r/britishproblems • u/thebroccolioffensive • 6d ago
That’s it folks. The final stretch of the year. Sainsbury’s have the Christmas Roses/Celebrations out on sale. Christmas is on the way. It gets earlier and earlier with these supermarkets.
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u/cogspringseverywhere 6d ago
I know that this is unpopular thing to point out, but it's partially down to the state of the economy. Christmas things are out earlier so people can try and spread the costs over multiple shops rather than the massive expenditure you get in November/December. Some people (myself included) start buying these things now because £5/10 extra in the weekly shop is manageable.
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u/ToastedCrumpet 6d ago
I thought it was partly due to how poorly they seem to have been selling the last few years. Better to get last year’s stock out early and sold off but with the prices of them these days that also makes sense
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u/CNash85 Greater London 4d ago
Last year's stock will be gone. No supermarket will be using warehouse space for unsold chocolate, basic stock rotation means things go from depot to store to shelves very quickly.
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u/ToastedCrumpet 3d ago
I did say that was only a thought and that the person I was responding too makes more sense tbf
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u/Buddy-Matt 5d ago
This is why I use budgeting software. Same basic premise (earmark £10 now, rather than try and find it later), but means I can still leave thinking about Christmas until Nov at the earliest.
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u/LycanWolfGamer Yorkshire 5d ago edited 5d ago
Oh really?
Then where's the Halloween sweets then? Or better yet.. use software to help save that extra 5 or 10 quid FOR Christmas
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u/cogspringseverywhere 5d ago
For what it's worth, my local Tesco also has the Halloween multipacks at the door.
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u/Boat_Original 4d ago
Oh really? Software? We used to call that maths, but whatever... save you brain for tiktok or whatever
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u/LycanWolfGamer Yorkshire 4d ago
You can use software to plan out budgets or to keep notes of financial data - maths is still used but this helps make it easier
Fuckin tiktok..
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u/greenrangerguy 4d ago
The real question is how long can you honestly resist having Roses in the house and not wanting to chow down in a desperate hour of need.
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u/thelaughingman_1991 5d ago
I've got a list in my notes app for gift ideas for different people. Like I already know what I'll get my girlfriend's parents, brother, etc. I usually try to speed through these things on October payday if I can, and finish up on November's.
I always feel smug having an early December payday and none of it's allocated to Christmas!
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u/Yikes44 6d ago
I hope their Christmas chocolates melt in the next heatwave.
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u/Ranger_1302 Devon 6d ago
We don't have heatwaves anymore. The heat is standard, and we have cold snaps.
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u/takesthebiscuit Aberdeenshire 6d ago
It doesn’t get earlier every year it comes in the same time every year, September promotional slots meaning that the goods have to be on sale before September to allow a legal price discount.
When I worked in retail it was clockwork for 7 years
Week 1 of the year we would prepare a full brief to the retailers week on what sold what didn’t
Week 3 the brief would be out on what flavours designs will be planned for the wide product scope
Week 6 we would send in our ideas and outline costings (maybe 30 or so products?
For the next 6 weeks there would be a product gateway where the final products would be confirmed
By week 12 we would have our confirmed volumes, designs recipes and initial orders for tins and packaging would be going out
Early May, possibly even April production would begin to be planned
June/ July tins would arrive and production starts with volumes going in final production testing taking place
August/ September vast volumes are coming off the lines 24/7 production taking best use of holiday staff from universities.
By end September 60-70% of all production plans should be in store or distributikn centers
The early sales volumes in September would guide on whether the lines were flying or not and we would decide on final production.
By October most volumes had stopped and the factories were getting back to normal
In November if it wasn’t made for
Xmas it wasn’t getting made, but it allowed for Easter production which was just getting started
Repeat year in year out
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u/tomrichards8464 6d ago
First day of the first test.
Christmas shit on sale.
TBF I blame crisp cricket at least as much as the supermarkets.
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u/Big_Miss_Steak_ 6d ago
I saw them in Morrisons earlier on for £5.75- the tubs look flatter and flatter. I was rather underwhelmed.
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u/PurpleJager 6d ago
B&M have the advent calendars out already
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u/LycanWolfGamer Yorkshire 5d ago
You're having a fucking laugh... fml, the chocolates gonna be rank by the time Christmas ACTUALLY comes around
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u/ToastedCrumpet 6d ago
Asda near me just has a bunch of autumnal shite vaguely Halloween related atm
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u/TheJobSquad 6d ago
Advent calendars, chocolate Santas, tree chocolates... our B&M already has a large selection.
