Maybe I should start holding my breath!

If there are any shortages right now, it’s more likely to be from panic buying than anything else. It was only apparently potentially an issue if the lorries weren’t cleared very soon...and they are being. I expect there could be disruption in some deliveries for the new year...but you can live without soft fruit and citrus from Spain for a few weeks I’m sure. No need to panic buy. I had an online shop yesterday and received everything I’d ordered.

We had click and collect from Asda yesterday .
What was amazing was that it was the very first one with absolutely no subs for the last 6 months!

Lexisgranny:
You ask... What unusual substituted items have you found in your order?
I ordered a six pack of Becks Blue and they sent me a 15-pack, same cost ?.

Re potential shortages of fresh veg, there's a post on Facebook from farmers in Lincolnshire telling us all they're fully stocked and well prepared to serve the whole country. All home grown. No need to worry about lorries being blockaded in Kent.

Order just arrived, substitutes salmon fillets instead of smoked salmon, elm lea instead of fresh cream and lorry engine lubricant instead of screen wash. That last one will be sent back but fancy Asda stocking such a thing. Everything else was available.

We are lucky enough to have a lovely farm shop near where we live. We popped in yesterday for some bits and have ordered exactly what we need for over Christmas. They're not afraid of rejecting substandard stock from their local suppliers so I'm confident all will be well. You can't ask Tesco to put back half a dozen (ripe but not too ripe) bananas, can you.

On another note, more and more farm shops have a self dispensing organic milk machine. This is my new fave.

Happy Christmas to you all. X

Sainsburys order arrived this morning with everything I ordered. Just need to collect the turkey crown and then we should have enough leftovers to keep us going until the New Year.

I would of thought you would be fine . As a lot of people have reduced there orders after going into tier 4 and no longer being able to have guests . I hope you didn't order a turkey though , lots of complaints about turkeys not turning up with the orders . Good luck ?

Chantenay carrots off menu here too - I’m putting my wonky ones through a candle sharpener to shape them ???❤️???☘️

We did a fairly small order with the Co-op yesterday, our first ever online order, and it was missing about a third, ie the chicken, lettuce, lemons, cat litter and loo rolls. No substitutions, no apology. We went out later in the day, and bought what we needed locally.

Cat quite pleased that he doesn’t need to go out into the cold and the wet! ??

We are fine here as had catered on the basis of first batch of family arriving today, thus, like lemongrove we have something of a glut of veg! Had put in order to local greengrocer on basis of 6 of us for 3 days, including 3 vegetarians, now down to 4 on Christmas day and just us two ( 1 veggie) for the holiday period. So, lots of soups, multiple veg with every meal, and will have to have two slices of lemon in my G&T. Sigh

My online shop came on Saturday - the nearest I could get to Christmas - and everything was exactly as ordered - except for one pate which had been substituted with another equally good pate. I’m lucky because we have a local farm shop which sells excellent local fruit and veg and they still have plenty. Collecting the meat from the local butcher today and not expecting any substitutions. My daughter, who lives hundreds of miles away, is hoping that Aldi will still have plenty of things left today.

My friend's daughter is a supermarket 'packer' and what she tells us then you need have no fear as to the quality of your orders.Lucky you to get a slot. Wish I could.

Does nobody buy their fruit and veg at a market anymore?

Missfoodlove, we buy ours from our local greengrocer who buys in the London markets. Our town market is awful, and parking is expensive.

I went at 6am yesterday morning. Tesco was reasonably quiet. Got everything I needed.
It was getting busy as I left. I (hopefully) don't have to go out again ?

I have collected all my veg from our local greengrocers his stock comes straight from the farm and is super fresh,nothing like the veg and salads kept in trucks for days on end,he even has fresh cut flowers every day.
At my local Morrisons you could not get into the car park it was so busy no chance of getting a parking space so am not even thinking about it.What I haven't got I can do without.

We shopped yesterday at Aldi and Sainsburys. We got everything we wanted, except a Terry's chocolate orange!

it really amazes me how people go mad for food over christmas .especially when you not allowed to mix households till christmas day. i am on my own ,yes i have a few extra snacks in .but it will be quorn /jacket potato/and veg follwed by a small christmas pudding .and some root beer.....

I got my Tesco's order this morning and it was all fine. They didn't have basil growing in a pot so sent two fresh bags instead. I don't think that's anything to complain about in December during a pandemic.

When I was a girl salad in the winter was nearly an impossibility. It all shows how our expectations have changed that the newspapers are talking about how a shortage of strawberries and raspberries for Christmas is a privation.

I sent back the cheese crackers in my order - I don’t need a kilo of them! A loaf of bread was torn open which they refunded the money for. Otherwise, all present and correct.

Why does everyone wait until a day or two before to do their Christmas food shop? Fruit and veg will keep perfectly well in the fridge for a week or more. There are very few items that actually need to be bought at the last minute.

Missfoodlove

Does nobody buy their fruit and veg at a market anymore?

We used to until the labour council decided to double the parking costs and business rates. Now they wonder why there are so many empty shops and very few shoppers.

I went to local big Tesco this morning. No queues, no crowds and plenty of everything. Did a weekly shop and out in under an hour.

Strange delivery I had subsitutes forgo to say didnt want but I had a very large trifle instead of a small sweet the driver didnt seem to know what a trifle was. Also a very strange shaped container of some cheese took me ages to get into. Hopefully I wont forget again.