Reduced Christmas Food Shopping (Yellow Stickers At Christmas)
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Are you looking to get your hands on some yellow sticker bargains this Christmas?
Shops often do huge reductions to help get rid of fresh food that won’t get sold on Christmas Eve and as people shop less between Christmas and New Year there are lots of bargain yellow stickers and reduced Christmas food to be had.
Christmas Eve is one of the best days of the year for reduced bargains. As supermarkets prepare to close on Christmas Day and with many also closing on Boxing Day too this year, they’ll want to shift as much fresh produce as possible.
Some of my best-ever reduced bargains have come from over the Christmas period including 49p Gammon Joints, 10p packs of King Prawns and 5p packs of scallops. A few years ago I managed to get loads of premium party food for our New Year’s Eve Party for around a tenner which was brilliant too.
Reduced Christmas Food Shopping
For supermarkets, it can be a fine line between stocking enough products so they don’t run out and overstocking and being left with loads that could potentially go to waste.
The majority of people have done their big Christmas shop by Christmas Eve and many more people will have shopped online this year too, meaning there could be lots of fresh produce getting reduced to bargain prices.
Why Don’t Shops Donate Leftover Christmas Food?
Most supermarkets are partnered with various charities that take fresh food off of their hands and distribute it to the needy. Often, there is still plenty to go around, even after lots of food has been yellowed stickered.
Also, many charities only can store a limited amount of ready-to-eat food that needs to be kept in the fridge or that would need to be cooked.
You can read more about Aldi’s Christmas Eve Food Donations in this post on their website.
Should I Wait Until Christmas Eve To Do My Big Shop?
This is a tough question.
While I’m sure you could grab plenty of bargains on Christmas Eve, if there are certain foods you just can’t live without at Christmas, I would buy them in advance, just to be on the safe side.
If you like to live life on the edge and don’t mind whether you end up with a turkey dinner or a surprise buffet then go for it!
Full post on doing a Christmas Eve Reduced Shop.
Reduced Christmas Food Shopping: 3 Top Tips
1. Start Stocking Up Early
While most people buy non-perishables in the run-up to Christmas, I also buy yellow stickers. I’ve already bought cheese selection boxes and pigs in blankets both of which were half-price and are now in my freezer.
Lots of party food doesn’t have a particularly long date on it so is often reduced in the lead-up to Christmas and most of it can be frozen.
2. Look Out For Yellow Stickers From Midday On Christmas Eve
On Christmas Eve, most shops close earlier, usually around 5 pm. So if you plan to go out hunting for yellow stickers, make sure to check what time your chosen supermarket is closing before heading out.
In my experience reductions tend to start around midday and then bigger reductions around 3pm if items haven’t sold. However, the have been times I’ve been to the supermarket and either nothing is reduced or everything is already gone so I wouldn’t rely on getting your entire Christmas shop from yellow stickers.
3. Try Smaller Shops For Yellow Stickers Eg. Nisa & Londis
It’s not just the big supermarkets that reduce food at Christmas, smaller convenience shops do too, so it might be worth a quick trip to your local Co-op, Londis or Nisa store.
Yellow Sticker Christmas Food Shopping: Final Tips
I’m all for people stocking up and getting bargains on Christmas Eve and the week between Christmas and New Year, but please make sure you have the room to store everything in your fridge or freezer to stop the food from ending up as waste.
That said, if you’re worried about being skint in January it’s a great way to make sure you have plenty of meat and veggies to see you through until the end of the month.
- If you feel like venturing out to do some shopping, I’ve found the weeknight evenings between Christmas and New Year are the best time for bargains and the supermarkets are super quiet too.
- Only buy food you know you’ll eat. With yellow stickers, it can be tempting to buy everything in sight but if there’s a possibility it’ll still be at the bottom of your freezer in six month time then it’s probably best to leave it!
- Check supermarket times before shopping as they do vary over Christmas.
- Lots of supermarkets give away vegetables after Christmas from where they have too much stock left – make these into soup or Blanche and freeze.
- While you might be sick of the sight of party food/turkey/pigs in blankets, remember pretty much everything can be frozen and come February it might be a nice pick me up to have a festive buffet tea or fancy Sunday roast.
Other Reduced Food/Yellow Sticker Posts
If you want to take a look at some of my other posts on buying reduced food they are listed below including whether food past it’s use-by date is safe to eat and the best time of day for yellow stickers at each supermarket.
The Best Time of Day for Yellow Sticker Bargains
10 Misconceptions about Buying Yellow Sticker Food
The Difference Between Best Before and Use By
10 Things To Do With A Reduced Food Haul
How To Freeze Yellow Sticker Birthday Cakes
7 Things To Do With A Yellow Sticker Loaf of Bread
Ultimate Guide To Buying Yellow Sticker Food
M&S Yellow Sticker Christmas Food Haul
