Who has done the Christmas Big Shop? Any dispatches from the trenches?

[LaChienneDesFromages]

I haven’t been to the supermarket for the legendary Christmas Big Shop. This year was supposed to be no exception and I had a plum delivery slot booked (surely there’s no beating 10am on 23rd?) But we cancelled it yesterday morning for the very good reason of visiting our new cousin/niece who is finally coming home today after surgery and a spell in NICU.

So, it was decided that DD15 and I, being the ones who couldn’t think of an excuse quickly enough went to Waitrose at 9am. We briefly considered the giant Tesco but they were queuing around the corner for the car park by that time.

This was the biggest Big Shop in years for us. We were buying for ourselves (2 adults, 2 teens, Labradors with greed issues, a ravenous 12 year old) plus various guests (most invited, plus a few girl/boy friends and a couple of friends of guests at a loose end coming along for the ride) everyday from Saturday-Boxing Day.

DH had helpfully added to my A4 tabulated shopping list with illegible scrawls (we bought him 4 frozen petit pains instead of what was apparently a pork pie.) We hauled around a big trolley and a small ‘booze and eggs’ trolley trying not to flatten Barbour-clad chaps trying to remember if Liz said halibut or monkfish. It was moderately busy, the shop staff had headsets, like government bodyguards.

At one point we were unable to manoeuvre the primary trolley and I called out foodstuffs while DD ran about retrieving them, Challenge Anneka (the reference was lost on her) style. She obviously also brought back multiple items from
the baby section which were very much not on the list.

Finally we got to the checkout and realised we’d forgotten Disaronno (for DD14’s experimental syllabub tonight) and potted shrimps (for Grandpa) so we did a short round two before hauling a million bags into the boot/back seat of my Mini and heading off in search of tea and a mince pie.

We forgot the Christmas pudding so it’s Quality Street for Christmas Day pudding unless anyone else goes to get one. DH headed to the farm shop to collect the Christmas meat at 8am this morning, DC’s are cooking dinner for 10 this evening. Today, I’m unavailable for any activities other than baby worship.

I’d love to hear any other Big Shop observations. Actually, I’d most like to find your shopping list.

Tesco opened at 5am... can't buy booze until 10am here, so Dh did that on his way home last night.

Only thing I struggled to get was bacon and they had moved it to a different aisle but got it. There were no strawberries and no extra thick double cream but there was double cream.

Delivery due today but forgot some bits so went to the local supermarket and it was really quiet, even by Saturday standards it was quiet! No queues at the tills either.

Asda are pushing click and collect AND delivery slots for tomorrow to my phone today. Seems people aren't spending as much as they had hoped.

Did mine mid-morning in Lidl…. It was like a ghost town 😦!! Much quieter than a weekday. Also zero traffic on the roads round here either…. In fact, the world seemed bizarrely deserted…. Quite unsettling 😥

I love 5 minutes walk from sainsburys, a normal town sized one not a giant out of town superstore. I tend to do all my shopping there with my trolley and often go before work.

I tend to pop in regularly and it's been ok. Went in about 11 yesterday morning and only 2 large chickens left - few small ones but it was pretty empty.

I did a run to M&S on the retail park for a salmon terrine this morning at 6.30 fairly busy
But not manic and plenty of car parking at that time.

I have to pick up my sainsburys order later - I use smart shop so queues are never too bad.

Big shop came via Tesco delivery yesterday, only a couple of substitutions. Do need a handful of forgotten about things so debating where to go and when! Definitely won’t be braving our local Tesco, carpark and exit are terribly designed, took me over an hour to get out of the car park last Christmas Eve!

We went to our local big Sainsbury’s yesterday at midday. The carpark was packed, the shop was busy but manageable, and we got everything we wanted (apart from another pair of leggings but they never have those!)

I wrote out a list, it got so long that I rewrote it in the order that you go around the shop and I’m so glad I did.

They were short of self scanners so I used the app on my phone, which led to some dangerous juggling of phone, list, pen, shopping. I like that the trolleys have a scanner holder as it makes life so much easier.

OH was exhausted and slightly lacking in cheer by the time we were done, but it could easily have been 100 times
worse.

Waitrose failed to deliver out plants-pretending-to-be-turkey main course for 6, despite me ordering it back in whenever the slots became available, and it being from the food to order section!

Went to Asda and got a plants-pretending-to-be-beef which actually looks great. Kids didn't look too impressed so they've got a Quorn ham which doesn't feel particularly festive or special but at least we've got Christmas tree-shaped stuffing to go with it.

Tesco then failed to deliver the Christmas crackers, or any crackers, but the small Sainsbury's had some half price so all good.

I'm hoping to not go near a shop for a while now!

On the plus side, one of my guests sent a case of wine ahead of themselves 😁

Been to Waitrose today, only thing I couldn't get was silver skin onions. Tills not too bad. Biggest problem was the staff tbh, all the aisles were full with their trolleys and cages and those table on wheel things, so you had to move all the paraphernalia out of the way to get to the shelves.

We did our big shop in Sainsburys and discovered that if you don’t have a nectar card (for a £200 shop) it cost about £35 more than if you have one! Shocker. Signed up for one on the spot.

I wondered into my local Marks first thing this morning before collecting a parcel from the shop next door.

It was absolute chaos, mainly because everyone had forgotten how to use a trolley properly and seemed to be using them for the express purpose of pissing everyone else off by blocking the aisles.

No one seemed to know why they'd come there or have a list or purpose. The staff had also implemented a novel queuing system for the checkouts, which meant everyone who queued for an individual checkout was sent to the back of the queue in disgrace, giving each person another opportunity to block the aisle and annoy everyone else.

Luckily I didn't actually need anything so I left 😆

Surely going shopping at 9am then going in search of mince pies and tea took longer than taking in an online shop at 10am?

