So, polar opposite to Christmas Necessities..... how about some Christmas 'I buy these every year and I never use them and never learn'

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I'll kick my list off with
Christmas Crackers- yes when the DC were little they were fun, but , IRL they are full of tat, they don't make a good 'bang', I always end up with bits of paper everywhere.

Christmas Pudding/Cake- I make these if I have a housefull, if not then they don't get eaten

Big Tins of Sweets- you just know the manky ones will sit there fossilising till they get thrown out

Cheese- the ones you think are special for Christmas (usually in fancy packaging) they sit in the fridge judgily

Big tins of biscuits - only the nice ones get eaten, the tin hangs about forever with two custard creams in the bottom.

Gift sets- the ones they sneak out for Christmas , lots of style of substance . Would I buy them individually? Probably not .

Christmas cards- I see nice ones , some for the DC to send to friends. I post out to family but the rest sit there , unwritten till they get pushed into the loft (where I forget them next year)

😂

Crisps we do eat them but really buy too many. Biscuits we don't really eat them as there are always mince pies and stollen and Christmas cake. Cheese again gets eaten but DH has a compulsive urge to buy so many different ones, we have a cheese stall at our farmer's market that sells about 20 varieties of cheddar and another that does goats, buffalo and sheep's cheese etc

I've learned over many, many (too many) years to scale it back!

I used to buy turkey, now it's a large chicken or a nice piece of pork as we just can't eat our way through a turkey. I buy turkey slices from the supermarket deli on Christmas Eve so we can have the turkey sandwiches at tea time (which I have to have at Christmas).

I've stopped getting large tins of chocolates as only DH and I eat them. DS doesn't like chocolate. So now I get a few bars of our favourite chocolate, some after dinner mints and a small box of 'posh chocs' for the filled variety and we munch through them over Christmas. Nothings wasted then and we both get the chocolates we enjoy.

And I stick to a Christmas tea of turkey sandwiches, cheese and biscuits, sausage rolls and mince pies because the amount of trimmings I'd end up throwing away was obscene. After a big Christmas lunch we really don't need much at tea time so a sandwich, couple of crackers and sausage rolls is plenty.

I also do individual trifles rather than a big dish. Again with three of us it just goes soggy before we get through it so ends up thrown away. I make up individual trifles but leave the cream off the top then whip some up as we decide to eat through them. Much easier all round and they can be spread around the fridge so they can fit in gaps rather than take up a shelf. Great when the fridge is packed to bursting.

Christmas pudding though - that stays. I mix it with ice cream if there's any left over then re-freeze it. Lovely!

Nuts in shells I have reframed them as decoration rather food so I don't mind when no-one cracks them.

You can put them out in the garden for the squirrels after Christmas (all except the almonds I think)

Crackers for cheese. I always buy the big box, eat one or two on Boxing Day, then find the rest during my January clean out. They also seem to go stale about 3 seconds after you open the box.

Pickled onions. I think I’ve eaten about 5% of the pickled onions I’ve bought for Xmas. Rest eventually get binned. Small jars this year.

I’ve still got 4 boxes of candy canes from last year. I suppose I can decorate the tree with them this year. I don’t know if they go out of date.

My parents have a friend who two years running invited them over for dinner many months into the new year and served the Xmas turkey in curry or pie.

Yuck!

I've struggled buying just for me and DD, having been used to a man with a large appetite in the house, but I got it right last year and I'm determined to do it again this year. I have last year's shopping list as a guide.

I volunteer in a Food Bank & we look forward to all the unwanted Christmas treats being donated in the New Year . Everyone is on a diet so we get given loads of boxes of chocolates plus all the weird chutneys etc from Hampers, including Fortnum & Mason stuff. It's great for the Food Bank of course but just shows what a wasteful society we live in.

It seems sad for people given food from food banks to be given others’ discarded festive “treats”.

Or perhaps that’s not how people in that situation feel about it.

Christmas pudding and christmas cake, no fucker eats it but I feel the need to buy it.

Loopy, just to clarify that our Food Bank, & I am sure many others, do get huge volumes of donations before Christmas as well which are genuine - and generous - donations specifically for the recipients.

My point was just to remind people that Food Banks can usually use the 'unwanted' Christmas gifts as well.

NoWordForFluffy is this the Xmas cake cheesecake? www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/christmas-pudding-cheesecake

I will helpfully alleviate people of any leftover Christmas cake, cheese, miniature bounty bars, after eights, dates, mince pies or biscuits. DH will very efficiently clear up leftover Xmas puds. Just send it all my way
We actually don't have anything leftover, either we shop well or we are total gluttons. Or both.

elquinto I have a fuet in my pantry! There were two but the dc took rather a liking to it and it disappeared at an alarming rate.

Ill PM you all my address and you can send all your bounty’s, Christmas cake and after 8’s this way!
I always buy an excess of wrapping paper each year and have a drawer full of last years, and the years before, and the years before that.

@TheWoollybacksWife Im willing to take the hit for you and yours with the creme eggs from the Heroes boxes. In return, I will send you loads of alcohol which sits in the cupboard (whisky, vodka, brandy, rum, ameretto, tia maria) Deal?

For me it's the jar of mincemeat that sits in the cupboard mocking my intention to make mince pies from scratch. Why do I always delude myself when the supermarket ones are so much less hassle?

I've only just made it back onto this thread. Here is the cheesecake recipe if anyone wants it still!

Yes, chocolate for the tree. There's enough chocolate around that we don't need to actually festoon the house with it. Likewise candy canes; they're not even nice.

I don't have bread sauce, mince pies, Christmas cake or Christmas pudding, but I never really had them growing up so I don't miss them.

I also don't need to buy ANY Christmas decorations this year. I will have a look in our charity shop 10p a bauble bins for anything really spectacular but otherwise I have a tree, lights, plenty of beautiful baubles and a wreath. It's done.

My family must be pretty greedy because we eat EVERYTHING that’s been mentioned!

Christmas pudding
Crackers (got a loft full, remind me not to buy any....ever again)
Turkey (I don’t actually like it).

I no longer buy chocolates as we usually get gifted loads and they don’t get eaten (or just the select few do).

I’m cutting back this year, will just do a normal food shop with a few little extras like cheese and chutney and fancy sausage rolls.

We always get given at least one massive panettone - we don't like them at all! Dry and yucky! There's still one hiding behind the tv in our kitchen!

@smurfy2015 I would have happily sacrificed my creme eggs and taken the booze off your hands but I've just stocked up on delicious Belgian chocolate so Heroes won't be getting a look in this year.

@Cutesbabasmummy if you get given a chocolate chip panettone it is delicious cut into reasonably thick slices and toasted. I don't like the fruit one at all though.

Every year we buy loads of nuts that you need nut crackers for, because, you know, tradition 😏
Every year we eat all the 'normal' salted peanuts, cashews and every year the 'proper' nuts get left in the bowl until I give in and bin them as part of the January-must-eat-healthy ritual.

Nuts and the dates that seem to be universally uneaten would actually be a very good part of the January-must-eat-healthy ritual. They are very good for you!