I converted my kitchen into Santa’s Grotto with 12 Christmas trees and mini villages

A MUM has revealed how she transformed her home into Santa’s Grotto with 12 Christmas trees and a plethora of miniature festive villages that she received for free.

Laura Melling is a Christmas fanatic and loves decorating her house for the holidays.

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She has transformed the outside of her home into a candy wonderland using her impressive DIY skills, and has now turned the inside of her home into a magical cave.

On TikTok, Laura (@lauramell17) explained that there is an auction website in Great Britain ibidder.comthat sells pallets of returned goods.

The mother-of-two bid on a pallet of Christmas decorations for £37.50 and then sold anything she didn’t want.

“As long as we make our money back, any stuff we keep is technically free,” she said.

The pallet contained 12 Christmas trees and 12 railings for toddlers, the latter of which she sold for £10 each, making a total of £120.

Having spent £37.50 on the pallet, she made an impressive profit of £82.50.

Laura revealed that all the Christmas trees are from Costway and would originally have cost between £15 for the two feet small tree up to £100 for the large flocked, pre-lit tree.

Last year Laura bought another pallet, which cost her £50 and contained 10 Christmas villages and 12 Christmas inflatables.

She sold the inflatables for £10 each and made £70 profit from the pallet.

Laura explained that some products on the pallets were returned because they were damaged, while others were simply returned because the customers had changed their minds.

“Most of it works,” Laura revealed, as she showed off the cute mini villages, which she has displayed on a Christmas stand in the living room.

One of the heads of the plastic women in one of the villages had fallen off when it arrived, but Laura quickly glued it back on, so the village now looks as good as new.

Some lights also don’t work in some villages, but Laura said that doesn’t bother Laura as the festive scenes look good anyway.

“I love them all,” she said, proudly showing off her Christmas display.

However, Laura warned that if you are interested in receiving returned pallets, you should not do so at this time of year, but instead wait until May or June when prices are at their lowest.

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• Set a budget: Track your expenses and create a realistic budget.
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• Meal planning: Plan meals to reduce grocery bills and avoid takeout.
• Sell ​​unwanted items: Clear out and sell items online for extra money.
• Cashback and discounts: Use cashback sites and look for discount codes.
• DIY gifts: Create personalized gifts to save money and add a personal touch.
• Choose a seasonal service: A very easy way to make some extra money in the winter is to look for seasonal work.

Follow these practical tips from Gemma Bird to boost your savings before the holidays!

She added that you will need a van to pick up the products as the shipping costs are exorbitant.

Explaining some of the downsides of the pallets, she added: “You never know when something will get damaged, it takes a lot of time to go through everything and check for damage.

“Also, the auction houses are sometimes not close to where you live; the auction house was 1.5 hours there and back this year.”

And it’s not just Christmas decorations that Laura managed to get from the auction site.

She revealed that she had also bought a 12-foot trampoline for £50, which she then resold for £100, and bought three pallets of outdoor clothing and shoes for £300, which she then resold for £600.