YOUR FOOD/HOUSE PREP SHOPPING LIST????

[yallamamma]

Right, all ye faithfullers, I am currently living overseas (the desert), and we are planning this year to spend our first Christmas here, wooohooo!

I am about to come back to the UK for summer (with many empty cases), what do I need to stock up on for the perfect christmas? It's also my first time hosting, we will have the in laws here!

Would anyone like to share their food shopping list with me? I need to figure out what I can source here, and what (non perishable bits) I need to bring back with me after summer from the UK. We have M&S here, so I'm hoping I'll be able to get a small selection of their Christmas range here, such as a Turkey crown and mince pies/profiteroles.

Note - I can't plan or prepare a huge, homemade affair. We are flying back here from India on Dec 23rd, so a lot will need prepping in advance for the freezer, so tips for decent pre made stuffing or the best frozen parsnips would be appreciated.

Also, any other must-have bits for the house? All our decs are in storage, but I can get a tree here at least and we have IKEA too which usually offers a seasonal range.

thanks in advance to all.

Do you like the tacky aspect of Christmas or are you the tasteful type?

I'm tacky and living in Australia I really miss the broad range of decor you can get in the UK...Christmas Duvets for one!

Hi Yalla,

Where are you in the ME? M&S where I am only does veggie and fish as their meat isn't Halal. Do the hotels where you are do Christmas in a box?

i think you can always be flexible with the food, but things like lots of fairy lights and candles will always make it feel Christmassy. Make sure you have festive music. Get some crackers when you are home and think about Boxing Day as well, will you be having leftovers or something different?

An advent calendar for the build up - you obviously won't find chocolate ones now but you might find a refillable one in a dusty corner of a clearance sale?
Stockings for the night before? You could use pillow cases.
You can get paper chains year round in the U.K. now (generally in various colour combinations). Paperchase and John Lewis normally have some.
What about a scented room diffuser/candle? I always have the White Company Winter candle in December, but you might like a different scent. They have a sale on now, and if you search for "winter" you can find a few Christmassy ones that don't appear in the regular sale filter.

If you search Christmas on the John Lewis website they have some bits in the sale - you could do a click and collect order whilst you are here (collect from any Waitrose).

I would suggest investigating 'Christmas in a box' too - many hotels and expats clubs do that, and they can be great time savers. Also, depending on where you are, there might be Christmas brunches at the 5 star hotels? Certainly in the UAE and Bahrain, a Christmas Day brunch would be a grand affair, and the kind of thing you just don't get in the UK - and usually there are all the trimmings like Santa visits and carols with a choir etc. worth looking into - we always did Christmas Day brunches when we had visitors over the holidays, they were really special.

I used to live in UAE and Oman and remember flying back with suitcases full of frozen food, mainly of the pork variety; think chipolata sausages and good proper streaky bacon and pork mincemeat (for stuffing) from the local butcher. I could always order / buy the turkey, ham (vvv expensive), brussel sprouts and parsnips from local shops in December. You maybe find some local mum making proper Christmas pudding or you can make your own in October and keep feeding it. I found Terry's chocolate oranges expensive abroad so brought those over too. Crackers too. You might find some but they are pretty uninspiring and expensive. I agree that you may find some wonderful Christmas brunches on. However, part of Christmas for me is slowly getting trollied in the kitchen on Christmas Day and filling your plate with as much stuffing and roast potatoes that you want We always had a great Boxing Day inviting friends round to enjoy turkey and ham sandwiches.