Carter Christmas Sandwich Review 2025

M&S Ham Hock Sandwich

It was t-shirt weather as I walked to Marks & Spencer. I must have walked so fast I went back in time. The Christmas sandwich selection looked the same as last year. While I love the consistency of Christmas dinner, if supermarkets can spend money on their TV adverts they can be more creative when it comes to festive sandwiches. I opted for the Ho Ho Ho-Ney Mustard Ham Hock Sandwich with sharp Cornish Cove cheddar, cheesy creamy mayonnaise and fresh spinach. It was worth the exposure to global warming as it was a tasty sandwich, as nice as the prawns I bought as a side. I was uncomfortably full but still ate the chocolate custard creams and then struggled with indigestion for the next hour.

Costa Pigs in Blankets Toastie

I walked past a police van with two men next to a sports car under arrest. I wanted something hot and headed to Costa for a Pigs in Blankets Toastie as the Turkey Feast was not available. While I was waiting for my toastie to toast I observed a customer with a speech disorder ask for two teas. Unfortunately the barista was not fluent in listening or speaking English and could not understand what the customer was saying even when he was pointing at tea on the menu. I could understand and was going to help when another international barista came to his aid and gave him two teas. I am reading Languages Are Good For Us which references the age of explorers when indigenous natives were forced to learn their captors’ languages to become interpreters for their colonisation of tribes. It’s easy to judge when you are fluent, but harder to communicate when you’re not. The sandwich was nice but the crusts were thick and crusty which made me scared of choking.

Subway Festive Sub

I was rejected for two jobs this week. My scores were low which meant no feedback. That was worth the three hours it took to write the damn applications. I should have made a video about my ordeal. Intercutting seeing my rejections on screen with my purchase of the Ultimate Festive Sub. The theme being wanting too much when what I have will do. I selected the Italian Herb & Cheese sub for the rotisserie style chicken, bacon, sage & onion stuffing, cheese and rich cranberry sauce. It was great customer service. All I had to do was pay and walk away with my hot sub, but I could not resist asking for salad to be spread all over it. That was a mistake and while I liked the hot parts, the stuffing taste stayed in my mouth for hours. Not even mouthwash could wash it away. I hummed the Texas song In Demand as I thought about my career. ‘Don’t ever think you saw the best of me, there’s a sight you’ll never know.’

M&S Turkey Feast

My 18-mile hike from Horsham to Guildford involved a lunchtime stop in Cranleigh, famous for being the largest village in England. If it is so large why doesn’t it have a train station? It does have an M&S and I chose a Turkey Feast sandwich which includes bacon and stuffing. It tasted the same as it did last year and I washed it down with ginger beer, like I did last year. If only it contained superoxide radicals which could have treated my sore toes, the final three miles would have been less painful. However it was Remembrance Day so I tolerated the pain in memory of the fallen. I enjoyed watching Man City v Liverpool and the John Lewis Christmas advert after the walk.

Tesco Turkey Trimmings Sandwich

I ventured to Tesco to buy the Turkey Trimmings Sandwich, Salt & Vinegar McCoy’s and Lipton’s Iced Tea. The sandwich wasn’t front loaded to deceive you it was packed with meat. The turkey, sausage, bacon, stuffing and cranberry sauce were complementary with no overpowering flavours. I did have to pull the sandwiches apart as they were sticky but I did not get sandwich stick in my mouth. I cut my finger earlier that day which made eating the Salt & Vinegar crisps painful, reminding me of the Dennis Hopper scene in True Romance when he is tortured by mobsters who pour salt into his cut hand.

Greggs Christmas Lunch Baguette

Shops might be closing in Croydon but the town is big enough for two Greggs bakeries. I chose the Christmas Lunch Baguette on Children in Need Friday, relieved I wasn’t being served by a minor celebrity with Pudsey ears on, doing a hard hour’s graft for cameras. The baguette was nice and crunchy and the meaty filling was mixed together to keep it compact. I ate it in the deserted work canteen with crisps and orange juice. I wondered what it would be like to go to a community centre to eat Christmas Dinner with strangers.

Caffe Nero Pigs Under Blankets Panini

I always ask for turkey for my Christmas Dinner but I seem to be avoiding turkey sandwiches. I always have sausage meat next to my turkey so I chose the Pigs Under Blankets Panini without a coffee which must have seemed strange. It was a decent sandwich although could have done without the cheddar slice. Everything I eat seems to make me burp these days. I have been telling people about the BBC six-part romcom series Film Club.

Starbucks Festive Feast Toastie

I’ve been reading about Starbucks’ wide-ranging turnaround strategy to lure back dissatisfied customers and halt its declining profit margins. If I could be involved in managing store closures, layoffs and rehumanizing the customer experience, it might improve my career prospects. Why is “good HR experience” all about dealing with restructures, industrial action and a multitude of problems? I want to do positive HR work to improve the employee experience. I ordered my Festive Feast Toastie to go with the Golden cheese topped sourdough and Cheddar cheese not detracting from it. I thought I was eating turkey but it was chicken. It looked better than the cold Subway Christmas sandwich.

WHSmith Christmas Turkey & Christmas Lunch Sandwich

II have been to the office five days this week. Take that nurses, shop workers and receptionists. I should be buying a hero sandwich to celebrate my bravado. By Friday I was knackered. I have never been tempted to buy a WH Smith Christmas sandwich until now. As a self-proclaimed sandwich influencer I bought its Christmas Turkey & Christmas Lunch Sandwich along with paprika flavoured crisps to manage the angst of eating it. To be fair it tasted okay with sausage, turkey, stuffing but it was a bit slimy and hard to prise open the bread to fill it with crisps.

Boots Turkey Feast

I bought Boots’ Turkey Feast sandwich two hours before my career conversation and nine box talent grid rating. As I opened the packaging I saw the message “Did you know? the meal deal was established in 1999”. The last century when I was a journalism student believing I could write my life story, only to spend my life discovering I couldn’t. The sandwich was good, middling, perfectly fine with tasty turkey and bacon. It cannot compare to the yummy Boots Swiss cheese bagel I bought in 2002 which I will never forget. I must have been feeling nostalgic as I bought Lynx Africa deodorant and body wash.

Coco Di Mama Christmas Sourdough Ciabatta

I made flapjacks to fuel a long run but they were not sticky enough. I shoved them in a plastic container in my rucksack and amazingly the heat from my sweaty back baked them into biscuits. They tasted very nice but not sure if Sweaty Flaps is a good brand name. After my run I picked up the Coco Di Mama Christmas Sourdough Ciabatta. It did not look impressive when I opened it but it tasted nice, especially the coleslaw and the minced turkey. You could imagine an executive eating it while telling everyone how busy he is.

Which Wich Superior Sandwiches

I wanted to push the boundaries of my Christmas Sandwich Review by trying somewhere new. I walked up to Tottenham Court Road to buy the Christmas Turkey Baguette from Which Wich Superior Sandwiches. As I was sitting there waiting for it to be made, I had an imaginary flashback of being a scared teenager out on a Friday night. Sitting in a takeaway shop waiting for food, wanting to look cool while terrified of everyone around me and how I would get home. Sometimes we grow up too fast. My hot Christmas sandwich cost £11 but the bread was nice, it was stuffed with turkey and bacon and a tad too much stuffing. I struggled to finish it. Being the man I am today I walked along Oxford Street and through Hyde Park in the night with Winter Wonderland lighting up the sky. King of the City!