M&S Christmas

I picked up a glossy Christmas catalogue at M and S when I was collecting a clothes item today. Their non meat dairy or vegan based stuff looks really good this year. Yum!

I'll be getting bits and bobs of it. Time for a bit of a treat. And easy, the smallish food hall is just down the road. I like their deli stuff and don't eat a lot anyway. A sort of pick and mix choice. Its me or me and a friend.

Seems to be a case of damned if you do and damned if you don't on this thread.

If someone wants to judge well I don't care.

To answer the OP, I’ve never been as M&S food shopper for quantity, I might buy the odd item if I’m in our local food hall collecting something else ordered.
Our main shop will be Tesco, then the local butcher and the farm shop, it’s a couple of days with a roast.
Gammon (won in a meat draw, from the butcher) already in the freezer.

JenniRen

Just had a communication from Waitrose advising me to book my Christmas slot!

I am always amazed how judgemental unjudgemental people are.

Casdon

M&S is definitely the best option if you’re gluten free, they do things nobody else does, and are excellent at Christmas if you don’t want to faff about making different food to everybody else’s at home.
Just one example is their fish fingers, which are the only cod version available that I’ve found, and are big, with lots of fish in.

Just one example is their fish fingers, which are the only cod version available that I’ve found, and are big, with lots of fish in.

Hey - thanks for that info Casdon - I'd given up on fish-fingers but will now try those!

Graphite

When there was a Waitrose locally I would often buy their uncut bread. At the time, it did seem nicer than other vendors.

When my late partner and I first got together, we would stop on the drive home from work to shop mid-way in Waitrose - he too liked their uncut bread. There were, at the time, large bread-rolls labelled "Rustic" on offer - frequently sold out because they were so good. We'd load them up with, maybe chicken tikka or salmon, and, with salad, they became our 'instant' comfort-food on those evening when we both worked late.

I feel a wave of nostalgia for that over-ground, brightly-lit car-park on foggy evenings leading to the steps down into the supermarket hall underground - the smell from the bakery, and the clinking of wine-bottles as customers pulled them from the shelves, or the staff loaded them up.

It was the Esher-branch of Waitrose which, I suspect, looks quite different now to the way it did in the early 90s. And I doubt they still sell those Rustic rolls.

They do still sell the rustic rolls!

I have booked my Ocado slot but as I am not sure what is happening at Christmas yet I am not ordering anything from M&S as they require a deposit. I can cancel the Ocado one.

To answer the OP most of our fruit veg and meat is bought in Marks. Our other shopping is Sainsbury's. I never thought of M&S as expensive. We don't have Waitrose in NI.

dragonfly46

They do still sell the rustic rolls!

Oh! Thank you!

greyfur16

GrannyGravy13

greyfur16

To bag a Waitrose slot, you need to have £40.00 on hand to save your place,you probably need a car and some basic IT skills.

Not everybody has these things. Never mind, I'll crawl back under my rock.

You do not pay anything until the day of delivery.

Why do you need a car for a food delivery?

If you can post on GN and/or used home deliveries during Covid you can secure a Christmas delivery slot.

You need to have £40.00 pounds in a bank account to grab the slot.

Can I ask how you believe Waitrose know how much you have in a bank account?

Daddima

greyfur16

GrannyGravy13

greyfur16

To bag a Waitrose slot, you need to have £40.00 on hand to save your place,you probably need a car and some basic IT skills.

Not everybody has these things. Never mind, I'll crawl back under my rock.

You do not pay anything until the day of delivery.

Why do you need a car for a food delivery?

If you can post on GN and/or used home deliveries during Covid you can secure a Christmas delivery slot.

You need to have £40.00 pounds in a bank account to grab the slot.

Can I ask how you believe Waitrose know how much you have in a bank account?

You book a slot and secure it by buying £40.00 worth of goods. You can change your order at a later date.

I was wrong about the car.

Not everybody can order on line and spare £40.00.

Never mind.

greyfur yes you do have to order goods to the value of £40.

But and it is a big but, they do not take ANY money from your bank account until the day of delivery.

This applies to all supermarket orders/deliveries.

I think you are misunderstanding how it works.

You put a minimum of £40 of items in the basket to secure the delivery slot but you can change your order at any time up to a cut off point just before your order goes to staff to pick and pack.

You are not charged until shortly before delivery when the precise cost of your shopping is know e.g. if some items are unavailable or substitutions are made that cost less.

Crossed posts explaining the same thing. Apologies.

Crossed posts Graphite this has been explained multiple times in this thread, by yourself, myself and others.

Oops 🙋‍♀️

Just use Deliveroo instead! No £40. Though it's not really for big quantities.

MartavTaurus

Just use Deliveroo instead! No £40. Though it's not really for big quantities.

I have never used Deliveroo, Ubereats etc., perhaps that should be my next mission 😹

I love to see what’s available at Christmas online and instore catalogues however I rarely buy anything now.
When I was working and time was short I would buy a few treats from Booths.
Their Christmas book is a thing of joy!

I have the luxury of time, two freezers and a Thermomix so it’s very easy to make my own “goodies”

The gluttony at Christmas always concerns me, my late MIL would spend £100’s on M&S food, she once ordered enough stuffing for 36, all the veg was ready prepared, she bought gravy ready made!
Most ended up in a bin.

I have a rule that no more food comes in the home until the Christmas food is gone.
It’s a Sunday roast with a few extras!

Personally I can’t bear the whole Christmas thing. Mountains of expensive food that you wouldn’t normally eat, feel guilty about having eaten for days afterwards and the stress of it all. The over consumption of food, gifts and all the trappings we are bombarded with for the next 11 weeks. Then it’s all over and the credit card bills arrive.
It’s a long walk on the moors to Top Withens, a cheese sandwich and a flask of coffee. Perfect.

MissChateline

Personally I can’t bear the whole Christmas thing. Mountains of expensive food that you wouldn’t normally eat, feel guilty about having eaten for days afterwards and the stress of it all. The over consumption of food, gifts and all the trappings we are bombarded with for the next 11 weeks. Then it’s all over and the credit card bills arrive.
It’s a long walk on the moors to Top Withens, a cheese sandwich and a flask of coffee. Perfect.

That sounds an idyllic way to spend Christmas Day. I'm not often on my own on Christmas Day, but when I am I go for a long walk. I live in central London so there are plenty of tourists out and about, so I don't feel alone. I enjoy the opportunity to have time to reflect, and to appreciate the quietness of the city which is without its usual noise and crowds.

I will have ventured into M&S a day or two beforehand to buy one of their Christmas meal deals. Indian food was my choice a year or two ago.

Mountains of expensive food that you wouldn’t normally eat, feel guilty about having eaten for days afterwards and the stress of it all. The over consumption of food, gifts and all the trappings we are bombarded with for the next 11 weeks. Then it’s all over and the credit card bills arrive.

Never had a Christmas like that.