I don't get the big deal over Christmas food shop

[NeverUseThisName]

Thread after thread about the hideousness of the Christmas food shop, starving to death in queues, hysteria in the pickles aisle, road-rage in the carpark, substitutions and OOS in the orders etc etc.

Why do people put themselves through this?

Why don't people prepare early? It reduces the strain and spreads the cost.

We prepped all our meat and froze it a few weeks ago. Everything that can be made ahead or is long-dated, like cake, pudding, biscuits, booze etc, was made or bought in the past month or two. Ingredients that are essential for last-minute cooking were also bought early. All that's left to buy is fresh stuff, like milk and veg. Not huge amounts of stuff, and things that we can compromise on if something's OOS.

Are we weird to do it this way?

And this is not a stealth boast. We prepare in exactly the same way for any big festive occasion.

(Post edited by MNHQ)

Kr1st1na (god you're saved on my autocorrect now!) I do agree with the Bill Gates school of thought about making societal change, but would also think nothing of giving away a tenner

Kr1st1na "Yes people have a right to spend their money as they wish but so do I."

Of course you do, I'd never claim anyone was duty bound to give cash to people who are homeless.

But you should be careful not to try and tell others how to spend their own money. It's rude. By all means provide an alternative POV for people reading as to how they can help homeless people without giving cash, but don't do it by trying to come across like your way is the only correct one and people helping in another way are misguided or wrong.

**well I mean I would as I dont have much money at present but I'd do it normally

Haveacupofteaandmincepie has it. I shopped yesterday and today. Will serve 38 meals between now and 28th. I have no wish to set foot in anything other than my Sainsbury's local between now and 31st December.

Am pretty organised too. Cards went 4th December, shopping pretty much finished by 11th December and wrapped for last w/e, trees went up a week ago too. Also have a full time job.

I shall organise Christmas how I wish to.

Only read OP and page one.

I too struggle to understand it. Was in M&S this morning picking up my Christmas orders and the lady on the checkout said they opened at 0700hrs and people were queuing to get in !

Now i can remember back in the good old days when no shops opened on Sundays/Bank holidays/ Christmas/Boxing Day/New Year etc.

I can also remember the national Bread strikes !

In those days people crammed the supermarkets and stripped the shelves like locusts but these days? Well the shops are only closed for a day here and there and really, why buy tons of food? you can only eat so much ?

1. They quite possibly have a house full of guests

Well why aren't the shops less busy then? Because all those 'guests' don't need to shop - so realistically there should be one person shopping for 8/10/12 people which should reduce the number - not increase it

Meant to add: as if I was someone who genuinely didn't understand the issues around homelessness, MH and substance abuse problems and thought I'd done a good deed by giving someone a tenner they'd definitely spend on an sarnie I'd have felt very upset and suitably told off/disheartened by the way you tried to put your point across. That's the last thing we want people going out of their way to help others to feel like imo

Because almost every person is hosting, or attending, a multi-course food-centred event on the same day, and it's done as just the main event over a few days when the tradition is that everyone eats treats and drinks more than normal. That doesn't happen any other time of year. So there's massively more demand for food in that brief timescale.

Well said green tulips I was thinking the same thing myself . Perhaps those that are entertaining are buying much more than they need to?

Oh, and I was organised this year by some miracle. Still needed to do a reasonably large shop for the next few days, because fruit and veg and all manner of other things are nicer fresh.

Imagine most people are in that boat.

Last minute present shopping is odder to me. That really is increasing pain you can avoid.

S'ok LemonShark you were just trying to be nice, whatever it got spent on. It's hardly as if they could have bought ten bottles of vodka on that and gone on a bender.

Sorry for detail

I understand that you have a different ideological perspective . And I suspect your experience is of very different client / service user group.

You are entitled to your views and to express them, as am I. Debate is healthy , let’s not try to shut others up or shame people into not talking about these things.

"I quite like being badly organised. It makes me feel ALIVE"

That made me snort, Liney.

OP is silent on where she intends to get the fresh stuff that she hasn't actually got yet.

I hope she isn't intending to go to an actual shop to rub shoulders with badly organised people.

Lemon Shark - actually I do work with homeless people and I’m well aware that they will always find a way to get drugs / alcohol. I just choose not to use my time and energy that way but to help agencies who offer more wide ranging and different support.

The agency I used to work for until last year, would have taken a very dim view of someone with your belief that all homeless people are addicts.

