When do you start buying your Christmas food?

[Starlight40]

Just that really, when do you start buying your Christmas food? And what do you buy? I’ve started a bit earlier this year and I’ve started buying party food ready for Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve. I’ve also bought some pigs in blankets. My 15 year old says he wants more than last year. We had 36 between 4 of us but apparently it wasn’t enough! I have also bought most of the ingredients to make some mincemeat. I’m unsure when to make it though. I normally make it by the end of October.

It’s a shame some posters feel the need to pick holes in how others shop. There really is no need. Just let others do Christmas the way they want, including shopping. It will be the same when someone posts about taking their tree down on 27th December! Or it goes up on 1st December.

I have bought two of the Marks and Spencer Very Berry Munch refill packs. Why? Because they sold out last year. I will also buy some party food for the freezer in the coming weeks. Why? Because it was the dregs left last year and I don’t want to have to do several supermarkets and 50 miles to find what we like.

So what if others start now. So what if you do it 5 minutes before the shops shut. Everyone is different. You do you and let others do what they want. No need for the shitty comments including 36 pigs in blankets between 4, which sounds a perfect amount!

I completely agree, let everyone do their own thing and not worry about it!

I have started already .... I have a massive plastic box that has already got; a quality street ring, mint match makers, cashews, and some dark brown sugar. I have always done this as we live in the country and getting to a supermarket isn't as easy as popping round the corner. Also, I have a chronic illness, so the more prepared we are the less stress for everyone. The children absolutely love choosing 1 or 2 things per shop each week, it never gets eaten because that's the rule.
I also set aside days in the next couple of months to make things like; gravy, pigs in blankets (I can't stand the bought ones they are cheap sausages), the stuffing, the red cabbage, and the roasted pigs in blankets. I also make tons of party food (palmiers, mince pies, etc) and lovely venison casseroles and lots of soups. We have lots of people staying all through Christmas and New Year, so having supper prepared is a blessing.

Probably mid December. I don't have space to store it .

However , I buy Christmas food when it comes in the shops to have in the cupboards to eat as we go. I bought some mince pies this week.

I don't know if it is peculiar to my M and S, but I always order early and pick up at the last day. For the last 3 years I have not got what I ordered.
They always upgraded me to a bigger turkey, free of charge, or offered me a refund (on Christmas Eve!) It 'did', but it wasn't what I ordered or wanted.
I am wondering if the answer is to pick up earlier, but I worry about the length of time it sits there.
Thinking of getting a frozen one this time.

I started picking up food cupboard items and snacks/sweets/chocolate the first week in September 🙂 Nobody touches it as it’s in a separate cupboard and there’s always more than enough things to eat.

I have a running list on my phone so I know what I have bought and what I still need to pick up. I check all the dates before buying them and they all last well into 2025. It’s usually when I see something at a good price. Eg - Morrisons were selling Pringles for £1.25 so I stocked up.

I do it to spread the cost as a single parent. I add a couple of things each food shop with the goal of only needing to shop for the fresh bits in the days leading up to Christmas.

I think spreading the cost is great, but they are in the stores earlier and earlier to encourage people to buy twice.

Ghilliegums · Today 09:45
I think spreading the cost is great, but they are in the stores earlier and earlier to encourage people to buy twice.

You only have to do that if, like me, you eat all the chocolate.

Thank you! I have 2 teenage boys and 1 doesn’t eat vegetables so he will have turkey, potatoes, Yorkshire puddings and lots of pigs in blankets! Doing it this way helps spread out the cost. We have 3 children and we are all off for 2 weeks so they eat quite a bit. I have my shopping delivered every week so going near a supermarket in December doesn’t appeal to me. I can’t stand how busy it is and tbh previous years things have sold out. I never buy fresh pigs in blankets so it makes no difference if I buy them now or not.

I order all the meat stuff from butcher's and pick it up on 23rd or 24th. I then usually get a supermarket online shop for the 23rd so I've got time to get any missing bits, although I've never had to thus far! I have a Christmas food 'pot' in my budget which is already almost funded so the cost has been spread in advance, really.

We get all our wine and bubbly when the 6 bottles are 25% off in Sainsbury's. Also get spirits and mixers for cocktails from now as they're expensive and it spreads the cost. We save all our Nectar points all year and do a big shop for non-perishables in mid December. If we see some nice crisps etc we pick up the odd bag and keep it in the pantry.
Just do bits and pieces to spread the cost and hassle throughout autumn. Main shop is 22nd/23rd but usually need to get a few fresh bits on Christmas Eve if it can be avoided but only things we can get on foot on the way back from the pub!

Actually that's true I do buy wine when it's 25% off for 6, although they tend to repeat it just before xmas

Stir up Sunday is the Sunday before Advent, when the Christmas pudding is traditionally made by Jill Archer and no one else anymore and all the family give it a stir and make a wish, @greengreyblue

I will make the mincemeat next week so it has a good 2 months to mature before it’s needed. I missed the sloes this year, so no sloe gin for Christmas, but the rhubarb gin is maturing nicely.

The rest of the Christmas stuff will wait until mid December.

I think stir up Sunday is only for Christmas pudding. Christmas cakes can be made months in advance. I traditionally do mine on August BH Monday as the weather is usually shit and DP is always working so it's a good way to pass a few hours.

I have bought a few things like vanilla, brown sugar, table sugar (which I whizz in the Thermie to make finer), flours etc. I have somewhere to put them and it spreads the cost.

I order the ham for about three weeks before and just do a shop a few days before of the rest. I send dh out for bread early on Christmas Eve and am done.

I have added a few chocolate bits, a bottle of Baileys and a jar of cranberry sauce to my online shop which arrives today. Next week I'll get some nuts and maybe olives, and so it goes. It builds up a nice little bit of anticipation and also hedges against illness or other unexpected events later on.

MN is a weird place. It's interesting to compare our different habits to preparing for Christmas, but some people get all competitive about how tastefully restrained their celebrations are and how they don't do anything before the 22nd because they are so organised/well-off/frugal/whatever.

I get a delivery or pick up things like biscuits and crackers etc in November. Xmas food ie frozen bits beginning of December along with some drinks/wine etc. Fresh stuff I get on the 22nd/23rd December.