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Original poster

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

102 replies

LaChienneDesFromages · 23/12/2023 08:50

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.

OP posts:
ActuallyChristmas · 23/12/2023 14:58

I always do Christmas food shopping in smaller sessions in the run up to Christmas. It normally involves Sainsburys and M and S with my Dad, I couldn’t face these this year as he passed away in October.

. I completely skipped a Sainsbury session at the bigger store opting to do 2 small visits to the small Sainsburys near our Railway Station.
. I timed a brief M and S shop for time of day we would not have been there.
.I’ve done a couple of Tesco and Lidl shops - lebkuchen, chocs, new lights for mantelpiece.
.Meat was pre ordered from the butcher and DH picked it up this morning
.We have a greengrocer and a deli/veg shop locally
. the coop is local to these too
. other m and s in the city
. fishmonger

The best tale of today is that the DH exited city centre M and S and 5 mins later there was a power cut and they had to close 😞

MotherOfUnicorns4 · 23/12/2023 15:05

I popped to Asda at 10am. Only needed a few items, but it was chaos. A lot of bare shelves. I managed to grab the last pack of breadcakes, but have not been able to find roast potato seasoning anywhere.
My BF, who works at M&S, said that the fresh dessert section was empty by 4pm yesterday. she also thinks tomorrow will be a lot quieter as yesterday was their busiest day of the year so far.

ActuallyChristmas · 23/12/2023 15:17

MotherOfUnicorns4 · 23/12/2023 15:05

I popped to Asda at 10am. Only needed a few items, but it was chaos. A lot of bare shelves. I managed to grab the last pack of breadcakes, but have not been able to find roast potato seasoning anywhere.
My BF, who works at M&S, said that the fresh dessert section was empty by 4pm yesterday. she also thinks tomorrow will be a lot quieter as yesterday was their busiest day of the year so far.

Tell me about roast potato seasoning. I once looked at the M and S one to find it contained mustard - to which I’m allergic. But is it actually needed? I cook mine with a grind or 2 of mixed pepper corns and with the garlic that’s been alongside the bird during cooking, plus sweet potato chunks.

I don’t think our M and S has a fresh dessert counter as such. Just boxed cheesecakes, pies, puds

Interested in this thread?

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Christmas Events & celebrations
NaturalBlondeYeahRight · 23/12/2023 15:34

Didn't find it too bad but what's up with the lack of fresh turkeys? Went to three supermarkets and ended up getting a crown (I love the whole Turkey usually) as I couldn't face another shop. This was at 7.15am as well as I thought they would restock overnight.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 23/12/2023 16:11

I’m not doing a big one (not hosting this year) but the M&S food dept. was absolutely heaving earlier - checkout queues a mile long. After finishing I realised I’d forgotten something, couldn’t face the queues again, went to a nearby Sainsbury’s for it - busy but not heaving.

PickAChew · 23/12/2023 16:18

I was in a decent sized markses a couple of hours ago, for some last minute fresh bits (went by bus but the car park was no busier than when I did my weekly shop on Monday morning) and it looked like it had been ransacked. Most of the strawberries gone, grapes severely depleted and no pigs in blankets in sight. Plenty of turkey, though.

shockeditellyou · 23/12/2023 16:44

Tesco order yesterday had one sub (curly parsley instead of flat leaf), and no pastry. M&S yesterday were both v busy but moving; Stuff was hardly staying on the shelves at M&S - there were armies of well organised shelf stackers but people were taking stuff off them straight away! All very pleasant though. We had to go the long way round to avoid the Tesco car park which was rammed.

headcheffer · 23/12/2023 17:24

Big shop came on Thursday. Couple of subs but both acceptable. The only bugger was double cream with a short date, but I can use that in a couple of dishes I'm cooking like a sprout gratin and a pie filling so that's fine. I picked up extra double cream with a longer date yesterday, from a strangely quiet and fully stocked Lidl.

DH did the turkey/stuffing/scallops food to order pick up from Sainsbury’s this morning at 9am and said it was quiet. I've swapped from M&S to Sainsbury's because it means you can also get any forgotten branded stuff you might need while picking up the turkey - this year it was night time pull ups for the preschooler. But then DH walked past M&S on his way there and it was empty so he popped in and got us some lovely party food to add to our buffet tonight so that was a bit of a bonus!!!

I've been surprised this year by how quiet everywhere has been to be honest. Perhaps just good timings!

FayKnights · 23/12/2023 17:26

Whiteclaw · 23/12/2023 12:05

Currently about halfway through a 90 min queue to get into the naice butchers

@Whiteclaw
Sounds like they need to start doing the fast track tickets like the theme parks! 😂

Mumaway · 23/12/2023 17:32

We had big shop delivered, minus the prawns that were the starter. I combined finding prawns with collecting an order (knitted dress) at Sainsbury's. It was like Armageddon at 4pm Friday. There was almost no food on any shelves, definitely no prawns (so we're now having soup), and the staff were blocking the aisles while unloading almost nothing at very slow speed from their cages. No queues at checkout, presumably because there was nothing to buy. The dress was also very shit.

