Argh! Was I meant to order a turkey?

[serin]

Where can I just buy one?

It's so long since I have been in a mainstream supermarket I didn't realise I had to preorder!

There will be 10 of us on Christmas day and we will be eating the prepacked sliced stuff at this rate?

Help me!

You can get one on Christmas eve from one of the supermarkets, M&S usually have lots and they are discounted, usually by 50%. You do have a week.

You only need to pre-order if you want a posho one from the local butcher. The supermarkets will be piled high with turkeys.

Free-range turkeys are available fresh in supermarkets from 23rd.

If you want to reassure yourself you can go and look in the freezer section at all the frozen turkeys you can get in an emergency. Go to the shop early in the morning, will still be busy but the shelves will be fuller and more choice. And by early ours is open at 6! Of course some are open 24hrs but surely no one would go at 3 just to get a turkey, it's not like an ipad release, or is it?

We forget to pre-order too. I've decided to be intensely relaxed about the whole thing. I distinctly remember supermarkets full of turkeys last Christmas Eve (why would they NOT put them out that day? it's obvious that there'll be buyers!) and, you know, if it all goes arse up, what's the worse that can happen? A chicken?

M&S had loads in when I was in on Friday.

You can get a turkey from any supermarket

we have never pre-ordered a turkey and just buy one off the shelf

YOu could ring your local butchers or farmshop and see if anybody can put one aside for you. Personally I would rather eat chicken than a frozen turkey.

Ours in in freezer from asda
Can't afford butcher one

I bought a free range one from Waitrose (frozen) a week or two ago for early Christmas with some family. It was expensive but nice, and we had shitloads of leftovers

NL - what's wrong with a frozen one?!!

I have always ordered one as I don't particularly like frozen turkey. This year from Morrisons but prior to that from a local butcher (but as his free-range Norfolk Bronze gobblers were nearly a tenner a kg I decided we couldn't afford it ).

you dont need to order fresh ones at the supermarket as they will have them on the shelf from this week

I have pre-ordered in the past from local butcher and Waitrose. One Christmas Eve, when Waitrose screwed up and sent me a turkey large enough to feed 4 when I was actually feeding 15 (when ordering I had checked and re-checked about size/weight etc) I rushed to the butchers at midday and he had more than enough turkey breast joints to feed an army :). And ever since then I only buy the boneless turkey breast joints rather than the whole bird. Easier to carve, less wastage and far quicker to roast.

Turkeys are indeed everywhere.

Now, am I the only one wondering about 'mainstream supermarkets'? Are there others?

Underground, off the grid types? I suddenly feel terribly middle of the road .

Mainstream as in not discounters ( I tend to visit only Aldi, Lidl and Home Bargains these days!)

Thanks everyone.