To think that shops are gonna be absolute carnage tomorrow.

[Meimeimei]

I've posted this for traffic.

I have bad anxiety with crowds and queues but I need to go into town tomorrow to pick up a few things from click and collect.

Obviously, news of maybe a national lockdown being announced on Monday.

Will people be flocking to the shops.

YABU - yes I'm going to do Christmas shopping tomorrow.
YANBU - No I'm not going to

[MercyBooth]

People in retail are doing a great job. Including those ive spoken to who cant wear masks. And have been treated poorly for it
Lets hope they have got short memories or dont hold grudges eh?

[EuphieKat]

Some of us are already in Lockdown (or whatever they call it- fire break?). As far as I know there was no mad rush to the shops before it.

[GirlCrush]

We understand the public is fearful

But it’s hard to please everyone, you just can’t. Tonight some woman brought in some items from home for me to fix/find parts for. I’m not touching those. Sorry!

She wasn’t happy! Mask under chin whilst she Moaned too

[Holothane]

All my stuff done anything. I can’t get well I won’t worry in-laws done friend done dh will understand got some stuff for him, tree came today so very pleased.

[janaus50s]

We have just come out of 15 week lockdown. Victoria, Aus.
No retail for 15 weeks. Thankfully numbers are way down.
Shops opened, and people were queued up at midnight waiting for shops to open. It’s madness, will be staying away from major shopping centres.

[BluebellsGreenbells]

I'd recommend people shopping online, keep yourselves safe

Really? How do you think on line retailer fit in the ‘non essential shops’ bracket?

Surely they’d be closed as well, you know for lock down? Who wants to be in a large warehouse picking toys?

[Princessbanana]

We are already in lockdown in Ireland. Is there anyway you could leave the click and collect till Monday? Everyone went mad over here as the gave a day or twos notice, so I stayed at home. Then done click and collect a few days later when lockdown was on and no queues or hassle!

[Nat6999]

I've just booked 4 weeks of online shopping so we can build up some stock, my mum has put as much of the Christmas Dinner that can go in the freezer as she can, I'm ordering things like pop, wine, beer, Christmas biscuits, Christmas cards, wrapping paper, gift bags etc as well as the usual food, cleaning stuff & toiletries. Just remembered turkey foil & big foil roasting trays.

[rottiemum88]

I will not be shamed for wanting to get them a few gifts for November birthdays to have some semblance of normality for them.

I will be ensuring that my 4 and 7 year olds have a few gifts to open on their birthdays and I'll be damned if anyone gets to insinuate that i or anyone else in a crap situation like this are vapid or shallow.

@Shinyletsbebadguys you don't seem to articulate why any of this means you need to haul yourself off to the shops? Why can't you order online and still achieve the same purpose, without adding to the crowds?

[Oysterbabe]

I haven't done Christmas shopping in actual shops for years, all online.

[PopsicleHustler]

I wont be doing any Christmas shopping, as we are muslim and dont celebrate it.
Am expecting a baby girl beginning if next year though, god willing. So hoping I can grab some online bits without any issues. I pretty much shopped online for my other children's clothes during the last lockdown without any issues.

My Dh however really needs new clothes and so I feel sorry for him if he does decide to go tomorrow/today. It could be manic.


Other than that, have just booked a bunch if Asda slots for home food delivery and we are good to go.

[Bluewavescrashing]

Done and dusted 🎅

[FippertyGibbett]

No, I’ll be doing all my shopping online.

[Bluewavescrashing]

I think the wait times on online deliveries will get longer and longer as more and more people order their Christmas presents online. Royal Mail are recruiting at the moment, far above and beyond their usual seasonal staff levels.

Don't leave it until the last minute to order gifts online.

[RedRiverShore]

I buy all mine online and have my next 4 Tesco grocery shops booked as usual. I don't need to buy much anyway.

[RedRiverShore]

Amazon will be open like it was last time.

[Jocasta2018]

Done most of my my pressie shopping online already after every pay day😇 plus visited some local independent shops for little nick-nacks 😇😇
Im usually quite organised on Xmas gifts but have excelled myself this year...
Not so sure about food as I don't tend to make a fuss over Xmas food - have got the dried fruit for Xmas cake & mince meat soaking in wine already - but haven't done a big Xmas lunch for years!
I'll get the remaining Xmas cake ingredients in the next week or so.
Hope it's not too nuts on the High Streets/shopping centre but also hope it is so the shops get some business.

[Bickles]

I’ve pretty much done all my Christmas shopping except food. I always do it by the start of December but have done it early this year- I thought this might be coming.

[BefuddledPerson]

I've done all the presents apart from nieces/nephews and they can be ordered locally, our lovely bookshop etc will post out.

I'm really sad how many local shops will lose out - hope plenty of people try to order from their independent shops not the tax-dodging, slave-wage bastards like Amazon.

[RedRiverShore]

I'm really sad how many local shops will lose out - hope plenty of people try to order from their independent shops not the tax-dodging, slave-wage bastards like Amazon.

Blame the government for that, they set the taxes and Amazon pay what they have to, they also pay wages that are the same as or over the minimum the government sets.

[zigaziga]

Have done most of mine online (second hand) already but there were a few things I wanted to buy from local shops to support them. I guess that will have to be done this weekend. I don’t live near a big shopping “centre” though so for me that’s popping into the village (which I would have done anyway bar going into these specific shops).

How these shops will survive another month closed I don’t know ...

[zigaziga]

Blame the government for that, they set the taxes and Amazon pay what they have to, they also pay wages that are the same as or over the minimum the government sets.

Disagree. The fact that amazon bases itself in Luxembourg is to avoid U.K. tax. We could try and impose more of a tax on their goods or insist that it is all accounted for in the U.K. but that would have a big impact on international taxation and lots of consequences, not just for Amazon.
Amazon IMO are cheaper not just because of basing themselves in a quasi tax haven (how that is allowed in the EU I don’t know...) but because they don’t have shop fronts to pay for, massive rents and council taxes, huge operation behind it etc etc.
I do feel morally obliged where possible to shop locally even though it costs a bit more.

[hibbledibble]

Why the Christmas panic now??!

It's only October, and online shopping will exist regardless, as will supermarkets.

Do some people have a compulsive need to shop or panic buy?

[Standrewsschool]

My local Tesco had signs up yesterday restricting pasta to maximum of three purchases.

[ACanOfBeans]

Christmas shopping, as in presents, are already done here.

Hopefully people don’t start stocking up on loads of food again, and learnt it was unnecessary from the last time