M&S Christmas food- is it worth it?

[yorkshireyummymummy]

Just checked my M&S gift card - I stick something on it most months and was pleasantly suprised to discover I currently have £200 on it. There's three of us in our house- me , DH and DDage 10 plus the all important dog. I usually cook everything from scratch every day and so Christmas is no different. But I'm wondering if it's worth buying pre done M&S foods from their Xmas brochure and ordering service? We don't need shit loads since it's just us so I wondered,- is it worth the money to get the time off? Or will I resent spending when I can do it just as well myself? Has anybody ever done the M&S Christmas dinner? Or Xmas eve? Or should I just buy lots of chocolates and champagne?? Or even just use my saving card to buy big comfy pants and truly become middle aged?

[RebeccaWrongDaily]

we did an m and s dinner last xmas day. well worth it. Felt we had more of a day to chill out rather than all day fannying round with cheese sauce etc.

[ASDismynormality]

The year before last I bought a package Christmas meal deal from M&S, I would say it was worth it. Everything was prepared and it made a really easy and tasty Christmas dinner. My inlaws were really snobby about the fact it was ready prepared (even though I had to cook it all) and were acting as if I had served them a microwave ready meal!

[VeryPunny]

Done it ever since DS's first Christmas (he was 3 weeks old). It's fab and utterly foolproof. I love cooking but I much prefer drinking fizzy wine and messing about with the kids on Christmas Day, rather than slaving away in the kitchen. I still do all the fun bits of cooking that I enjoy - the pud, cake, gingerbread.

[OlennasWimple]

Given that there are three of you (and you don't therefore need a huge turkey to feed 17,000), yes, yes yes!

[Ankleswingers]

We get M and S Christmas food every year.

'Tis wonderful

[Timeforabiscuit]

I have done this every year, im handy round the kitchen but i want to have fun with everyone else at christmas.

Well well worth it for me, in fact its tradition in the biscuit house

[Twelvty]

We do M & S Christmas dinner for us 4, it feels like a treat and like others have said frees up time to spend with the children, take dog for a nice walk etc! We don't buy through the brochure, we get stuff off the shelf, to be honest the queues for order collections at our ( pretty small) M and S are usually huge and normal tills busy but not crazy, and we can pick exactly what we like!

[FluffyNinja]

It depends on how you want to spend Xmas day? We don't eat traditional Xmas dinner (I'm the only one that likes it) so I just do a curry or similar. I used to buy M&S prepared foods when I lived nearer to an M&S but it doesn't really compare to homemade if you're a good cook.
Saying that, it's comes down to what you want to be bothered with. It's really no-one else's business what you eat at Christmas. Why not try it this year for a change?

[TitsalinaBumSqoosh]

Are these good of you have to feed a billion a large group?? 10 people and then we like leftovers the next day 🐷🐷

[Scribblegirl]

My mum always gets in some M&S platters for Christmas Eve, it's become a bit of a tradition in our house (and frees up the time when we're all frantically doing our last minute wrapping).

It also means we have enough time to head to the pub before church

[ALemonyPea]

Just echoing everyone else, it's worth the money. Saves a lot of prep time, it's yummy and who wants to stand peeling when you can sit and drink Buck's Fizz instead.

[yorkshireyummymummy]

Thanks ladies! I think you have certainly given me food for thought great reasons why it's a good idea. Think I might enjoy doing it for a change! And if we don't like it then we go back to mummy slaving me cooking!

[PickAChew]

Yes, it's all so easy.

Not sure if we'll bother this year, mind, because we're moving pretty close to an m&s and should be able to pick stuff up in store far more easily than while we're living in the sticks.

[Limer]

Worth every penny. Their pork pie topped with cranberries is totally luscious!

[cowgirlsareforever]

What platters do they do?

[Ohyesiam]

My mum does M&S Chrismas, down to jars of gravy.
It's all good, and could just pass for home made, except the roast potatoes, which are ok, but no more.
No leftovers though, which she loves, but I like a Turkey curry!

[Jellyshoeshurtmyfeet]

I'm echoing the comment about the roast potatoes. They weren't a patch on homemade when we did m&s Xmas last year.

[FurryTurnip]

Also done it and would definitely do again, but agree the roast potatoes were not as good as expected. You've got me thinking now...may do it again this year. Or just have toast, because I bloody hate Christmas!

[Scribblegirl]

cowgirls we wind up with a selection of these on Christmas Eve - usually stacks of smoked salmon/prawns with salads etc.

[Scribblegirl]

Oops, add the link... www.marksandspencer.com/l/food-to-order/party-food-and-sandwiches

[Crazyweimlady]

Gift card saving - total genius! Why didn't I think of that?!

[wobblywonderwoman]

I think I would use the voucher for nice prosecco, the lemon verbena candles are gorgeous and some towards the dinner. I have to say lidl luxury range is equally as good for some products

[Whitney168]

I par-boiled my potatoes on Christmas Eve last year, tossed in melted goose fat then put in fridge on the baking tray - all I had to do on Christmas Day was stick the tray in the oven and they were fabulous, so that's well worth doing to free up a bit of time on the day and minimise mess/washing up. Perhaps order what is good from M&S but pre-prep those?

[yorkshireyummymummy]

I do that every year Whitney and going by the roast potato comments above I think I will do that this year too. My DH likes the roast potatoes and parsnips better than anything else on his plate so he would be dissapointed if the potatoes were crap. So I think I will wait to see the Christmas food catlalouge and then pick out the bits I want and I might just stick a lemon verbena candle in too Wobbly because that is my number one smell. Apart from the smells of my daughter, my dog and
Christmas of course!!

[yorkshireyummymummy]

And Crazy - start one now for next year! It will have loads on it by next December ! (£300 if you put £20 a month on!)