3 Ways to Prepare for Black Friday Weekend

Any serious shopper knows that this weekend is one of the most important of the year, but how do you prepare yourself for Black Friday and Cyber Monday so you get a genuine bargain and not end up with something completely useless and not particularly good value? The most important thing you can do is get organised, and this means less spontaneous shopping and more research…

Don’t Wait to Buy

One point to remember is that you don’t necessarily have to wait until Black Friday – if there’s something that you really want or need and it’s on a great offer right now, then what’s stopping you? Ok, so you could hold out for a better price, but a) this might not actually happen and b) if it does happen, there’s a chance a lot of other people might have the same idea as you and said product could sell out quite quickly.

It’s all about weighing up the pros and cons, but if you do decide to play it safe and place that order before Black Friday, we’ve put together a few early Black Friday and Cyber Monday-themed blog posts with some of the best offers available right now including The Body Shop voucher codes that save you £25 when you spend £50 or more until the end of the month. And even if some have expired already, it gives a great idea as to what retailers you need to keep an eye on come the weekend…

Set a Realistic Budget

Whether you’re shopping for Christmas, bargain homeware or the biggest TV you’re ever seen in your entire life, be realistic about how much you’re going to spend. With all the best intentions in the world, many of us might go a bit overboard on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, so take a look at exactly how much you can afford to spend so you don’t end up with any nasty surprises on your bank statement or credit card bill.

If you’ve got a specific product in mind, then see what they have in stock now, and try and take a guess at how much discount might be available come Black Friday. Alternatively, you could use Hughes discount vouchers and Joules promo codes to see how much they’re definitely knocking off with their deals, and if you don’t want to miss out, well see previous point…

Clear Some Space for Those Deliveries

If you want to do all your pre-Christmas sale shopping online, ideally by taking advantage of those plentiful Cyber Monday deals, then you need to do some logistical preparation in terms of deliveries. Luckily many major retailers now offer a number of different delivery options with nominated days and times available. But if you’re ordering from more than one site, then make sure you don’t have all those deliveries spread across an entire week, not unless you want to spend rather a long time picking up parcels from post offices and neighbours.

You also need to consider where you’re going to put everything, if you need to hide things away before Christmas. Organise a spot where you can quickly whisk away those parcels and you’ll find yourself with one less thing to worry about in the lead up to Christmas.

So if you are planning a Black Friday or Cyber Monday shopping spree, plan ahead to make sure you get the very best out of it and end up with a genuine bargainous bounty.

3 Reasons November Isn’t as Bad as You Might Think

November is one of those in-between months that you just want to get out of the way so all the fun can start again. Summer is long gone, Halloween is over, and with the exception of Bonfire Night weekend, there’s not a huge amount to look forward until we get to December. Ok, so a lot of shops would love us to start buying those Christmas presents right now, but we are creatures of habit and realistically we’re always going to leave the bulk of them until a week before the big day, right?

But November does have some good stuff in store, we promise. And here’s the proof!

Say Hello to Hygge

You may have seen this word a few times in the last couple of weeks and there’s very good reason for this. Those Danes already know that winter is the best time of year, so much so that they came up with their very own word to signify all that is good about it. Hygge (pronounced hoo-gah) is a concept that doesn’t have a direct, succinct English translation, but in general terms it means relishing in the cosiness of winter, making your surroundings as snug as possible and enjoying good food with friends. All preferable to venturing out in the cold we think you’ll agree. Over on our site blog we can help you achieve peak hygge as well as use House of Fraser discount vouchers to save on some very hygge-friendly faux fur rugs.

Fun with Winter Fashion

We might be wrong, but we’re guessing most people prefer shopping for the winter rather than the summer. It’s so much more forgiving for starters. But those long-held winter fashion rules (you know the ones we mean – no tights and sandals, no bold colours etc etc) don’t really apply anymore and when it comes to winter, it’s pretty much open season to be creative and indulge you own personal style preferences. In our guide on how to break those winter fashion rules, we’ve included links to our New Look voucher codes to help you on your way so you don’t have to supress those colourful urges any longer!

We All Deserve a Spa Treat

We don’t think it’s any coincidence that National Spa Week falls in the month of November because never has there been a better time of year to take a break and relax for an afternoon, or even a few days. Apart from perhaps January. But there’s nothing stopping you booking another post-Christmas break, right? Find the best current deals using the Red Letter Days promo codes featured on our National Spa Week post and you might find you can afford multiple spa treats to spread throughout the year, or throughout winter at the very least.

So you see, November isn’t all bad. In fact, it’s shaping up to be a rather good month indeed, especially if you choose to mark it with the combination of a home full of hygge goodness, a colourful winter coat and an afternoon at the spa.