Apart from the tree and the man in the big red suit, there is one other item synonymous with an Aussie Christmas - seafood.
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To get the freshest prawns, oysters and calamari on the big day, seafood lovers engage in the long-held tradition of visiting their local fish shop on Christmas Eve.
On Friday lines at seafood stores across Canberra stretched far, as people schooled together in search of the freshest produce.
Ainslie resident Lean Timms managed to get her hands on some prawns and oysters from a Narooma Seafood Direct truck parked in Watson.
As Ms Timms was heading home from buying a Christmas tree she spotted the seafood truck and stopped in to buy some goodies.
"I'm a big EPIC Farmer's Market fan, I always go [to Narooma Seafood Direct] but I heard a rumour that they weren't at the Christmas market yesterday. So I missed them," she said.
"I forgot to check in and see if they were doing Christmas orders, I drove past and it was very fortuitous because I hadn't yet got our seafood.
"I just thought we had to let it go, but we saw them and stopped by and asked [the owner] if she had any stashed away, I was able to get some prawns and some oysters, which is fantastic."
For Watson resident Beck Collis the festive season is a time for relaxation and a bowl full of fresh cooked prawns fits the bill perfectly.
Her family "always bring the most amazing things" to eat for Christmas at her sister's house.
"I don't like to cook. So it's my duty to bring prawns, cherries and gin," she said.
Luckily, her sister lives across the road from the seafood truck, "I quickly went down and hadn't pre ordered anything but just got whatever they had, which was much, much nicer than going to the supermarket," she said.
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ACM spoke to seafood suppliers across the region on Thursday as they prepared for the busiest day of the year.
Belconnen Best Seafood City manager Jay Boy Macadang had put on extra staff and ordered additional seafood supplies in anticipation.
"This shop gets a lot of customers coming through, last year the queue was extremely long so the next few days we're expecting the same to happen," he said.
"Big favourites are cooked tiger prawns and cooked king prawns, they are always really popular as well as oysters and lobsters.
"Almost everything is being purchased in high demand except for whole fish, so we're making sure stock is always well supplied."
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