cs Posted October 23, 2005 Share Posted October 23, 2005 Help please, we shall arrive at our home in North Mayenne early on the 24th December. I have a couple of questions that I hope someone can answer !Are the supermarkets open on the 24th or do I need to bring goodies with me.What are the tradional Christmas Eve & Christmas Day feasts (won't be there for New Year) and can anyone recommend a good cookery book in english for french dishes.and.......I only have a cuisinere to cook on (no microwave) which I have yet to use for cooking - only been tested out as heating and very good it is too !! As you see I haven't a lot of time on the 24th to make anything elaborate but will have around 8-10 french friends popping in. Just thinking about it sends me into a panic.Thanks in advance, Maria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco Posted November 1, 2005 Share Posted November 1, 2005 God you're brave!!!I can't be specific about Mayenne (we're in Manche) but certainly in Manche all shops and supermarkets are open as normal on the 24th. You will also find that small shops will be open until about noon on Christmas Day, ie baker, butchers, greengrocers, fish shops, florists. However, if you're intending to do a tradional Christmas lunch bring your own parsnips with you from the UK!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted November 2, 2005 Share Posted November 2, 2005 We are now lucky, our local greengrocers in Lectoure ( south west france) are now selling parsnips, 3.60 kg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battypuss Posted November 2, 2005 Share Posted November 2, 2005 Don't forget the crackers and if you want a BIG turkey, bring one with you!The French tend to celebrate on Christmas Eve and are still "out of it" Christmas Day as they probably did not go to bed until 7am...I arrived on the 23rd December many years ago! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mpprh Posted November 2, 2005 Share Posted November 2, 2005 Hias a general rule :Dec 24 and 26 are normal working days. i.e. No boxing dayAnd boulangeries, etc may be open on 25 DecPeter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaligoBay Posted November 3, 2005 Share Posted November 3, 2005 Are the supermarkets open on the 24th or do I need to bring goodies with me.Open - yes.And packed to the gunwales - YES!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miki Posted November 3, 2005 Share Posted November 3, 2005 And what do they do with the hundreds of tons of boxes of chocolates that seem to be on permanent display right in to the New Year, then apart from those that get sold off cheaply (usually out of date !)where do they all go to ? Or are they mostly all display boxes with just the front few boxes edible !Always wondered about that, funny what one thinks about at Christmas eh ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco Posted November 3, 2005 Share Posted November 3, 2005 They haven't been out of date in my experience. And when they put them right by the entrance to the supermarket with te old BOGOF offer on them it makes it incredibly difficult to start that new year diet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val_2 Posted November 4, 2005 Share Posted November 4, 2005 Miki we have often wondered the same thing as the displays seem to dissappear very quickly once the 1st of Jan has gone and a lot of the different flavours and makes you never ever see during the year anyway until noël. I get sick of chocolates anyway at xmas due to working on the 24th in a belgian chocolatier replenishing all the stock and its open house on how much we eat too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cs Posted November 6, 2005 Author Share Posted November 6, 2005 Many thanks for all your replies, Coco 'brave' stark raving stupid is what I call it and another thought has crossed my mind with all this odd weather we're having the last ferry on the 23rd may be cancelled - that would really do my head in !!! Maria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missy Posted November 6, 2005 Share Posted November 6, 2005 [quote]Many thanks for all your replies, Coco 'brave' stark raving stupid is what I call it and another thought has crossed my mind with all this odd weather we're having the last ferry on the 23rd may be ca...[/quote]CS,If your cooking facilities are so limited or at least untried.. Cook a big pan of Biriani, meat and rice and vegs found in France... bring all the trimmings with you from UK like the chutneys, poppadums, chipatis, naan breads etc...I did that one Xmas a couple of years back and it is the best Xmas I EVER had!! My guests were just in a sort of OK mood when arriving, thinking their (mine) turkey won't be as good as ours (theirs) or some kind of other stupid thoughts they may hav had.... A few gins down and curry time came and they were in a different mood then!! Don't know who won at scrabble or charade but certainly everyone had a good time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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