Families who bought a huge turkey now face a bumper batch of leftovers

Already ordered a big turkey but have hardly anyone coming for Christmas thanks to the new lockdown?

You are not alone. Hopes that the supermarkets would make it easy to amend online orders to switch to smaller birds seem to be fading, shoppers claim.

And those yet to order a turkey are likely to face a scramble for smaller birds and crowns, as the supersize ones are left on the shelf. 

To make the best of a bad job, it seems families will be best off cooking the turkey and turning leftovers into cold cuts and curries to fill the freezer.

At least hundreds of food stores will be open until midnight from today through to Christmas Eve. 

All the supermarket online food delivery slots – together with click-and-collect spaces – sold out weeks ago, which means that bigger-than-usual numbers are expected to visit in person.

Social distancing rules will restrict the number of people allowed in stores at any one time and some retailers are bringing in extra marshals to manage the crush and ensure customers are wearing face masks.

Marks & Spencer is opening 400 stores through to midnight over the next three days, while Tesco, Sainsbury’s Asda, Morrisons, Aldi and Lidl confirmed hundreds of their stores will have extended hours.

A Sainsbury’s spokesman said: ‘The vast majority of our supermarkets will be open from 6am and until midnight. 

‘Customers can continue to shop safely and with confidence in our stores, where they will see we have good availability.’