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)

Ladybird fabulous! He can be mean to himself at Christmas now!

Prepping months in advance is totally unnecessary, you're making it harder for yourself rather than easier.

I got up and went to the supermarket yesterday, arriving at 6am, and got absolutely everything on my list. That's it. Done.

No prepping and freezing required. It cost me an extra hour in bed, hardly the end of the world.

This is interesting for me as I have been wondering lately if it’s a cultural thing about freezing things in advance. My mum is from South East Asia and everything there is made fresh, they just don’t have the history of needing to stockpile storable food for winter etc. My MIL however will prep and freeze for any occasion, spends weeks in advance making and freezing things and playing chest freezer Tetris to fit it all in. She then has elaborate systems for which order things need to be defrosted in.

Probably because I am so unfamiliar with it but I am always wary of defrosting and properly reheating food, I’ve eaten cakes at MIL that have still been partially frozen in the middle and wondered how safe that is. I also thought things should only be frozen for up to a month and never reheated more than once.

Anyway, I would rather buy everything fresh and cook it within a few days, personal preference.

ladybird

Oh, i am just so stressed. With everything taken care of I just can't decide which spa treatments to have. I might have to pop some Valium. And which amazingly festive, but tasteful outfit to wear to the crib service? Thank goodness Jeeves is taking care of the drinks and canoes for our guests this evening.

I don't because of cupboard space, and because I'm like a squirrel and forget where I have put stuff.
I also just don't have the head space for all that planning, I'm too busy sorting two under fives, lesson planning, being a taxi driver, cleaning, buying pellets for wood stove, working, writing cards etc etc. I could do it in February, but I don't want to think about one day all year round, it just isn't that big a deal for me.

It is one meal.

Maybe people have to buy for more people but it is just Sunday Lunch with crackers

Why didn't I prepare?
In the past 6 months both my children have undergone assessments and been diagnosed with ASD, my abusive ex has broken a restraining order 65 times, our income and lives have been completely turned upside down because of certain family members.

I dont get the 'it's just one meal' comments. For us it's much more than one meal extra, I think that's true for many households.

We went to the supermarket last night. Strolled in, bought everything we needed and paid without a queue.

I dont get the 'it's just one meal' comments. For us it's much more than one meal extra, I think that's true for many households

But not for others. We don’t have any family to host, and the DC are pre school age so absolutely no point buying loads of food. I’d love to be hosting a huge family Christmas but sadly it isn’t to be.

For many it's not just Sunday lunch with crackers. It's a huge amount of effort and enjoyment preparing the absolute best meal of the year. If it's just a Sunday lunch, frankly you're doing something wrong

Our Christmas lunch is definitely not like 'Sunday lunch with crackers'.

On no Sunday would we have 3 courses, constant nibbles, copious amounts of alcohol them sausage rolls, cheeses and more crap to eat in the evening. I would hate if it was like every other roast that I make, so I try to make it a bit special. Nowt wrong with that.

Cheinrouge I'm not hosting anyone, just my kids who are primary aged, no big family here. However food plays a big part in making it different from other days of the year, setting it apart from other days. I did the same when they were toddlers, as they've grown theyve learnt our silly traditions and look forward to them. Nothing expensive, just things we do each year that make Christmas feel like it's our Christmas.

Chienrouge sorry, didn't spot my spelling mistake.

I don't do a ANY food shopping myself in the week before Christmas except on Christmas mas Eve I buy really nice fresh bread and croissants so that they are very fresh on Christmas morning. This year I also need cheese crackers because DS opened the ones I bought in advance a couple of weeks ago and they are half gone now

Otherwise everything was delivered yesterday morning by Tesco (dirty word on MN I know!). It is easier also in a vegetarian household as there is no meat to have to order from the local butcher/M&S or wherever and queue for hrs to pick up.

Obviously i mean Jeeves will be serving canapes along with drinks. Not canoes. fucking auto-correct

Another thing is in my family Christmas plans as in who is going where for dinner can stay quite fluid until a couple of weeks beforehand so what food we will need is not always clear very early on. We didn't confirm what was happening for Xmas lunch until about 3 weeks ago and I have had a late minute deadline at work so didn't have time to think about food much until last week.

I did do present shopping quite early (luckily) but apart from booking a food delivery slot about a month ago I did no food planning or shopping for Christmas until last week, yet it has been amazingly stresses free so far

PanicHitsEarlyForMe yes we have plenty of traditions such as singing carols in the village market square on Christmas Eve, they’re just not particularly food related! We will have a ‘special’ meal tomorrow, a lovely dessert and a really good cheese board in the evening but that’s as far as it goes with regards to food really. We don’t buy sweets/chocolates as DH and I don’t really eat them (prefer the cheese!) and the DC usually get some bits from people for Christmas.
We do treat Christmas as a special time with lots of lovely traditions, I just meant that our food shopping/prep isn’t massively onerous. Especially not for me, as DH cooks

Chien Then you've chosen your traditions more sensibly than me, I'll be the size of a house by the time January comes along

Do none of you have people staying for more than Christmas Day? Last year I had 16 staying for 3 days - I did need to get extra milk/bread for that!
This year not so many but still 3x dinners and 3x lunches + breakfasts for 10 people. I've done lots ahead but impossible not to do a last minute run for fruit and veg.

Sittinonthefloor sadly not.

We just went on Thursday and did a shop and added the extra bits we needed then popped out for more bread yesterday. No drama - it wasn’t noticeably busier than usual. We don’t prep in advance except a bit of baking. Everyone just pitches in on the day. There are lots of right ways to do it - you do what suits you and your family. Some people even like the drama!

It's just a posh roast. I haven't t a Sainsbury delivery for 7am on Friday. Great. No stress, no pressure.

If you choose the buy presents, wrap, buy food, all at the last minute. That's fine. But it is a choice.

For most. For few, it comes down to only having the money at a Texas very end, but I think that is more rare. And even for the that, you don't need tonnes of presents, or any food that isn't your ordinary food, if money is really that tight. Just enjoy. With whatever you've got.

The Christmas booze and food shop is part of my Christmas build up festivities. Although to be honest we are a bit weird and every week's food shop is quite a big event.