Trolleys overflow as we buy 326 Mini Coopers worth of ham

Kiwis will gobble more than 690,000 servings of turkey this holiday season. Photo / 123RF

The day of indulgence is nearly upon us with supermarkets fully staffed and trolleys overflowing.

There is always the last minute dash to the supermarket for fresh fruit, seafood and croissants but traditional treats of Christmas ham, pavlova, turkey and baby potatoes are the biggest sellers.

Kiwis are expected to plough through 690,000 servings of turkey and the equivalent of 326 Mini Coopers of ham in the next few days according to research from Countdown.

For the rest of the year bananas are the most popular fruit to pop in the trolley but for a few weeks they are knocked out of the basket by festive red strawberries - with 67 rugby fields worth expected to be consumed.

Countdown's General Manager Merchandise, Chris Fisher said cherries were also a big seller over Christmas.

Based on sales figures from 2015 this Christmas Kiwi shoppers are expected to go through:
• 34 milk tankers worth of cream
• 25 acres of cherry trees
• 690,000 servings of turkey
• The equivalent of 326 Mini Coopers of ham
• 1.3 million litres of ice cream

The data also found:
• We buy more than 36,000 advent calendar chocolates
• Our favourite breakfast on Christmas Day is croissants
• Vanilla and French Vanilla ice cream is our go-to ice cream at Christmas
• Broccoli is usually tops but at Christmas sweetcorn and asparagus are our favourites.
• We are last-minute present wrappers, with the biggest week for buying Christmas paper the week before the big day.

And despite the Kiwi love affair with Pavlova, fresh fruit is also hugely popular with more people opting for the healthy option over other sweets.

Antoinette Laird, Head of External Relations, at Foodstuffs which owns Pak N Save and New World said more than 46 per cent of people opted for fresh fruit over other desserts.

"With an increasing interest in health and wellbeing it's exciting to see that fruit is the true star for dessert on Christmas Day."