We bought a last-minute Christmas lunch from a Bury St Edmunds petrol station

A turkey sandwich, some strawberry jam and a microwave meal for one – sounds like Christmas to me.

This year at SuffolkNews, we wanted to answer a simple festive question: Can you buy your Christmas day lunch from a petrol station?

We wanted to see if it was possible for late arrivals to buy a last-minute lunch from one of the few shops that would be open on the big day.

I decided to stop at the Londis in Newmarket Road, Bury St Edmunds at the Texaco service station with some particular items in mind for my shopping list.

To me, Christmas dinner is not just a roast dinner - there has to be some special additions that make the meal even more festive. These include:

• Turkey
• Cranberry sauce
• Stuffing
• A dessert with custard
• A Christmas cracker hat to be worn during the meal

This was my list and I somehow managed to tick off every box.

I bought a turkey sandwich to deconstruct, a frozen Bisto chicken platter for one, a jar of Hartleys strawberry jam (cranberry sauce replacement) and a chocolate fudge cake with a tin of Ambrosia custard.

To top it off, a bright green microfibre cloth I thought would be ideal for my cracker hat.

When I got home, I eagerly started cooking - well, microwaving - and plating up my festive feast.

The final result looked the part…almost…maybe if you squint a little bit.

To my surprise, the frozen meal tasted pretty good considering it was cheaper than the turkey sandwich.

I think my main issue was the strawberry jam. Cranberry sauce is a lot thicker and the overall consistency didn’t really work with the gravy.

The star of the show was definitely the chocolate cake with custard – I curled up with my pudding and watched The Muppet Christmas Carol, a perfect way to finish the meal.

Overall, I’d rate the experience a 6/10. Although the food on offer started off okay, every bite did get worse and worse - but that being said, it was a Christmas dinner I will never forget.

The answer to the proposed question is yes - you can buy your Christmas lunch from a petrol station…but just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

If you’re interested in saving money on your Christmas shopping, read our story here on how you can reduce your spending before the festivities begin.

Is your roast dinner plate better than mine? Send a picture of your Christmas day lunch to sam.harrison@iliffepublishing.co.uk.

No food went to waste in the production of this article.