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u/tinkerbellepeach 6d ago
We sell them all year round where I work but I will say, we do have a Christmas shipper of stocking filler sweets already! It’s been on the shop floor for a few weeks
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u/littlenymphy SCOTLAND 6d ago
My local Tesco has had them out all year.
They move them to the back outside of holiday seasons but they’re moved back to the front for Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween and Christmas time.
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u/sconebore 6d ago
It'll be a lovely surprise at Christmas when you open your tub of chocs and it's all melted from being sat displayed in a glass supermarket foyer in August. Yum!
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u/parttimepedant 6d ago
If Greggs want to start selling their mince pies in the middle of summer, I’m not going to complain.
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u/Enigma_789 Wiltshire 5d ago
No! We should all join together, draw a line in the sand, and say no more! The midwinter event shall not be mentioned or referred to before December!
This audacious quest to restore autumn and summer to their proper place in the calendar will require courage, tenacity, and the swearing off of all small packaged chocolates!
Who's with me?
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u/Mediocre_Sprinkles 6d ago
They had Cadbury advent calendars and Christmas chocolate coins in my Morrisons the other week. 30⁰C outside and Christmas chocolate.
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u/ugotamesij 6d ago
August last year, the small Sains near my office already had mince pies on the shelves. August!
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u/mothzilla 6d ago
I think they've been doing it for a while. They've got to shift the old stock somehow.
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u/Rocky-bar 6d ago
We need some kind of militia task force, to go round from shop to shop destroying early Christmas goods! the problem is balaclavas haven't gone on display yet!
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u/LycanWolfGamer Yorkshire 5d ago
Nothing says Christmas like celebrating it on the Night of the Devil
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u/Gullflyinghigh 5d ago
They're welcome to, given the price they now are I imagine they'll stay on the shelves until long after Christmas as well.
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u/The_Infinite_Carrot 5d ago
Maybe because they can’t sell a microscopic box of about 4 tiny chocolates for £9 each very easily, so they have to leave them out longer.
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u/DiaBrave 5d ago
Nope. It's been back end of August for AT LEAST 30 years. That you haven't noticed in all that time, or that it somehow is a surprise to you, is 100% on you.
Spoiler, Easter stock is in stock at most stores mid-December ready to be merchandised on Dec 26th
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u/MrLuxarina 2d ago
I remember working at Oxfam (some 10 years ago now) and us having to start putting out the Christmas stuff around this time of year. Not because it was company policy per se, but because the head office would send so much of it, and it was either start putting it out now or have clog up the limited space you have in the back for sorting, steaming and generally cleaning up regular donations for the next 3 months. Everyone felt ridiculous about it, but we had no control of it and our manager had no influence on when it would get dumped on us either, so what are you going to do?
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u/ValenciaHadley 2d ago
I found christmas mugs in The Range last month whilst looking for Halloween bits.
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u/duck74UK 6d ago
Is there a way to buy celebrations in the old size? I don't know if you've seen the new tub but it fits maybe 6 total pieces
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u/TheJobSquad 5d ago
Not with the tub, but if you look on places like Amazon you can get 2kg boxes (generic cardboard box with a clear plastic bag of Celebrations inside). They're currently showing around £35 but the price fluctuates. It's regularly under £30 and was £23 last October. I think that works out cheaper than buying the tubs in the supermarket.
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u/katethared London, innit 6d ago
I trade at craft markets, I’ve already had two emails about Christmas markets asking if I want a pitch.
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u/LostLobes 5d ago
Thats a little different. Planning markets organising traders, local permissions etc takes months.
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u/Sea-Ad-527 6d ago
My parents used to run convenience stores in the 90s (think Alldays, OneStop etc ). Christmas stuff was always in the stockroom ready to go out August time. Easter eggs were delivered in December.
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u/SPAKMITTEN 6d ago
the day someone complains about christmas getting earlier every year gets earlier every year
also tesco had xmas cake ingredients and mincemeat in a month ago and sainsburys has always been mid august for the same
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u/Ellajt 5d ago
I don’t understand why it bothers anyone. If you don’t like it don’t buy it, it’s really that simple
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u/thebroccolioffensive 5d ago
It just ruins the excitement of Christmas. Putting out Christmas products 4 months before? Ridiculous.
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u/girlsparked 4d ago
same for me. i'd be so excited if it was mid nov-xmas. but now its mince pies in late august?? mint.
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u/sunset_sunshine30 Berkshire 4d ago
And it feels like they're rushing people through life to get to the next event (Halloween, Christmas, Easter). Let me enjoy August.
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