Sunday 21 December 2008

Three's not a crowd enough!

I WENT armed with a list.
This Christmas we were going to be 'sensible'.
"There's only three of us," the other half said. "Let's buy quality, not quantity," was his mantra.
All very right and reasonable.
And then I was struck by a bolt of lightening. Well, almost.
It started with a surge of nervous energy at the pit of my stomach in the supermarket car park, which further developed as I wrestled a super-sized trolley through the superstore doors.
And as the Christmas muzak hit my eardrum, a completely different beast took control.
I bided my time, calmly browsing the Christmas crackers, decorations and other festive paraphernalia, then the books and DVDs, clutching my list in a clammy palm.
But I could not escape the lure of the food aisles for long, and I was suddenly sucked in like a piece of dust to a vacuum.
My resolve to be 'sensible' lasted only moments and I was soon loading the trolley with random party nibbles. I could see my boyfriend roll his eyes.
"For Christmas Day night," I said, interrogating him over whether he'd prefer his king prawns breaded, butterflied or wrapped in filo pastry.
"Christmas Day night is all about cold cuts," he replied frostily. But it was too late, my mind was like scrambled egg, and I was soon having palpitations over cheeseboard choices. Are individual chunks better value for money than pretty boxed selections? Or should you buy a standard box and then supplement it with a few choice chunks?
The other half disappeared. Probably in disgust. But I was too busy, discussing with my mother whether a turkey for '6 to 8 people' would be enough for the two of us come Christmas Day. I was worried. Would there be enough cold cuts to satisfy our sandwich needs come Boxing Day?
And should we opt for it pre-stuffed, or cook out stuffing separately?
Mr Meetandtwoveg had returned. Thankfully he wasn't cross, instead quizzing me over which type of Cheddar I'd prefer, while sneaking a wedge of cinnamon and raisin flavoured cheese into the bulging trolley.
"Shopper's treat," he said.
Hooray! He'd joined in the glutinous fun.
But by the time we reached desserts, I'd become unhinged and stropped off into the freezer aisle. The pressure to choose whether we should feast on chocolate cheesecake or yule log just proved too much.
However, I was back in my stride by the salted snacks aisle, deciding there was an ocean of difference between shelled and salted nuts, and the chocolate covered variety, so packed in all three.
Hitting the tills was no mean feat and we had to pull up another chariot (trolley) in order to get the goodies to the car.
The problem now was where to put it all. Elasticated waistbands at the ready (part two).
What treats are you indulging in this Christmas? Let me know, I might just have to add it to the list...

2 comments:

Jim said...

I just keep out of the way Emily, I know I'll get ratty when i watch what she puts in the trolley.

Emily said...

Very wise. I see my boyfriend's mental calculator totting up the total bill...!