Went to go to the supermarket earlier for a few bits and pieces I can’t get at the cash n carry.

It was beyond packed. Didn’t look too bad until until I realised that everyone in the queues had trolleys stacked to the gunnels.

So yeah off to Tesco now to have a little more of my soul taken, joy.

I think this may be having the O removed tomorrow night;

A friend booked her Christmas eve home delivery slot back in November. She’s been adding stuff to it for weeks in order to make sure she didn’t forget anything. However sh needed to check out by midnight and forgot!!! Guess who’s going shopping with the mayhem now!

I’m off in about 20 minutes. Wish me luck!

Rachel

Good luck!

On the positive side – my wife has a calendar item back in early November to book the Christmas food delivery slot. So we’re avoiding the mayhem that is the pre-Christmas supermarket. I did Waitrose one year and it was like trolley rugby played by women of a certain age, all intent on getting that last pack of Heston’s mince pies.

On the negative – one online retailer omitted to send out the top we bought for the youngest daughter. So I had to brave Oxford Street on the way home from work. It was like the seventh circle of hell – how anyone finds pleasure in that frenzy I have no idea.

I went 2 days ago and a top yesterday for bits they didn’t have. Off to the butchers soon so I can spend the rest of the day enjoying myself.

Saw a fight yesterday in Iceland between two grannies over a jumbo pack of Yorkshire Puddings 😯

Filled my freezer, cupboard and fridge with all the essentials for 3 weeks last week, sod going food shopping anytime around christmas and new year. I still bear the scar from 2013 when a yummy mummy took me out with her trolley racing me to the till queue 👿

wifes had her asda order and delivery slot for weeks. yesterday she looked and it said there were no turkeys or mince pies available and offered alternatives. how sh1t is that for planning??

cancelled the whole order in a grump and now having to go elsewhere by foot today.

I’ll be going late tonight for a few bits.

Christmas is a nice, simple, cheapish thing for me these days. 😀

Used to be a time when I hadn’t fully financially recovered till February.

Utter bliss in comparison now.

Best thing is Christmas is almost over which is the best bit about it. 😀

My sister’s Xmas shop was delivered last night, they substituted the turkey with a chicken

Just back from mine. MnS = fine, Tesco is just rammed full of personal shoppers for the home delivery service.

drove into tesco carpark yesterday morning, drove back out – folk were queueing to park and had generally lost their festive cheer and goodwill 😀

heard later that once folk got parked, they were then having to que to get a trolley 😀

i might go up to tesco today just to watch what people turn into when it comes to parking the day before xmas eve 😆

Done. Butchers was getting busy as I left Lidl was dead. I now have a chicken the size of an ostrich and a lovely bit of sirloin. Time to get the mulled cider on.

Well, that was much easier than I feared!

Rachel

Drove past the large Tesco’s hyper store at 0650 this morning. The car park was FULL. I’m stuck at work for a 12 hr shift so I may have to brave it for supplies and I’ll report back later

Went to Aldi Wetherby at 7pm last night. Was surprised that it was much less busy than on a normal Saturday morning. We now have everything we need except a turkey, which we always buy an hour before closing on Xmas eve when they are half price…never failed yet!

We did the last minute stuff last night fearing the worst, about 9pm. There was 10 people in the whole store, job done.

We haven’t bought anything yet and were planning on going this afternoon. Hopefully everyone will have panic shopped earlier and we won’t have to queue.

I’ll pop to Waitrose 30 mins before closing tomorrow to pick up any bargains

We’re making a roast dinner. I bought some sprouts yesterday. Going to buy carrots today. Probably from a greengrocer. Life in the fast lane!

Mostly sorted, just bread and some bacon to get. I’ll actually enjoy the fevered look in peoples faces as a saunter last with a basket!

Back in my schooldays I worked at Sainsburys stacking shelves a couple of evenings a week and on Saturdays.
There was always loads of overtime going around Christmas and shop opening hours back then weren’t what they are now either, much more limited.

