How long do you wait to do the Christmas shopping?

I went to see an old friend of mine yesterday, an he needed to pop to Tesco to grab a couple of bits. Instead of being able to just pop in, he had to head to a different one as the queues just for the carpark were up the road, with a lot of people everywhere mulling about all the other shops nearby.

This made me wonder, how long do you wait to get Christmas prepared? Do you wait till last minute to buy your loved ones gifts or do you buy gifts throughout the year? Do you buy your food just before the big day? Or do you go before the rush and try to get the best before dates to be on or after Christmas day? Or do you just order everything online instead, saving the need to go out in the first place?

For me, I try to buy gifts before December so I'm not having to rush around the shops, and I always try to get our food shopping done the week before with the longest best before dates i can find. How about you?

Gift wise, I try to get it all done by the end of November.

Food wise the bulk of the meat order is placed in October with the butcher (was delivered on Thursday evening) and the remainder of the side bits for food are bought a week before Christmas day.

Anything non-perishable was bought a few weeks ago. Most food shopping done last week, and a Tesco delivery coming this afternoon for the freshies.

Apart from perishables always try to get everything in at least a couple of weeks before Christmas. Not unusual to be buying stuff in mid-November.
There's nothing more destructive to feelings of goodwill to all men than last-minute in-store Christmas shopping.

I did the bulk of my shopping in October/November, though i actually started buying gifts to keep as far back as July.

I did almost almost all of my Christmas shopping this week, mostly online for delivery, a couple of collections, and got the last bits from a local and not too busy shop this morning. There's still a gift I need to sort, but it won't actually be given until after new year, so I'll sort it out next week.

Not hosting this year, so I'm not sorting food either, thankfully. But when I do, I book a delivery a couple of days before, although you usually need to reserve your slot about 2 months out. :roll:

I don't understand how people can find the time to be organised enough to get Christmas shopping done months in advance. I spend most of the year barely planning a week ahead, I can't just shift the timeframe I operate in for the sake of a couple of days.

Bought everything gradually between late November and finished off a few bits early yesterday morning. Bought the frozen turkey weeks ago (just taken it out now to defrost).

Products have been available and discounted for weeks so haven’t had any issues.

Snowballed wrote:I went to see an old friend of mine yesterday, an he needed to pop to Tesco to grab a couple of bits. Instead of being able to just pop in, he had to head to a different one as the queues just for the carpark were up the road, with a lot of people everywhere mulling about all the other shops nearby.

This made me wonder, how long do you wait to get Christmas prepared? Do you wait till last minute to buy your loved ones gifts or do you buy gifts throughout the year? Do you buy your food just before the big day? Or do you go before the rush and try to get the best before dates to be on or after Christmas day? Or do you just order everything online instead, saving the need to go out in the first place?

For me, I try to buy gifts before December so I'm not having to rush around the shops, and I always try to get our food shopping done the week before with the longest best before dates i can find. How about you?

I have started as early as January some years... this year I started with cousins and uncles then moved on to work friends and then my misses, daughter and dad last... then as I had spare time and cash decided to get an old friend and his kids some surprise presents.. Started at the start of November and everything important was done before December with a few extras a few days ago.

I used to wait until a few days before, sometimes up to Christmas Eve.

But I now try and get it all done by early December.

Important gifts in November, some by 9pm Saturday lol.

I went yesterday. Was gonna go today but thought it might be busy.

Presents throughout December. Food I started on Wednesday but then I've had to go back three times since because the risk of having things around is that my husband eats everything within eyeline with no thought to the longer term strategic plan.

oh bugger i knew i was forgetting something

I buy most of the presents during November. Cards are written and posted in the first week of December. Food-wise I bought the deserts (Christmas pudding, fruit cake and cheesecakes) this week for our family gathering. Collected the turkey for my parents on Friday. Hair cut* yesterday.

I can't cope with "last minute" approaches.

* As if. More of a beard cut, really.

It's 10pm Christmas Eve, time to start wrapping!

Fairytale of Knoy York wrote:It's 10pm Christmas Eve, time to start shopping!

Qikzmas wrote:
Fairytale of Knoy York wrote:It's 10pm Christmas Eve, time to start pretending I've converted to Islam and no longer buy Christmas presents!

Moggy wrote:
Qikzmas wrote:
Fairytale of Knoy York wrote:It's 10pm Christmas Eve, time to start pretending I've converted to Islam and no longer buy Christmas presents!

Moggy, coming over here and banning our Christmas trees

Shopping for my 7-year old done before the 5th december. Food shopping was done today.

I went in waitrose half an hour before closing (4pm) on Sunday. Ran out of dishwasher tablets.

It was bonkers, I had to put actual earplugs in. Did find some packs of 4x giant bakery cookies for 59p each reduced though so that'll go in the gift bags.

The other day spent the 2nd most time and money on my brother plus sister in law and turns out they are in France with my dad this year. So they won't be collecting those any time soon if at all.

I might send them to fam in Japan instead. As I usually don't even know if they've received them so er the gift that is giving aside, what's the point... I have very little money so at least knowing things are received is nice.

I try to forget about as many gifts as possible to be honest, it's quite a priveleged thing to buy gifts so next year I might just do cards with drawings and batch the lot.

How long do you wait to do the Christmas shopping?

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