift, and I do understand that if you've got like 15, 16 year olds in your family who are impossible to buy for. And also for them, I think having money is different because it's independence and it's getting to go out and choose things.

27:50I think that's very different to when you're giving adults money. I don't understand that at all. No way. No, I don't. And I think if you really don't know what to buy someone, there are so many good vouchers and stuff out there. I remember my auntie, until I was probably, probably until I had the kids, used to give me like a£100 Zara voucher every year. And I loved it. Like, I absolutely loved it because it was like£100 I could spend on myself. Like, there was no, you know, nothing, no one else. I wasn't going to buy anything for anyone else with it. So I think a voucher that's personal to them is a good replacement to money.

28:31I would like cook vouchers. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. But then that is for other people as well. Oh, yeah. But if that's what you want. Chicken and leek pie is the best. How would you like that? We had it for dinner last night. Did you? Oh, my God. I'm like the best of cook. It's the kids' favourite meal. Cook. Jesus. Anyone want to get me a present? I love a cook voucher. Oh, how I've changed. £30 girl group secret Santa, mid-30s, into the gym, fashion and beauty. Nice. Girl, get yourself onto Charlotte Tilbury at the moment. They've got the most incredible Black Friday sale. Most of their stuff is 50 % off at the moment.

29:11What a gorgeous present that would be. Yeah. I always think that, you know, like people of similar age, like maybe got kids, like all of that sort of stuff, think about something that you'd never buy yourself like that you wouldn't ever treat you know treat yourself to I think we I said it before but years ago my mum bought me a La Mer lip balm and it had my name on it I would never buy that for myself because I think it's probably a bit more than 30 pounds but around that amount of money I've never spent that much on a lip balm but I love it I absolutely love it and it brings me like a little bit of joy every time I open my bag and put it on i think think about things like little luxuries um that yeah that you wouldn't splash out on yourself i think that's absolutely right really nice manicure you know going go and like give a voucher to go and get a really nice manicure like a townhouse or something like that they've got some really really like indulgent gifts yeah or like treat well you know the website treat well you can buy a treat well gift card now and that's quite good because it's like a bit more you know locations you can you can use them anywhere essentially you don't need to live in london um and they can go on and treat themselves to a blow dry or you know just something i think that is that's a gift to me something you wouldn't buy yourself agreed love that george george is great isn't she on presents she's always thinking wowza always thinking well i've got to get through hundreds and hundreds of link clicks going right they're not having that they're not having that they're not having that so wish me luck that's going to be my task for the day well axel has asked me for tickets to liverpool when they win so i've got to also go and see a clairvoyant before i buy the tickets so good he's so good he's so specific he knows what he wants yeah only if they win if not i don't want it great um we're here for you guys if you're finding the christmas overwhelmed too much do just reach out on our dms you know that we always love a chat and hopefully today's episode has helped you guys as always we'd love you to rate review subscribe and please give the podcast a follow yeah and if you've got any feedback on this episode or like any gifts we've mentioned on here that you want more info on or anything you might want to buy that we might have bought our kids and you can you know rely on us for our honest feedback then drop us a dm on instagram we're on at made by mommas and we'll be back on tuesday

31:40Thank you.