To think if you pre-book Christmas shopping...

[FavouritePi]

The Christmas stuff should bloody arrive?

Not a single mince pie, Christmas pudding, cranberry sauce or turkey (in any form) in the whole shop apparently.

Surely IANBU?

Everyone should know that if they order their shopping online there is a risk that it won't arrive on time and that things may be out of stock. I don't think I've ever ordered my supermarket shopping and got every single item correctly - there's always something that wasn't in stock. If you want to risk your Christmas shopping by doing it online that's your call, but it's unwise to leave things until the last minute like this. (The delivery I mean - you can book things months in advance but if you choose to cut it fine and have it delivered so close to Christmas, you only have yourself to blame.)

I think generally online shopping is great with a family and parents working. One son three little ones does click and collect fortnightly. The other son two children online deliveries fortnightly. They do top up fresh stuff elsewhere. We have a great Lidl at the end of the road. Some stuff is so heavy I really don't blame them. Non perishables like tins, bottles, jars, I have to split into smaller bags because I have to go down steep steps to the house. Garage at the top so a spare fridge in there is a boon. BUT there's only two of us, we shop a few times a week.

I'd have loved a delivery when mine were little

This. Order online or don't, but if you do then accept that what you're paying for is for someone else to do your shopping for you and that you're not paying to reserve certain things. So if there are certain things which you think are utterly essential (and truly there is nothing food-wise at Christmas which is utterly essential and without which you will all perish), then you need to go yourself to make sure you get it.

Yes this sums it up perfectly.

This morning I was thinking about how a lot of women who struggled but did the shopping (whilst ill and/or with multiple screaming children in tow maybe going by bus) seem to put that pressure on others to suck it up and get on with it. Around Christmas, women are more likely to be run ragged. Give others a break for goodness sake. Just because you do the shopping in person, doesn't mean others can or want to. I know I didn't reserve the food itself, I just found it shocking how much was missing of what was clearly our Christmas dinner and I've never had this happen before without a substitute offered in sight for that stuff.

Yes, we could have just eaten spuds with a cabbage, soup or salad for dinner if need be but I suspect my eldest has 2, maybe 3 more years of the 'Christmas magic' and as we all had Covid last year, I didn't want her to miss out on another.

DH went and popped out today (mask on) and said it was turkey galore with no shortages of mice pies or Christmas puddings either.

Just got my email 3 subs which are fine and one item unavailable- eggs ! Annoying

What am I supposed to do for fresh stuff?

I was in the supermarket this morning and it was crazy. Loads of stuff not on the shelves, crackers, Brie, pigs in blankets. Lots of staff going around collecting stuff for online/click and collect orders, and I was just thinking that their orders will likely be missing lots of things or they'll get rubbish substitutions.

I agree with you, it doesn’t sound as though the service is fit for purpose. The work around if you don’t want to go to the shops is to order online from specialist suppliers. It can be very reasonably priced and there are seldom any silly substitutions and never omissions. If the farm raise 100 birds, 100 is what they sell, and if you have paid in advance you get what you’ve paid for.

My Sainsbury's delivery this morning was missing eggs, satsumas and a frozen black forest cake I wasn't that bothered about anyway. I got the eggs & satsumas in Tesco on my way out later on.

Like a PP, I work long hours and I have better and more worthwhile things to do with my time than schlep around the supermarket when I can pay somebody else to do it for me

What on earth is a "generic Turkey" - sorry I must be being dense I know.

DH went and popped out today (mask on) and said it was turkey galore with no shortages of mice pies or Christmas puddings either.

I love a nice mice pie 😂

I have my food shop delivered weekly. You pay for the “slot”, not what can be guaranteed to be delivered to you - that’s dependent on what is in store on that day. We’re paying for the convenience of not travelling to store, not to guarantee us those foods as those foods wouldn’t be in store anyway! I like my cheese so ordered those weeks ago and been I fridge with a strict “don’t eat”. Pigs in blankets have been in freezer for a month. Turkey ordered from butcher. I also make sure my slot is a few days before Xmas so can re and get stuff if what I really want isn’t delivered.

Youll be fine - still a day to go!

I prefer rat tartlet tbh.

Just had my Ocado delivery - 9 bags, everything there no subs. As usual really.

Two subs in my Waitrose delivery due later but only drinks that were extras anyway and not essential. I'm happy with that.

Not a single egg on Tesco online, I was doing my next Wednesday order, not a single egg in our large Waitrose, online shop came this morning minus eggs, managed to get last box of 6 at M&S though

I'm a big online shopper but for Christmas it just seems like more stress in a way. They send you items with bad dates on, things not in stock, replacements.

We got up at 6am today, we were out at 6:30am, all sorted it wasn't any stress.

I was a bit annoyed that tesco subbed our gammon joint for 2 small ready to cook things, but I think I got off lightly compared to some. Now feeling grateful and relieved.

The Christmas shop is the only one I don't do online for this very reason.

I'm disabled and online shopping is a godsend (even with ridiculous subs 😂) but at Christmas I send family to shop in person for me as I can't risk it. I'm lucky to have this option. I know many people won't. Supermarkets need to do better.

@bruffin absolutely, that's why I said, if you aren't easily able to go to the supermarket then it's great!

We did our first Christmas online shop this year because we've all had covid and didn't know how we'd be for getting out for it ourselves. It arrived tonight.

No bread sauce, Christmas pudding, trifle sponges, jelly, chipolatas, stuffing or pigs in blankets. However......they managed to give us pigs in blankets (which they didn't have) as a substitute for the chipolatas 😂 (some of the people coming don't like pigs in blankets, hence ordering both).

My order is outside the door as im writing, only one swap and it was sensible, so can relax. I was worrying as Ocado has really gone downhill and i get a lots of subs lately and out of stock

I cancelled my Ocado subscription - the pandemic and the move to M&S was disastrous - first year braving the shops - dd and dh did it - student DD quite enjoyed shopping on someone else's budget! 😂

I had 14 subs on my Asda delivery yesterday but every one of them was an acceptable sub and some better than what I’d ordered. Only thing I didn’t get was eggs.

I hadn’t left the important stuff to last min though. I got turkey and ham actually at shops a few days earlier and got most non perishables through the month in other shops. This was a shop with things I’d forgotten or needed fresh like bread and milk.