Every day's a school day. Just googled breadcakes. In my 60s and never heard that word.

Just been to out local Sainsbury's, shelves full no queues,car park half full and no traffic on the roads. I said I would be 3 hours was done and home in an hour

I went to Tesco at 11.30pm on Thursday night and was pleased that very few other people had decided to do that. I did have to work my way through aisles filled with cages full of stock to replenish the shelves but I’d rather that than aisles full of shoppers. The staff were busy but friendly and I was told it had been packed until 11pm. I was home and all shopping put away by 1am. Yesterday, local supermarkets were operating a 1 in, 1 out by early afternoon.

I’ve got a Christmas meals spreadsheet with what is needed for each meal that I then make into an aisle by aisle shopping list. It’s got cooking times and temperatures to help me work out what I need to do, when, so I avoid forgetting veg or stuffing like I’ve done in the past. I just dig it out every year and update it with any new meals that I’m serving. It may sound smug and organised but it’s the only way I can manage to pull off feeding large groups of people multiple courses of food with a menopausal brain.

Good luck to anyone still to do the big shop!

M&S food to order collection this morning was smooth and stress free with very little queuing (although parking was difficult). Tesco delivery due this evening, they've emailed the receipt and there were 10 subs (mostly unsuitable) and 6 unavailable items. Pretty integral items too, like cream, pigs in blankets and stilton. So I've just been back to M&S to buy replacements. Thankfully they were still really well stocked, and the car park was less busy.

Asda big shop was delivered this morning, but there was 18 subs and 10 items not available. I always order online but this is the worst year yet. Dh went to Morrisons and got all of the subs/missing stuff easily. No idea what’s going on with Asda. Then the driver didn’t action all of the refunds so I had to do loads of them online, but it took ages because the website wouldn’t load. Then they refused to refund some of the items I’d handed back so ended up having to phone them to sort it out. I won’t be using Asda again next Christmas.

Just done ours on a monumental hangover
Saw what felt like everyone we knew in Tesco. Trailed to 2x M&S looking for bucks fizz and Lidl, Tesco, M&S and Morrisons for a fucking cauliflower!

This doesn't fill me with hope.

We went at 9am yesterday instead of taking delivery of the shop at 10am this morning. 10am this morning I was too busy cuddling my scrumptious new niece!

Well Sainsburys at 6am this morning in our small town was crazy! We were there for opening to pick up a Turkey crown and do the shop.
There were no staff on the ordered food stand so a big queue developed. Then 2 ladies wandered over looking suprised to be there and started serving but had a paper list to match the orders to and so slowly running their finger down the pages or names!
There seemed to be an army of staff came from nowhere all dragging the online order trolleys. They proceded to block up all the main aisles it was mayhem!
Don't know why they can't fill those orders earlier than at opening.
Managed to get round and then there was only 3 teens on tills so everytime they got a bottle they had to wait for another member of staff to come and approve it.
I just wonder who organises the store sometimes or if staffing is just such a problem they struggle.
There was plenty of stock though at that time.

We have been in Aldi , Asda and Morrisons this morning and all no busier than usual Saturday morning

the mission was a Christmas ham joint which according to husband wasn’t necessary on weds but then became essential. Picked up a ridiculously huge one despite my pointing out there are just two of us and off on holidays on 27th but insisted / he has now realised that we don’t have a pan big enough to cook it so I’ve left the kitchen and now laying on sofa eating a pot of nigellas nuts

Had ours delivered from Tesco yesterday, no substitutes or missing bits thankfully. I had a feeling there would be problems with getting the usual Christmas food stuff like turkey, mince pies and sweeties etc so we bought all these on our last shop two weeks ago. This is the first time I've been able to get a slot so close to Christmas but we're on delivery saver now so it was pretty easy to book the one we wanted. I also got to use my shop and save voucher ,I've never had that before and I got £60 off the total ,very happy indeed .The last few year since the pandemic I've had to shop local and it's been awful, I couldn't even get sprouts or parsnips! I'm really glad we signed up and were able to get some festive foods in for decent price

I was lucky enough to see a slot for Sainsbury’s appear a couple of days ago for this evening. Only subs are one double cream for another and one bread sauce (Sainsbury's own) for another. I've just made my own though! It was almost as lucky as guessing the conundrum on Countdown yesterday when even the Champion, his opponent and everyone in the studio didn't get it!

I led a dawn raid to Sainsbury's at 6:30 today and it was lovely. Followed by m and s food hall which was pretty busy but bearable and it was early enough in the day that people were cheery.
There were a few things I couldn't get but I had a quick walk to Boots and picked up a much needed coffee, and by the time I walked back through m and s they'd restocked the shelves so I was home by 9:00.
Mr Toast has just picked up mustard from the co-op and we are collecting the turkey and sausages tomorrow morning from the butchers so all done!
I am having a restorative tea and shortbread before icing the Christmas cake and wrapping the last presents. I feel unusually zen which means there's a strong possibility that I'll sit bolt upright in bed at 4am in Christmas Day and realise I've forgotten something major 😁

Mixed experiences re.chaos and unavailability then. Commiserations if you didn’t get what you needed, or spent the day circling the shops on a quest.

I found a lovely Tiptree Christmas pudding in the food hall at our local garden centre. Three types of cheese also somehow fell into my basket.

We are now fully stocked for multiple meals. I’ve got a kitchen full of teens cooking beef wellington etc. They are very careless so the Labradors are enjoying an absolute bonanza in there!

In a slightly disappointing turn of events, it turns out DH and I each thought the other had bought DS12’s present. So DH has headed out to The Big Sainsbury’s on a local retail park (surely a final circle of Hell?) to collect an Argos order for a Soda Stream.