What can I buy now and store to avoid panicking?

[drspouse]

We have my DM and DB and nieces for a meal on the 23rd, we are getting a Booths party food platter but this means we'll have no fridge space till then.
I'm picking up the turkey on the 24th and we have a chest freezer in a shed and can obviously store things in cupboards so I'm wondering what I can get now and freeze/will have a longer fridge life (I may even store things in the shed to keep chilled).
So far I am thinking
Chocolates, crisps, crackers, biscuits, cheese straws, bags of nuts (hide them from myself). Brandy butter comes in a jar and keeps ages.
We usually get a gingerbread house kit and make it between Christmas and New Year.
Streaky bacon, can I put ready made custard and gravy in the freezer? It will just be a nice change from Bisto (I am rubbish at making gravy from scratch). The DCs love Christmas pudding (it's currently steaming!) and they prefer ice cream or even milk on their pudding.
I've asked for a bottle of sherry, port or Baileys and DH doesn't drink that much anyway, but we have a nice bottle of red my dad gave us, and we'll get some cava.
I'm a bit unsure about keeping cheeses in the shed or freezer. Ditto pate unless it's in a pot.

I might make a pannetonne (I have a breadmaker recipe) or buy one now.

We get a veg box which will come on the Weds and will sit on the floor/keep in the shed so that part is not a worry, though I'll get a big box of clementines.

Last year I went to Lidl and Booths at the crack of dawn on the Sat before Christmas but this year the days are wrong/we only have Christmas Eve to do this.

We've (or rather DH)has already bought some vacuum packed cheese, and some of our charcuterie. I'm not sure about the custard but you should be able to freeze the gravy. Just remember it expands when frozen so you don't want one that's full to the top ( it will say if it's suitable for freezing on the back label.)

Get chocolates now. You can find them in the supermarket.
Go to the shops and see what you can find etc.

Well I went and raided Lidl and hid the results in the spare room wardrobe. I think we may order cheese from a few fancy online places though, and other last minute items we will just take our chances.

Last year we made roast potatoes, Yorkshire's, stuffing, red cabbage etc all in advance and froze it.

I bought stuffing mix at Lidl and we will get our red cabbage from the veg box 👍

M&S gravy in a jar or vacuum pack that doesn't need refrigeration. Needs boosting with juices from the bird but a very good base
Jars of cranberry sauce
Stuffing, pigs in blankets can be frozen
Sprouts on a stalk keep for ages and taste better than the bagged ones

There’s a couple of seasonal things that I only use at Christmas so buy early in case they are out of stock later - vacuum packed chestnuts which I use in a sprouts recipe & cranberries which I freeze as I like to make my own cranberry sauce. I also buy chocolates, biscuits & drinks gradually in the weeks leading up.

I try to keep the Christmas shop to just the things I will need for the day itself & a few days after. Otherwise it’s a storage issue.

Get Christmas crackers now. I once spent 3 hours trying to find any Christmas crackers at all in central London on Xmas eve.

Oh yes good idea about crackers. I’ve bought the ones you fill yourself at Oxfam. Will just pop a chocolate in each one. I’ve also got some pigs in blankets in the freezer as they have been hard to get recently

I'd buy a back up frozen turkey the way deliveries are going this year.

@Allsorts1

Get Christmas crackers now. I once spent 3 hours trying to find any Christmas crackers at all in central London on Xmas eve.

DD forced me to get these when she spotted them in Aldi so we are good for them!

@Mittenmob

I'd buy a back up frozen turkey the way deliveries are going this year.

We are picking it up from the butcher on the 24th 👍

Oh and the butcher is saving me pigs in blankets too!

Most stuff, if you store it effectively.

For instance, cream has a two week shelf life. Par boil and freeze potatoes, cook from frozen.

There is absolutely no need to be amongst the crazy three days before Christmas Day.

Depends what veg you like... cooked red cabbage and mashed swede freeze well. I recently discovered that parboiled parsnips freeze very well too. Cut as you like, parboil for 3 mins, cool and freeze. I drop the frozen pieces into boiling water for a couple of mins to defrost, then roast as usual.

Smoked salmon freezes fine as well if that's part of your plan.

Salmon mmmmm...
We may have some poached salmon left as that's one of the buffet foods we've ordered. We might be pushed for fridge space until the 24th though so I may have to do a last minute raid.
Cupboard space is all good and nobody but me likes sprouts!