Anyway, working Xmas Eve and the store was putting out announcements saying tills close in 5 MINUTES!! There were fights breaking out over the last straggly bits of turkey in the freezers, people stacking the trolley with 30L of milk and a dozen loaves of bread… It was insane but also very funny.

I went at 5.30am a few days ago and the place was packed. Not with shoppers but with staff re-stocking the shelves.

Best thing is Christmas is almost over which is the best bit about it.

Amen to that!

My list…

-Enough Booze? Check
-Someone who I can reliably call round to on Xmas day to eat their leftovers in exchange for a cheap bottle of wine? Check

Or if the weather is any good… I’m off for a big ride and the rest can wait for another day!

You still go out to shops? How quaint 😉

Unpacked the Booth’s delivery last night job jobbed.

We went to Tesco at 11pm on Thursday, when the in-laws arrived.

Was busy but not too bad, got everything we wanted,bar prawns, so pretty good.

Has to drive 10miles to another toysrus yesterday, when our local one let us down on click and collect for the eldest main present! but been quite civilised this year and everything else is ready.

Taking kids to a birthday party at soft play this morning (hellish) then bike ride this afternoon (heavenly, well bit muddy)

mboy – Member
-Enough Booze? Check

Tonic stocks good.
Gin stocks wavering.
Cheap lager ok.
Wine plentiful, I’m a winemaker, but I may be allergic to red.
Will check the Scotch later.

We’re making a roast dinner. I bought some sprouts yesterday. Going to buy carrots today. Probably from a greengrocer. Life in the fast lane!

Exactly Christmas dinner is just that a roast dinner surely? Never really got the fuss about the actual meal. I prefer a nice steak so that’s what the taxi family is having this year 😀

Never really got the fuss about the actual meal

I know. Well, at least the mad rush. I like a get-together and to take special care in preparing something spesh. But it’s still just a bloody roast dinner not the end of the world! They crazy out theya!

But to be fair there was a tad of excitement yesterday Thurs night when I enquired about chestnuts and they weren’t sure if they had, so passed me over to a more knowledgeable assistant.

Turns out that they did indeed have chestnuts. Saving me from cycling 16 miles in the traffic of hell (I refuse to drive into the city at most times of year, let alone these few days before Armageddonmas)

It was a flutter of danger.

Got the kids up & were in Tesco for just before 7am. It was fine, full shelves, no queues. Parking spot by the door. 🙂
Job done.
No green cabbage though, so Xmas is ruined.

Shopping arrived last night! ( Mrs Wookster is a planning and organisational legend!!) Trip to the Butchers to pick up the Turkey and that’s us….hopefully….. 😆

Asda was chaos yesterday mind you!! So glad I was passing by and not shopping!!

asda was busy at midnight, queues for tills were not good but I got out the selfserve pretty quick
As for the home shopping,the driver/s was out to midnight everyday this week, and everyone had a lot of substitutions, including chicken in place of turkey.
Quiet today though, and al over now till next year.

Off down the street as I forgot to get Snowballs for the kids tomorrow night. There may be mulled wine consumed.

I shall be attending shoprite as soon as the driver returns with my malaria ridden colleague from the clinic.

I’m not sure who has the worst deal.

ShopRite on a Saturday is like a never ending rugby scrum.

Just been buying veg after feeling ill from eating too much junk food and chocolate cake.

Was busy, quite a few hotties out too.

Only busy bit in Morrisons was the Christmas food to order collection point. Queue of 30+ people, just starting to get fractious.

Can confirm B&M and the petrol station in Orton, Peterborough are empty.

Got AA batteries and air in my tyres very painlessly.

Cycling into Didcot now to laugh at the carnage.

Was pretty empty in town this morning.

Ok, just been for a couple of miles walk to the nearest village shop for mushrooms, sugar and kindling, very festive purchases. Definitely no queue at the till 😀