Anyway, sorry OP, back to your thread.

Growing up my dad used to save up for Christmas vouchers all year through work so he had money for food and presents at Christmas which he is used to get given the week before Christmas. Also, often people to afford Christmas work overtime on Oct/Nov which won’t be paid until Nov/Dec pay day hence a last minute rush

*Why don't people prepare early? It reduces the strain and spreads the cost.

We prepped all our meat and froze it a few weeks ago. Everything that can be made ahead or is long-dated, like cake, pudding, biscuits, booze etc, was made or bought in the past month or two.*

Because I don't want to start thinking about Xmas a month or two before I have to. I prefer to have a few intense shopping sessions close to the day rather than spread it out over a couple of months.

The commercialism of Xmas, the over-indulgence and the shops pushing Xmas from September onwards sickens me. It's one day fgs - why do you need to plan it like a military campaign? So yes you are being unreasonable.

I don’t shop early because I have no storage. I can’t put it under beds, because there’s no storage in my house so the underneath of beds is already full of boxes of stuff.

I can’t have a box of stuff precariously perched on top of the washing machine or on the floor in the kitchen because I have cats and autistic children. Both sets of beasties will happily take what they fancy, and in the case of the cats piss on what they don’t.

I ordered meat to pick up his week, and I’ve done a ‘treats’ shop this weekend. The other stuff is just general food shopping.

Quite frankly we’ll all be glad when it’s tuesday and we can turn Christmas off for another year.

It just wouldn't be Christmas without the dozen annual Whats the big deal threads, would it? In fact that might be why people go shopping, they want to give MNers something to hoik their judgy pants about

OR

A large number of people are celebrating the same thing on the same date hence demand for food items increases in the days leading up to it.

Traditionally it's seen as a feast day therefore people buy more treat items as well as their normal food shop.

Lots of people don't see it as just one day, to them it's the Christmas period and the celebration aspect lasts longer.

Many people will be hosting guests over that period and will require more food.

Lots of people get a Christmas bonus and are relying on that to cover the cost of Christmas.

For many people it's the first proper break from work they've had since summer and they'd rather get a week/two weeks shopping in now and enjoy their time off than have to hit the supermarket again in a couple of days.

Every.Bloody.Year

You cannot prepare early. The food goes off. It really is that simple.

We did out food shopping yesterday, it was busy but not crazy, we are in the US. We were in Costco and a completely full trolley, the women behind us was tutting and pulling faces, I am guessing about the amount of stuff we were buying. I didn't feel guilty, I did however resist the impulse to tell her to jog on. We are hosting guests, having families over and I do not want to shop for five days. I need not only food and nibbles, but extra toilet roll, loo cleaner, wipes, bin bags etc. I prefer to get one big shop and then take a break. I did use online more in the UK but it isn't great in out part of US.

The issue of homelessness is going to be there regardless of whether people do their shopping online, in one large go or in lots of little bits. Significant structural issues in the way society supports mental health, substance misuse and housing are not going to be addressed by refusing to buyan extra tub of roses or buying 4 pints rather than two pints of milk. Feast periods traditionally involve some excess but if you don't want to participate you don't have to.

Don't give money to beggars
Every agency that genuinely works to help these people will say the same thing: "Giving to people who beg is not a benign act. It can have fatal consequences."
Please find some other way to assuage your feelings of guilt, such as donating to the relevant charities.

Lemon I totally agree. We should treat people with respect. And allow them to decide what they want to spend money on. Why should we assume that homeless people are alcoholic drug addicts? But frankly, if I were homeless I might want drink and drugs to block it out. It might not be sensible, but if a stranger were kind enough to give me money, I'd like to be allowed the dignity of choosing how to spend it.

Yes, some people will only have been paid yesterday as they finished up for work so will have planned to buy stuff after that.

Loads of reasons why people do it. And why people don't do it.

Mary and Joseph were woefully underprepared when you think about it. Not even booked a room in advance, the feckless idiots. I'll bet Joseph didn't even think to pick up some stollen beforehand. Lack of effective planning right there.

We've left it to the last minute because everyone of us(there's 7 of us)has gone down with some bloody illness or another that and I lost my Dad just a few months ago so I've really struggled to find any Christmas spirit this year which accumulated with me breaking down and crying my heart out in the middle of asda the other day whilst my DH cuddled me.

That's why it's been left to the last minute for us!