berksandbeyond · 23/12/2023 17:35

We expected chaos as we only got home from a week visiting family last night. We went to M&S at 10.30am and it was .. fine? Plenty of turkeys (my worry), everything we needed in stock and not even a big queue. Lidl was so much quieter than I was expecting that I was actually a bit unnerved. Forgot prawns but I am the only one who likes them anyway so I’ll give them a miss!

mondaytosunday · 23/12/2023 17:44

Years ago before online shopping my husband and I went to a huge Tesco for the Christmas/Boxing day shop plus usual things, about 8-10 people each day. Two carriages full of stuff, it took 45 minutes queuing just to check out, plus a whole hour and a half to get out of the parking lot! Never again.
More recently I had booked a lot of Sainsbury's Christmas foods and reserved a time to collect - what I didn't realise is you picked up the food from customer service but still had to queue to check out! Ridiculous.
This year I'm in the States - the food is costing about a third more but more fun as every aisle has some new calorific yummy food to drool over!

Isseywith3witchycats · 23/12/2023 17:47

i went to aldis yesterday lunchtime armed with my list yes it was busier than usual but everyone was ok and in the crimbo mood i managed to get almost all of what i wanted except wenslydale with cranberries and a tin of chocolates the queues werent too bad and just as we got two behind for the conveyor they opened the next till and we managed to get into that one so in and out in an hour, got my turkey crown and desserts from iceland last week OH got my cheeses and chocs from asda later and he said it was very busy in there

TodayForTomorrow · 23/12/2023 17:55

I was in big Tesco at 6.30am this morning and I'd say it was as busy as a normal Saturday afternoon. I managed to get everything I wantee and there was a general vibe of cameraderie which was good.

I'm more often than not an online shopper during the year but I'd never risk the Christmas one. I've seen multiple Facebook posts today about cancelled orders and dozens of substitutions. I think there is a general misconception that if you've ordered it months ago, then your shop is nailed on and you've nothing to worry about.

XenoBitch · 23/12/2023 18:04

I went to Lidl today (about 4pm). It was very quiet. I think most people where I live were going to the massive Tesco here.

MargaritaThyme · 23/12/2023 18:13

We went to the big M&S store on a very busy retail park next to the M1 in the East Midlands this morning. We arrived just before 9 expecting carnage, but it was completely fine. Drove straight in, found a parking space immediately & off we went. The store was busy, obviously, but manageable. The shelves were laden with goodies & the store was well staffed. We got everything we came for, spent a fortune and it was a surprisingly pleasant experience.

10/10, Well done M&S. 👏👏👏

TheChosenTwo · 23/12/2023 18:27

TheChosenTwo · 23/12/2023 11:17

I’ve got to go in a minute, forgot bloody amaretti biscuits for my torte 😭 that’s all I need… I think I might park elsewhere and walk the mile or so in from there as the queues will be insane just getting in 🫠
I will report back if I make it out alive!

Forgot to update, went to Sainsburys at about 2pm in the end, absolutely fine, no queues, car park had plenty of space and crucially they had what I needed. One thing I did want to pick up was some more belvoir pink lemonade as we had a case of it and it all went last night as mixers and general soft drinks at our party, out of stock but panic not, other lemonades were available!

caringcarer · 23/12/2023 18:33

DH and I went Thursday but had to go today for cream, raspberry pavlova we couldn't get Thursday and Mascaponi. I can confirm no Mascaponi to be found in Aldi, Asda or Morrisons where I live so no Tiramisu for DH. We did find some little Xmas tree shaped filo pastry puffs though to add your own filling too. A real little find at Aldi. I have not seen those before so nice little appetizers. I'm going To add melted brie and smoked salmon. I didn't think the shops where I live were too busy. Parking was ok in each shop. A few empty shelves though.

WhichIsItWendy · 23/12/2023 18:34

Went to Tesco for click and collect and was absolutely fine. Went in for a few bits I'd forgotten and no drama. Busier than normal but not crazy busy and managed to pay for my basket without a delay.

You went for tea and mince pies with a full shop sitting in the back of the car?

caringcarer · 23/12/2023 18:35

TastesLikeStrawberriesOnASummerEvening · 23/12/2023 12:12

I was supposed to go and help my friend, but her grandson didn't want to go so I'm babysitting instead.
I bloody love this kid getting me out of shopping!

🤣🤣

anxiousnanna · 23/12/2023 18:38

i never do a BIG shop... i start hoarding early november! today i had a leisurely wander into the local tesco for my cream, milk and cheese.. and thats me all done.

christmas eve is baking day.. if we dont have it now, we either don't need it or we shall just have to live without it

Catsknowbest · 23/12/2023 18:54

LaChienneDesFromages · 23/12/2023 08:50

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.

Brilliant loved this!

Tribblesarelovely · 23/12/2023 19:02

Thankfully, it’s just the two of us for Christmas Day, everything ordered from M&S in October, picked it up today. All very civilised, no stress.

weegiemum · 23/12/2023 19:04

I sent the boys this year. Dh and 21 year old ds. They went to 4 shops but got everything ! We certainly aren't going to run out of crisps or beer!

Lolovans · 23/12/2023 19:12

Ours has been fine all day. Busy but well stocked and no real queue for the tills. I've popped to Morrisons a couple of times today to get bits and had no issues at all. Was wondering if it was actually Christmas or not!