Christmas Shopping 2022

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sweetpumkinpye

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I know that we are only just in March but April is just around the corner. I feel that the year is certainly moving quickly.

My menu for the end of the year, family dinners, Christmas baking and dinner, New Years Eve etc remains much the same year after year. It is simple food that the whole family enjoys. Different things that we don't have often through the year.

As part of my Rudy Day celebrations I looked through my menu and plans and made a list of what I need to purchase. I actually need to purchase quite a lot. I need ingredients for baking, food items for in stockings and for gifts, items for meals plus general supplies for entertaining over the Summer so decided to get a start on things. Surprisingly when I looked at the supermarket some of the items were available and the best before dates were good.

I am not sure how things will go with food shortages and price rises but hope that by starting early the items I need will be available and at a price that I am able to afford. Spreading things out over the next few months will make budgeting a little easier.
 
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Myron's Mom

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I’m right there with you!
Our holiday dinners are pretty much the same here too so it makes it easy to plan ahead. I have several reminders in my planner about ordering our Christmas ham.
There’s a few baking items I know I’m running low on that I should get now. I need to take a closer look at my pantry stock to see if there is anything else.
It can’t hurt to start now. Even if things take a turn for the better, you are still ahead.
 

sweetpumkinpye

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missjane

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I agree. I need to see think about what I need to start buying. Since we have the extra refrigerator and freezer this year, it will make things easier to keep.
 

sweetpumkinpye

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Going to start a bit of a list here.

Butter, can be bought and frozen.
Flour, can be bought now and if stored correctly will be OK for later.
Sugar, can be bought now and stored.
Condensed milk, has a long use by date.
Vanilla, either buy or make your own.
 

AuntJamelle

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This is not a bad idea, AT ALL!

There are definitely things we tend to make every year for certain events and I have a master holiday grocery list I can start from. I don't usually start really buying things on it until about the time the HGP starts, but rethinking that!!!

In addition to items already mentioned I am putting the following on my radar! Will start getting some here and there every week!

Long Shelf Life Items
Chocolate Chips/Candies of all flavors/types for recipes I always make
Cocoa Powder
Molasses
Canned Pumpkin
Canned Pie Fillings
Dry Soup Mixes, Onion or Veg, for dip recipes
Cornstarch
Baking Power/Soda
Instant Coffee Granules
Chicken and Beef Stock, Cans or Cartons
Condensed Soups (Cream of Mushroom, etc.)
Canned Green Beans
Canned Water Chestnuts
Jarred Horseradish
French Fried Onions
Herbs/Spices
Olives
Pickles
Jams/Preserves
Pasta (Lasagna noodles, Jumbo Shells, etc.)
Old Fashioned Oats
Vinegars
Jarred Pimentos
Corn Syrups
Maple Syrup
Canola Oil
Foil Pans of all sizes
Paper Goods (i.e. thick paper plates, really nice paper napkins and plastic silverware)


Freezer Candidates:
Nuts
Yeast
Cheese, Shredded or Blocks including wedges of Parmesan or Asiago
Bacon
Ground Sausage
Lil' Smokies
Puff Pastry Sheets
Frozen Spinach
Vegetable Shortening Sticks, Butter Flavor (any shortening can be frozen really!)
Lard (for pie crusts!)
Dried Fruits (Cranberries, Cherries, etc.)
Juice Concentrates (for punches, etc.)
 

sweetpumkinpye

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AJ what a great list. I will work on my list a bit more over the weekend and then store it here.
Will tick things off as a find them.
 

housewife2

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Talking about Prices going up we all know about gas. But the candy at work went up to dollars for a small kit Kat bar that’s just a lot to me and to some of the people who wanted to buy them today. I guess that’s why we watch sales and certain things we can stock off of one or put back for Christmas when it is cheaper
 

sweetpumkinpye

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Here is my list of things that I need to purchase.
I hope that having an idea of what I need to buy will help space purchases out over the year and make the budget a little more manageable. Christmas is an important time for us and I want to give the family the nicest time without breaking the bank.

This list is just for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and NYE. This may change as the year moves on and plans alter. I also host a family get together in late November but those items are not listed here as everyone contributes to that meal.

When I am shopping I will also buy 2 or 3 tins of corn etc for meal prep over the warmer months.

I share most baking and meal prep with my Mum so that the list is shared. For example for Christmas dinner, I buy the Turkey, she buys the ham. I do the pasta salad, she does the potato salad, I do the pavlova and she does the pies. Anything that is to be used at Mum's is stored at her house. She has a cupboard specifically for Christmas/Holiday foods. Anything that I am storing here goes on the very top shelf of a cupboard in my laundry.
I do buy certain food items for in stockings that I have not listed. For example DS gets a tin of baked beans in his stocking, DD gets a jar of nutella, DSIL gets a jar of spanish olives etc. These are bought towards the end of they year and stored in the gift closet in the kids boxes.

There is also a list of fresh foods that we will buy a few days before Christmas. Lettuce, tomatoes, cold meat, cheeses, sour cream and cream, fresh fruit etc will be bought then.

