Buying non perishables in your weekly shop

[PumpkinSpicedTea]

I'm sure a few of us do this to keep costs in check rather than a mad rush on 23rd/24th!

What do you like to buy in the run up to December to try and keep for Christmas? In the past I've bought wine, Baileys etc as I like to have my delivery slot before 10am on 23rd 😄

Also sweets, chocolate etc.

I was looking at batch cooking and veg etc and was wondering if I should buy that sooner and prep and freeze. I know supermarkets actually have really cheap veg 22-24th.

Custard powder! Yorkshire pudding mix and stuffing, foil.
Is that the kind of thing you're after?

Any dry ingredients I will need, cranberry sauce, pickled onions, anything that doesn't need keeping in a fridge or freezer I'll start buying from now onwards.

I start with the nice things chocolates, biscuits, crisps and nibbly bits.

So far this year crisps and biscuits.

I can't do that, I end doing the whole "screw it it's Christmas" and eating all the treats. 😬🫣

I ate all the twiglets by mid November doing this last year so no. Is it to save money? Just put the cash aside. Otherwise what’s the benefit? I don’t have vast cupboard space

Great suggestions thanks!

I guess it's not to save money as will be spending it regardless if its now or December. I think it's just to be more organised and not doing a massive shop in December just a normal weekly shop with some extras.

I have bought to try out - ie got the DC to sample- Cadbury coins and Terrys Mint Ball. If they are horrible I don’t want them sitting judging in the pantry .
verdict was Cadbury coins very nice. Terrys mint ball he’d rather have Matchmakers.

I’m going to buy things like dry fruits , bread flour , nice lemon curd, bottles of J2O
Not cans of Pepsi which froze in the garage and burst 😕

I've been hoping this thread subject would come up 😍

I absolutely love the build up for Christmas so have brought 1 or 2 extra things in the weekly shop since September 😄. Luckily I have a big chest freezer I can use- I've mainly gotten frozen party food so there's always something snacky to offer guests and have started buying dry ingredients for the Christmas cooking:

12 x mozzarella sticks
16 x Part baked rolls
12 x Stuffing balls
10 x Duck spring rolls
Pack 6 sausages
1 x lemon meringue pie
1 x Puff pastry
12 x hot and spicy prawns
12 x hot and spicy chicken
1 x passionfriuit, raspberry and white choc pavlova stack
Garlic and herb cracker bites
Gherkins
6 x cans diet coke
6 x cans fanta
Hazelnuts
Dried cranberries
Dried apricots
Mixed nuts
White cooking chocolate
70% chocolate
1 x jar mincemeat

On this week's list ive added glace cherry's and maybe a small Aldi frozen turkey for pulled turkey sloppy Joe's for between Christmas and New year 🎄🥳

I will need to make a trip to Costco in the next couple of weeks.
Ds loves the mozzarella sticks from there , I buy a couple of bags at least .
We have two small freezers in the garage and the kitchen one so space to stock up.

Binbags
Foil
I bought baking parchment
Huge blocks of cheddar
J2O
Bag of liquorice ( for me)
Cat food
Bonne Mamon jam
Nutella
Dry fruit
Socks for DS. ( got Puma brand last time which are good)
Chicken tenders for Ds
Tropicana
Alpro Soya milk

I can only buy things I won't be tempted to 'sample' ... so far have cranberry sauce and foil . I tried the Terrys Mint Ball but didn't enjoy it.

Has anyone seen cheese footballs this year? I love them but haven't spotted any yet .

One reason to do it, for a pp that was asking, is to get things while they're on offer. Right before Christmas special offers are thin on the ground, so I look out for anything in my Christmas shop that I can get for cheaper and keep.

Literally just spreading the cost. I don't notice any extra £10 on the shop.

I’ve bought two bottles of baileys. Can’t buy chocolate as I know I will eat it before Christmas if I do.

I will probably buy foil next week as that will be safe from temptation!

maybe some cocktail things too? Like lemon juice, lime juice, mixers.

stuffing
mincemeat
cranberry sauce
emergency stocking fillers like Ferrero Rocher
crackers for cheese
pickled onions and chutney
basics like baked beans and UHT milk

Ahead of time I normally get
Toilet rolls
Bin liners
Cleaning stuff and bleach
Dishwasher tablets
Wash up liquid
Kitchen towels

Crisps and packets (not tins) of nice biscuits
Baking ingredients
Ground coffee
Teabags
Hot choc mix
Marshmallows

Breadsticks
Seasonings and stock (I get powdered veg stock and M&S concentrated chick stock in a jar)

Lots more too that I can't think of but it's those kind of things that others tend to forget around me

Thanks for all your suggestions. Stuff like bin bags etc I always forget when doing my "big shop" list.

I often leave some things like Hellman's mayonnaise until closer to the time as there are often good offers on those coming up to Christmas. So I will stock up for a few months them. And things like jars of Uncle Bens sauces etc. And slabs of cans of coke etc.

Baking supplies tend to have offers around now rather than close to Christmas itself. So again I stock up for a good few months.

So that may be useful to think about too.

I lack the self control to have nice chocolates and the like in my house for two months without opening them. Great if you can manage it but counter productive for me.

Drinks, wine at the moment is 25% off 6 at most supermarkets. Sainsburys I noticed yesterday is till the end of october and my favourite was cheapest there so 5 bottles plus the cava for Xmas morning bucks fizz went in my trolley. Also craft ales like brewdog were 4 for 3. Crisps and chocolate just get eaten here, sometimes I buy and hide in my bedroom away from my adult sons 👀

I have my flours but will get more. Brown sugar, ordinary sugar (I whizz it finer myself. It just saves a few pennies). I’ve got my vanilla. Dried fruits etc to come soon.

Yes to stocktaking bin bags, baking paper, paper towels, detergent, bathroom soap and shampoo.

I've got 12 bottles of wine stashed for Christmas! Also some chutney. I will leave most of it to the 23rd though, I have a delivery booked for that day.

@Hibernatalie oh god, I can't stash wine, I'd totally drink it

I have started buying some things. But I'm gluten and dairy free, so if I left it until close to Christmas I really struggle to get my treats!

So far, I've bought 12 bars of cheap dark chocolate for baking (sainsburys is the only place that hasn't added milk to theirs!). Some chocolate chip cookies. Digestives and mini marshmallows (for rocky road).

When I next go to poundland I'm going to get some of their fake after eights and Toblerones.

Most stuff I can leave as I live within 10 mins walk of sainsburys, tesco, aldi and Iceland! And if I can't get it from there there's a big tesco, m&s food and lidl a 15 min bus ride away.

I always start buying in the alcohol in the last six months in the year as it's so expensive to go out and buy all at once . Just gradually building up the bottles .