Does it need 7 people (3 adults and 4 kids) to do a food shop?

why? that's the one day where it actually makes sense for people to pick their special food? Who sticks rigidly to a list for Christmas?

No issue with people taking kids shopping in general (as long as they at least attempt to control them), but I think two days before Christmas the socially responsible thing is to give the family day trip to Tesco a miss.

DH usually does our weekly shop but for this week DH and I took our three kids with us, they are too young to be left alone in the house. We both wanted to get the shop done together so we don’t forget anything and have to go back.

Kids enjoyed it, they were well behaved and polite; was a nice little outing.

If anything is getting in the way while shopping it’s the click and collect staff and their 3 trolleys in every aisles.

Omfg I just went to sainsburys to get some wrapping paper as I've run out and when I was queuing a woman said "oh ffs" and huffed so I turned around to see what she was bothered about and there was a mum and dad and 2 kids with, I shit you not, 6 mini kids shopping trollies with their Christmas food shop and they were holding up the whole aisle!

It's ridiculous when it's so crowded and busy.

Especially around Christmas, maybe the 2 adults (or 3?) want to pick up what they want and need to see what's in the shop for that? Maybe they fancy seeing the selection and decide then what to buy?

And they can't leave the kids home alone. Posters on MN can't leave a 17 yo at home alone, which might be a step too far, but 4 little ones home alone? Come on

Online shopping is useful most of the year, but sometimes it's worth having a look at what you can actually buy. Lots of party food/ bakery from my local supermarket is not shown on the online delivery list.

Please keep shopping numbers to a minimum
you know the lockdown is over don't you 😂

I think one of the problems is that there’s not many places for families to go to these days, so much community stuff has gone, high street shops closing.
it doesn’t worry me if the children are well behaved - I wouldn’t even notice them. But I’m seeing this more, children behaving badly, even dangerously. Recently saw a dad with 2 boys, racing round the aisles and ending with one of them crashing into a trolley pushed by an elderly lady.

Families making a day out of it is why I no longer shop in Costco

That's great if that works for you. I like grocery shopping with my kids/teens who push the trolley and help carry the shopping home. That works for me and I'm not changing the way I do i it for anyone. However hard they grumble on Mumsnet

I am prepared to do the food shop. I am not prepared to put it away. That is why my husband stays home and will do it when I get back 😂 sometimes my kids come. Not this close to Xmas if can be avoided

Of course they don't. But in my case and many others it's true.

I think it is peculiar. I fully understand if it’s a single parent with a few kids but more than one adult and multiple kids makes no sense.

Yanbu, if there’s someone to take care of them then leave them home. The amount of irritating children trying to push trolleys, run around the aisles, just in the way.

Sometimes there are reasons. My mum didn't learn to drive until I was in my teens. So on a Saturday dad drove us all to the supermarket because my mother would not trust my dad to shop alone. They were still doing Saturday shops long after retirement which I thought was bizarre.

Someone I worked with briefly had had a breakdown. One response to this was her shopping. She could get to the supermarket but would just push a trolley and her children did the actual shopping.

We like to go together at Christmas - me, DH and adult DS. They can choose any items they want they I may not have thought about. It's ok though we're done now and enjoying breakfast on the sofa so we're out the way or the last minute but efficient shoppers!

Disagree. I like shopping with my family, prefer it and find it easier. It’s not my job to take shopping better for others and worse for myself. As long as my kids are well behaved in shops, it’s nothing to do with others.

I don't drive; what has that got to do with supermarket shopping? Buses and taxis exist, as do grocery deliveries (and I've used all of the above in the last week).

I really dont think that all the women who shop with extended families are unable to drive because of medical issues, how likely is that?

Because sometimes I like to use creative vocabulary.

A second person was not going to make the job any easier, and I'm perfectly capable of driving there, finding what's needed, paying for it, loading it into two giant IKEA bags, and hefting it to the far end of the car park on my shoulders (thus saving the traffic jam of people determined to park as close to the shop as possible)

The one thing he would have helped with is reaching a couple more alcohol-free ciders from the back of the high shelf, but overall, I'll take the hit on that, and I got enough across the 4 supermarkets that the mission took.

I also love him and have done for very many years and we bring a lot to each other's lives. He was also more tired from wrapping up at work later than I did, and benefited more from a relaxed evening. I can think of better places for a hot date than Aldi at 8pm 23rd December to mutually ponder on which supermarkets will still have spuds and bacon on display while risking being mown down by an exhausted assistant with a pallet of 5p brussels sprouts

Plus he promptly leapt into action to turn the oven on ready for incoming pizzas, rather than trying to communicate with socially awkward teenagers and remind them which knob and temperature they need to activate the oven (while avoiding words like "left" and "right" due to dyspraxia)

Is that acceptable?

YANBU. Only the experienced shopper of the family should be granted access to the shops at this time of year, it is not the time for the amateurs to come out.

Totally agree - saw this yesterday and was so confused . Can’t think of anything worse that taking the kids to go Christmas food shopping!

Good how dry and dull.

We sometimes play yellow label roulette on a Friday. It's fun.

Or just maybe some woman don't drive because of a medical reason, like me. Best not to judge.

I don't drive. My kids have always come with me to help carry the shopping home. Not everyone drives. Best not to judge don't you think

That’s all the women who are raised to not drive or have decision making powers over how money is spent and all the men who are raised to not even consider looking after the kids by themselves and not understand how ingredients are made into a meal.

So they are all in Aldi.