Baking:
Condensed milk (X) Bought and stored on a Christmas shelf in the laundry.
Milk arrowroot biscuits (X)
Scotch finger biscuits (X)
Coconut (X)
Cocoa (X)
Icing sugar (X)
Cooking chocolate (X) Bought and in the freezer
Candy canes (X) Leftover from last year. To be crushed for chocolate bark.
M&M's (X) Bought and stored in a ziplock bag in a plastic container.
Sprinkles (X) Bought after Christmas '21
Glace cherries (X)
Butter (X) Started. Butter was so expensive today. Aldi had it at a better price.
Cooking margarine (X)
Dried fruit (X)
Crushed Pineapple (X) Bought and stored on a Christmas shelf in the laundry.
Fruit mince mix (X) Bought when on clearance after Christmas '21. Use by date is mid 2023 so will be fine.
SR flour (X)
Plain flour (X)
White sugar (X)
Brown sugar (X)
Vanilla (not needed)

For meals:
Dry crackers (X) (Will buy cheeses and cold meats closer to the time)
Tinned pineapple pieces (X) Bought and stored at Mum's
Waffles (X)
Frozen Berries (X)
Maple Syrup (X)
Cereal (X)
Bacon (X)
Eggs (X)
Donuts (X)
Croissants (X)
Turkey breast (X) Bought and stored in the freezer
Tinned corn (X) Bought and stored at Mum's
Tinned beetroot (X) Bought and stored at Mum's
Dried pasta (X) Bought and stored at Mum's
Cranberry/Apple Sauce (X)
Pavlova shells (X)

Drinks: (to be used for Christmas and over the hotter months) I think we will have a hotter Summer so will really stock up here ( )
Fruit juices (X)
Flavoured teas (X)
Sparkling Apple juice (X). Bought for Christmas Eve, NYE and a spare.
Flavoured waters (X)
Ginger Ale (X)
Lemonade (Sprite)(X)
Juice for punch (X)
Coke (X)

Christmas Eve Basket:
Block of chocolate (X)
Savory crackers (X)
Chips (X)
Malteasers (X)
Boxed microwave popcorn (X)
Bottle of soft drink (X)
Mixed lollies (X)

New Year's Eve: (We order Chinese food and then watch movies or play games)
Non alcoholic cider (X)
Fortune Cookies (X)
Frozen dessert/cheese cake/ice cream (X)
Chips (X)
Savory snacks (Cheetos etc) (X)
Mixed lollies (X) (usually have left overs from Christmas Eve).
 
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Myron's Mom

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Love the lists! Especially lard for pie crust! (my favorite!)
Spent time going through all my supplies and freezers. Our grocery store is doing x5 rewards over the next few weeks and covers 3 sale cycles. I’ve only been shopping once a month on x3 rewards day. Got a lot of my holiday list taken care of today along with a few gifts. I’ll hit the next 2 sale cycles to take advantage those extra points along with the sales.
 

Holiday_Mom

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On AJ's list, aluminum pans and thick paper plates, utensils, etc. were mentioned. From my own experience in 2021, I had a hard time finding those items. In the summer, I usually buy Chinet plates and the heavy duty utensils to use for Christmas dinner/brunch. They were really hard to find last summer. I don't know if it was a stocking issue or a demand due to extra summer gatherings. I was still looking for them in the fall. We use the aluminum foil trays for meals at big family gathering in the summer. They were also difficult to find. Dh had to go to a few stores before he found any.
 

sweetpumkinpye

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Mary, A good point. A good thing to keep an eye out for now. We use the large foil trays for baking meats so will add them to my list. TFS
 

Myron's Mom

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Chinet products are very hard to find here. I’ve been looking for the hot cups with lids for months. The grocery store seems to have plenty of the foil items, but pricey. They are hit or miss at DT.
 

halimer

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Just got a pair of boxer sleep shorts for DH.
 

sweetpumkinpye

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Chinet products are very hard to find here. I’ve been looking for the hot cups with lids for months. The grocery store seems to have plenty of the foil items, but pricey. They are hit or miss at DT.
I am always baffled by what shortages there are! How can there be a shortage of paper plates and for so long?
My supermarket has had no orange juice concentrate for months. How?
 

Lana

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We purchased a foil pan to do the ham in for Easter and it was $4. and something in middle aisle and then farther bake in cooking stuff same pan $1. something! Should of gotten a few more for Christmas.
 

sweetpumkinpye

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Got some "Summer" paper serviettes today. I will use those for the family gatherings around Christmas.

I am also starting to stockup on cleaning products for use for HGP which generally starts in September. If I can buy an item or two every time I shop I will have a good supply of products when it is time to use them.
 

Minta

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I have been working on a master list of ingredients and items I need to stock up on for the kitchen for the holidays/winter months.

During the month of May I will be cleaning and reorganizing my kitchen cabinets, can goods shelves (big metal shelf in the garage) and the my stand alone cabinets (I use these as a panty cabinets since I do not have one)in the kitchen to make room for my stock up. The plan is between June and Sept to stock up on the items that have a long shelf life and the non-perishables like foil pans, parchment paper, etc.

We are thinking about buying a stand up freezer, we have a smallish chest freezer now and get either 1/4 or 1/2 of a cow from a local farm/butcher and maybe 1/2 of a pig too. With the way food prices are going up and up and I want to secure meat at a decent price.
 

sweetpumkinpye

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Minta, a great plan.The extra freezer space will be handy.