Your Holiday Feast Shopping Guide

Today's post is done as a public service for the Australians who celebrate American holidays. All seven of you need to do some serious planning right now. And I mean today.

It may seem like you have the best part of the week to get ready for next Thursday's Thanksgiving, but you don't.

USA Foods has sent me an e-mail. They're backed up a couple of days, and even express shipping takes two more days. Well, you do the maths - it's your last chance to ensure your Thanksgiving feast is replete with authentic Yankee food.

Already there are serious shortages. Pilgrim-shaped Pure Maple Candy is out of stock. You will not be delighting your family and friends with those sweet treats this year. In fact, you probably won't even be stuffing their stockings with the Santa Pure Maple Candy because that, too, is out of stock.

And for some of us, this year's Thanksgiving will be a bit less festive than previous years. Mr and Mrs T's Hot and Spicy Bloody Mary mix is out of stock, as well.

But not all is lost. There are still plenty of products available, although you may have to compromise on your brands. For example, you won't be soaking your Thanksgiving breakfast pancakes with Aunt Jemima Syrup, but for $9.99 you can get the 24-ounce Log Cabin Syrup.

(I will do this once. Americans, multiply our prices by 2/3 to get US equivalent. Australians, one ounce equals 28 grams.)

Other Thanksgiving essentials abound. You can be totally creative with your Jello mold. There's a choice of black cherry, cherry, grape, lime, peach, raspberry, watermelon or wild strawberry flavors.

Since I haven't seen one in the 20 years I have lived here, I should explain to my Aussie friends that the Jello mold is one of the healthier-looking side dishes served at the Thanksgiving feast, typically encasing fruit that has been sitting in a can of syrup inside a wiggling mound of sugary, articially flavored gelatin.

For the bakers among you, you can get a 40-ounce Bisquick for $9.99 and 3 pounds of Crisco (1500g) for $15. (If you need to ask what Crisco is, you don't want it. And if you do want it, I would like to know why you would want three pounds of it.)

Other last minute items I would recommend to anyone gearing up for the feast: a jar of Marshmallow Fluff, Keebler Graham Cracker pie crust, Jiffy cornbread mix, Chex Mix (I prefer traditional to hot-and-spicy), Bruce's whole yams in heavy syrup, and - be very grateful - Libby's Pumpkin Pie mix, which is still in stock.

I suppose all this makes Americans look like their diet isn't all that healthy. I would remind all of you non-Americans, that the country became great because it has an attitude of doing what it feels like and figuring out how to fix it later. There's no reason the holiday meal shouldn't reflect that.

For all of you in Oz needing these last minute buys, USA Foods is here. Oh, one last recommendation. I would also pick up the 8-ounce Pepto Bismol for $9.99.