Treat bits - when do you put yours ‘out’?

[BarnabyJude]

My late teen kids joke that the Christmas stash (as they refer to it) is out of bounds til a certain date (usually 23rd ish Dec). I’m just curious as to when you have your treaty bits out for general consumption?

Same around the 23rd.

When the last person finishes work or school - so it’s quite variable. DH has already eaten a pack of fancy salami though 😭.

there are a lot of us, all with different timetables, and the anticipation from the early finishers is amusing

• none of this applies to me though as I have a quality assurance role.

Start things from when people start finishing school and work, and we've got time to sit down and watch a bit of festive TV! 😄

Depends what you mean. We already have fruit mince pies, candy canes, butter cookies and egg nog on the go along with a box of more expensive Christmas biscuits, which the kids aren't interested in. The only things I really reserve for close to Christmas are the Turkey and leg of ham. The kids don't consume everything at crazy rates though, might have to rethink if they did.

@ChequerboardCharlie cracking up at the QA role - definitely stealing it!

Ours stay untouchable until the 24th - though I'll buy nice treats for wrapping/Christmas movie days in the run up. But the 'proper' pile, God help whoever touches them (except now obviously the QA auditor 😋)

We have a "Christmas side" in the dining room which starts accruing in November and builds up until it's declared "open" on Christmas Eve. It's cleared off and covered with sparkly paper, and the treats and sweets are arranged on it with fairy lights etc. It's one of the few traditions I've carried through from my childhood, and my adult children now love adding to it and helping arrange it nicely. I did have one friend tell me it was a disgusting "shrine to gluttony", so clearly it isn't everyone's cup of tea!

A few days before Christmas or as soon as people come home to stay if they live away. (DS1 is coming home on 19th so his favourite chocolates and cheeses will be up for grabs from then on. I'd way rather people enjoyed them over an extended period than forced them down when they already feel full after Christmas dinner.

Shrine to gluttony sounds absolutely wonderful!!!!

We are already three tubs of quality street in, but that's DH, who keeps opening them (and me who keeps buying more!)

Everyone in my house works right up to Christmas Eve so it's stashed away until then.

I keep what I can in the bedroom(out of sight out of mind) until around the 23rd then it's all put on "display" in the kitchen but no one is allowed to touch any of it until Xmas Eve (evening) and only then you can open the nuts and chocolate tins first,nothing else!

In theory, we start our Christmas stash when the school holidays start. This year they start on the 22nd December.

But before that in December, I do like festive food - lots of hot chocolate and those little festive cake type things for the kids really. And for us, December is the season of festive sandwiches! Brie and cranberry, sliced chicken and stuffing, roast beef with horseradish, Stilton and onion chutney. We usually end up opening a few stollen bites and one of those cheap Christmas cake bar things too.

Some products and flavours are definitely reserved for very close to Christmas are the Maltesers, roses etc, and anything too close to a Christmas dinner.

It is all put out on Christmas Eve - if it goes out before we'd have none left at all as DH wouldn't be able to leave it alone. I've been buying bits and we've been eating Mince Pies and DH has already dropped hints about what is there to munch on that is different. He knows it's there and can't wait! 😆

The week of Christmas! I might have the odd mince pie at work or out and about in a cafe.

It's all go from the 1st in my house! Tree up treats out!

I am baffled by the comments tbh 🤣

I like the idea of a Shrine to Gluttony 🤣
I collect chocolates and biscuits and sweets from when they start arriving in the shops and usually put some out on DD's birthday mid December then it's free range from Christmas Eve. We have family coming in two weeks though and I'll put some things out then.

Yes same here. The bowls of chocs and fancy jars of nuts and star pretzels go out with the rest of the decorations.

I agree. Henceforth I am going to have a shrine to gluttony

That sounds lovely I might try that myself! Your friend's a Scrooge, if you can't enjoy a bit of gluttony at Christmas when can you?

Yay, I've never started a MN trend before! I love the idea of other Shrines to Gluttony popping up 😊😊😊

Mine is the same and I find it infuriating! I eat like a cat - nibble what I want, leave some to enjoy coming back to it later; he eats like a dog - wolf it down as if he'll never be fed again...

I don't know if it's a male-female thing - that we're brought up on self-denial where they're encouraged to eat as kids... my mother was thinness-obsessed for us girls, his was a Feeder who stuffed her boys like Christmas turkeys...

I don't know which of us is right, but it's very off-pissing to look forward to that last chocolate you've been keeping, or the glass of Baileys you know is there, only to find it's been ganneted... 'We can buy more!' he says. But not at 8pm when you're in your jammies and chilling and besides that's not the point... 😡

We don't put anything out as we have labradors.

But I buy a tin of quality St that DH and teens like and it gets opened during Arthur Christmas at 6pm every Xmas eve.

Otherwise it's just the xmas meal and some cheese etc for boxing day lunch.

I sometimes buy some salted or smoked nuts too but these have to stay in the cupboard or the dogs steal them.

'...but we have labradors'. 🤣 Enough said.

'...as we have...'

😁