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Can't say I enjoyed this week's challenge - but I certainly found it challenging (and surely there's enough obscurity in the clues without omitting answer lengths).
Although the final grid appears to work well there's a plural form that isn't in Chambers (in fact the word itself isn't there, although it must be right given the theme).
Pity to end such a slog on a questionable note.

Totally agree, drxx, what a slog that was, obscure definitions and answers and no help with answer lengths did not make for an enjoyable solve in my experience.

Concur with both views. Clever finish, but an iffy plural. Working out how to enter the first and last across answers took me as long as the rest of the puzzle, and not knowing whether final answers were four or five letters long was a source of frustration

You are really putting me off starting this!

Lumen, the end result is worth it as it all slots together nicely but be prepared for a mind-scrambling process!
I made good progress once I'd worked out in which three rows the empty blocks of cells are placed. Getting '1 down' helped with that.

After a monumental struggle to find a way into this, I now have all the answers in the grid and a lot of empty cells, and not a clue what to do now. I can see a type of hemp as a possible final entry, but baffled by its relevance.

That is correct, Gitto. You need to think creatively about what thr theme might be, noting the title. The start of your hemp is the last half of one of the thematic entries

Quisling, do you mean the last half of one of the thematic rows, because that is where I have it. I assume the thematic answers are synonyms of what goes into a Christmas turkey?

You have it in the right place. But only the first four letters are part of the thematic entry. The last half of it. You need to think again about what the thematic answers represent. The second word of the title is far more relevant than the first

The hemp is a red herring. It’s just another word created by entering the thematic words