This year I'm claiming back Christmas. I'm going to be the merriest little elf this side of the North pole. I will not be scrabbling for last minute gifts or stressing about getting my toddler around the shops .Because this year I'm not setting foot in a Supermarket.
Gone will be the trolley rage, as some over stimulated, worn down mum, tries to complete her shop with two toddlers in tow. Gone the bottleneck in every isle as some gran parks her trolley, parallel to some other old dear, as she browses the hideous gift sets that her relatives will feign delight in receiving.
The music, the lights, the special offers that aren't offers, the barging, the whacked up heating which makes you boil out of your coat. Gone.
Instead I'm supporting my local independents. My grocer, fish monger, butcher and whole food stores. Monty the penguin will not be melting me into my local Waitrose.
My money will go back into my local economy, helpfully helping make it a merry Christmas all round. Before you tell me that it sounds great in principle but too expensive for your average family, as most people do when I tell them we don't use supermarkets, our shopping bill as a family of three has halved since we quit the big shops. Where we once spent £50 a week our grocery bill now comes in for £25.
I credit this mainly down to the fact, that I just buy what we need now. Two punnets of soft fruit for £4 seems like a bargain under the stress inducing environment of a Supermarket, but £4 in my local grocer goes a lot further.
Even at Christmas, where I like everyone, want to see my table heaving with delicious food, I should be saving from not supermarket shopping. After all the price of ready made mince pies, Christmas cake, gingerbread and last minute gifts all add up.
Saving and money and supporting local shops all add up. But best of all, my boycott of big retailers this Christmas means that I will be making a lot of our Christmas at home from scratch.
We've already made our mincemeat, this weekend we will make our Christmas cake. I've been pinning like mad homemade decorations, stocking fillers and handmade gifts for adults.
My offerings don't come in pretty packages, but they are made in the company of my son. I'm excited to think that our supermarket free Christmas is building new (if admittedly old fashioned) traditions for our family.
Gone will be the trolley rage, as some over stimulated, worn down mum, tries to complete her shop with two toddlers in tow. Gone the bottleneck in every isle as some gran parks her trolley, parallel to some other old dear, as she browses the hideous gift sets that her relatives will feign delight in receiving.
The music, the lights, the special offers that aren't offers, the barging, the whacked up heating which makes you boil out of your coat. Gone.
Instead I'm supporting my local independents. My grocer, fish monger, butcher and whole food stores. Monty the penguin will not be melting me into my local Waitrose.
My money will go back into my local economy, helpfully helping make it a merry Christmas all round. Before you tell me that it sounds great in principle but too expensive for your average family, as most people do when I tell them we don't use supermarkets, our shopping bill as a family of three has halved since we quit the big shops. Where we once spent £50 a week our grocery bill now comes in for £25.
I credit this mainly down to the fact, that I just buy what we need now. Two punnets of soft fruit for £4 seems like a bargain under the stress inducing environment of a Supermarket, but £4 in my local grocer goes a lot further.
Even at Christmas, where I like everyone, want to see my table heaving with delicious food, I should be saving from not supermarket shopping. After all the price of ready made mince pies, Christmas cake, gingerbread and last minute gifts all add up.
Saving and money and supporting local shops all add up. But best of all, my boycott of big retailers this Christmas means that I will be making a lot of our Christmas at home from scratch.
We've already made our mincemeat, this weekend we will make our Christmas cake. I've been pinning like mad homemade decorations, stocking fillers and handmade gifts for adults.
My offerings don't come in pretty packages, but they are made in the company of my son. I'm excited to think that our supermarket free Christmas is building new (if admittedly old fashioned) traditions for our family.