Thinking of cancelling my xmas food slot to use the butcher.

[Ohdoleavemealone]

Butcher has a great meat deal on and obviously needs more support than waitrose. But at Waitrose, I can get the veg and desert too. Am I mad to go into the actual shops to get my veg at xmas? Will it be awful?

.....what?
What’s the problem here? Surely going to shops to buy things is fairly normal?

Waitrose is only £40 minimum spend though. So surely you would use that and get your meat from the butcher? That's what I'm doing anyway. You're going to need a lot more than just meat during Christmas week

No, it will be fine.

Surely going to shops to buy things is fairly normal?

You would think so, apparently it's far too much effort for a lot of people now.

I'd rather choose the veg myself than rely on a delivery where it might be out of stock and not arrive at all, or be poor quality.

Get your meat from the butcher and keep the Waitrose slot for everything else.

For someone who usually feeds 10-12, I always do my shopping at our greengrocers, butchers and bakers. Then a supermarket for the booze/dairy and packets.

I've only ever heard of Christmas food orders being screwed up TBH!

The Xmas slot I got will only let me book "entertainment" items. Not regular groceries. Plus I'd be collecting it very close to Xmas due to a tiny fridge so Xmas shop tends to be good for Xmas eve and Xmas day only.

The problem is I don't know if it's risky going into the shops so close to Xmas. Will I get everything or get run down by a trolley in the process? I usually avoid supermarkets so close to Xmas. It's like a massacre!

I have never had a Christmas delivery

Buy my meat at the butchers and the rest at the supermarket, but I am not very rigid about what I get. If there’s no parsnip or sprouts I would not sweat it, for example (they usually have everything anyway)

The shops will be fine, if you want it to be quieter just go in really early or really late. We've never had a slot and have always got everything we need.

Go when they first open it'll be fairly quiet more than likely.

Good plan. Very early is a good shout.

Well you have up to the day before to cancel your slot so would just leave it and see how things are. Very weird you can only shop for 'entertainment items' . Honestly never heard that before. I've got one on the 23rd and theres a full shop in there.
In your shoes I'd probably bump up to £40 with a bottle of wine tbh just for the convenience

Look for a local veg delivery company, get a delivery from them too!

What exactly counts as an "entertainment item"? Would you be allowed to order veg if you were also ordering (say) champagne, smoked salmon starters and naice cheese?

Personally, I'm ordering all the meat from the local butcher this year. I'm getting crackers, Xmas pudding, Xmas cake, drinks, and frozen veg via Ocado, but I'm getting them early because last year they let me down on 24 December and didn't have any Xmas pudding and other items (which had been in my basket for weeks). I had to brave Actual Real Life Supermarkets on 24 December and it was not a pretty sight.

Other than meat, there isn't that much you can't shop for in advance, either online or in person. If you want fresh potatoes, parsnips, carrots, sprouts etc then they will keep for a week. Xmas cake and pudding can be bought right now and kept.

I used to rely on my Xmas delivery slot, but I'm not going to do that again.

@Pikachubaby

I have never had a Christmas delivery

Buy my meat at the butchers and the rest at the supermarket, but I am not very rigid about what I get. If there’s no parsnip or sprouts I would not sweat it, for example (they usually have everything anyway)

Same here. I just go out first thing (6 am ish) on the 23rd or 24th and go to the butchers, Morrisons and if necessary M&S and get what we need.

At that time the shops are quiet and fully stocked - the butchers and Morrisons open earlier than M&S so I time it so I can be at M&S at opening time if I need to go there, usually if something has been missing at Morrisons or didn't look very nice.

On the matter of fridge space, you can keep things like veg, soft drinks and even cheese in your car, shed, or any other cool space to save the fridge for things that have to go in there.

I've always bought meat from the butchers (pre-ordered), and Waitrose delivery for everything else. Works well for me.