AUS folks-where to shop on Christmas Eve?

[Dmmetler]

Our flight to Syndey does not arrive until Christmas Eve. We have a house rental that has a kitchen, so we're kind of expecting to spend Christmas recovering from jet lag and relaxing, since probably little will be open anyway.  In the US, I know we can go to Walgreens or something similar and get at least basic groceries, toiletries that we can't fly with, etc, even on a holiday or late at night. Is there an equivalent that I can put into the GPS and find in Australia? 

[Melissa in Australia]

I am not from Sydney, but I would think that Woolworths and Coles will be opened on Christmas Eve. They are supermarkets.

I don’t know what Walgreens is I am guessing a supermarket  and my DH isn’t here to do North American translations

[chocolate-chip chooky]

I'd look for your closest Coles or Woolworths. 

https://www.coles.com.au/store-locator 

https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/storelocator

[vonfirmath]

57 minutes ago, Melissa in Australia said:

I am not from Sydney, but I would think that Woolworths and Coles will be opened on Christmas Eve. They are supermarkets.

I don’t know what Walgreens is I am guessing a supermarket  and my DH isn’t here to do North American translations

 

Walgreens is a drugstore that sells a few grocery items. One step up from a gas station.

 

[Guest]

Good-I wasn't sure groceries wouldn't close early. Many here do on Christmas Eve, and are closed on Christmas day. 

[Rosie_0801]

Halal restaurants are a good bet too.

[mumto2]

Not sure if this is true in Australia but in England it is fairly common to have an online grocery delivery done to a holiday house before you arrive.  The landlord receives it and puts it away.....at least the refrigerator items.

[Melissa in Australia]

9 hours ago, vonfirmath said:

 

Walgreens is a drugstore that sells a few grocery items. One step up from a gas station.

 

We don’t have drugstores here. We have pharmacy instead. They don’t sell food, but do sell lots of cosmetics

[J-rap]

5 hours ago, mumto2 said:

Not sure if this is true in Australia but in England it is fairly common to have an online grocery delivery done to a holiday house before you arrive.  The landlord receives it and puts it away.....at least the refrigerator items.

We did something like that once.  (Not in Australia.)  The landlord helped arrange it and put things away in the fridge.

We've also brought enough food for the first day of eating, just in case.  I mean something very simple, like:  coffee, oatmeal, dried soup, etc.  Not entire packages, but just enough to get us through that first day in case stores aren't open or if we don't feel like having to go shopping immediately after a long international flight.  It didn't take up much room at all in our suitcases.

I like the idea of Christmas dinner out at a nearby restaurant!  (You could probably google online to see what restaurants are open Christmas Day.)

[katilac]

22 hours ago, dmmetler said:

 and get at least basic groceries, toiletries that we can't fly with,  

You can fly with toiletries in your checked baggage, just not your carry-on (and if you fly around the world with no checked baggage, color me impressed). 

You can also pack some dry groceries in checked baggage - nuts, protein bars, candy, crackers. This way, if you're absolutely too wiped out to get to a store, you at least have some food until you recover. Then you have that space to pack souvenirs. 

[geodob]

You really don't want to be anywhere near a shopping centre, on Christmas Eve!
I imagine that you would catch a Taxi to get there?
You would be lucky to find a Taxi, to leave the shopping centre.
Most basics can be bought at gas stations, which could get you through to Boxing Day.
When all of the shops will be open again.

[Rosie_0801]

18 hours ago, katilac said:

You can also pack some dry groceries in checked baggage - nuts, protein bars, candy, crackers. This way, if you're absolutely too wiped out to get to a store, you at least have some food until you recover. Then you have that space to pack souvenirs. 

 

Check quarantine first. They're picky.

[katilac]

6 hours ago, Rosie_0801 said:

 

Check quarantine first. They're picky.

ohhhh that's true, I wasn't thinking of exciting international travels 

[wintermom]

On 12/6/2019 at 1:49 PM, dmmetler said:

Our flight to Syndey does not arrive until Christmas Eve. We have a house rental that has a kitchen, so we're kind of expecting to spend Christmas recovering from jet lag and relaxing, since probably little will be open anyway.  In the US, I know we can go to Walgreens or something similar and get at least basic groceries, toiletries that we can't fly with, etc, even on a holiday or late at night. Is there an equivalent that I can put into the GPS and find in Australia? 

If it was Canada, I'd say go to a gas station, perhaps look on-line to see if there is one near your rental that has a little dinner/coffee shop. Maybe a fast-food type place with breakfasty-type food, such as Dunkin' Donuts, Tim Hortons, or the Aussie equivalent. Is there an Aussie equivalent to a donut shop?

Edited December 8, 2019 by wintermom

[Guest]

Our rental is in Lanes Cove, so about 10km from the CBD, but there is a Woolworth's addressed on the same road that looks like it should be walkable. 

[Melissa in Australia]

2 hours ago, wintermom said:

If it was Canada, I'd say go to a gas station, perhaps look on-line to see if there is one near your rental that has a little dinner/coffee shop. Maybe a fast-food type place with breakfasty-type food, such as Dunkin' Donuts, Tim Hortons, or the Aussie equivalent. Is there an Aussie equivalent to a donut shop?

There is no equivalent to Tim Horton in Australia

[wintermom]

5 hours ago, Melissa in Australia said:

There is no equivalent to Tim Horton in Australia

Not a shock, since Tim Horton was a Canadian hockey player. 😂

[Melissa in Australia]

35 minutes ago, wintermom said:

Not a shock, since Tim Horton was a Canadian hockey player. 😂

And here hockey is played out on the grass with a ball. What you guys call hockey is called ice hockey here and is very rare.

[wintermom]

9 hours ago, Melissa in Australia said:

And here hockey is played out on the grass with a ball. What you guys call hockey is called ice hockey here and is very rare.

Now if Tim Horton was a cricket player, there might be a donut shop with his name in Australia. 😉

[Mbelle]

16 hours ago, StellaM said:

 

In the CBD, it really is just as easy to go to Woolworths. There aren't any petrol stations in the CBD.

 

Dh family is not from Sydney, so we were tourist there and we stayed in the CBD at an AirBnB and walked right to the Woolworths.  This is all easy. Sydney is very easy.  It's the easiest place in Australia to get around imo.  Cell coverage/wifi though is very spotty and so it's hard to use your phone for directions and even using your laptop during the day is gonna be spotty.  It's best to write down directions.

 

[chocolate-chip chooky]

@dmmetler I hope you and your daughter have a wonderful time in NZ and here in Australia. 

I hope our bushfires and smoke haze ease. Lots of us are living like there's a sepia filter over our lives. 

I really hope you get to see and enjoy some of our beautiful country. Please wish your daughter all the best for her talk at the convention.

[Guest]

I’m hoping for rain-not for the trip, but just because you need it!  And it would definitely be a little reassuring to my family as well-Between the reports of fires and now the volcano eruption in NZ, that’s becoming a focus for anxiety (which I suspect is more to do with the talk than smoke, but it’s easier to be concerned about volcanos and fires than admit that something you’ve been working towards for years is a bit intimidating...)