The cheapest Christmas lunch

It's nearly Christmas time and that means shopping for the turkey, mince pies and brandy butter needs to get underway. But where's the cheapest place to buy the Christmas lunch?

The average Christmas family budget is £478.50, according to Morrisons, with £48.30 of this going on food for the day. But this year the supermarket has launched a bargain meal which promises to only cost £2.49 per person including all the trimmings.

That includes items such as Christmas cake, cranberry sauce, stuffing and mince pies, but when looking at the cost alone, how does it compare to the other supermarket’s offerings?

I decided to look at all the major supermarkets and to see how much they’re charging for the same items.

Obviously in some cases the food doesn’t match exactly either because the weight is different or the exact products aren’t sold in each shop, but in these instances I’ve attempted to find the nearest match.

This is a basic dinner and it’ll obviously be cheaper if there are less people eating and if you cut out certain items. Shopping locally for fruit and vegetables may also knock down the cost further and there are lots of extras, such as alcohol, which aren't included and will add quite a bit to the final cost.

The cheapest Christmas lunch

When looking at the essential items, for eight people, Morrisons is the clear winner when it comes to price. Its meal is £19.95, which works out at £2.49 a head, £4.52 cheaper than the second cheapest lunch from Aldi at £24.47.

Just edging slightly into third place, with a tiny 7p difference, is Tesco followed by Asda at £26.38, or £3.30 per person, with its turkey and Christmas cake pushing the price up.

When looking at the prices on offer, the vegetables are pretty much the same price across all supermarkets but it’s things like the turkey, Christmas cake and brandy butter which make the difference.

The weight of the products also makes a big impact and at Aldi, Asda, Waitrose and Ocado the cheapest turkeys for sale are all bigger than Morrisons'. Therefore the price is understandably going to be more expensive.

The most expensive Christmas lunch

Unsurprisingly Ocado at £40.08 is the most expensive place to buy a Christmas lunch, followed by Waitrose with a bill of £37.54.

However, these two are the only supermarkets which don't sell frozen turkeys. Because the price of the fresh, free range turkeys are higher it's pushed the whole cost of the lunch up.

When you cut out the price of the turkey from the Ocado shop it actually comes in at £2.84 per head – making it the second cheapest Christmas lunch.

The results

Supermarket	Total price	Price per head (eight people)
Morrisons	£19.95	£2.49
Aldi	£24.47	£3.06
Tesco	£24.54	£3.07
Asda	£26.38	£3.30
The Co-op	£27.92	£3.49
Sainsbury’s	£29.51	£3.69
Waitrose	£37.54	£4.69
Ocado	£40.08	£5.01

Those are the totals, but what about the individual supermarket break down? The tables below outline what each outlet charges for each constituent of the classic Christmas lunch.

Morrisons

Item	Amount	Price
Turkey	2.6-3.8kg	£9.00
Potatoes	1kg	£1.00
Frozen sprouts	1kg	£0.75
Parsnips	850g	£0.70
Carrots	1kg	£0.55
Stuffing	85g	£0.15
Cranberry sauce	200g	£0.50
Christmas pudding	Two at 454g each	£1.70
Christmas cake	900g	£3.40
Brandy butter	200g	£1.00
Mince pies	Two packs of six	£1.20
Total		£19.95
Per head (for eight people)		£2.49

Aldi

Item	Amount	Price
Turkey	4.2kg	£9.99
Potatoes	1kg	£0.85
Frozen sprouts	1kg	£0.99
Parsnips	750g	£0.69
Carrots	1kg	£0.75
Stuffing	85g	£0.37
Cranberry sauce	400g	£0.59
Christmas pudding	750g	£2.99
Christmas cake (two)	800g	£3.78
Brandy butter	200g	£1.49
Mince pies	Two packs of six	£1.98
Total		£24.47
Per head (for eight people)		£3.06

Tesco

Item	Amount	Price
Turkey	2.6-3.8kg	£10.00
Potatoes (Frozen)	1kg	£0.80
Brussel Sprouts	1kg	£1.00
Parsnips	750g	£0.85
Carrots	1.5kg	£0.69
Stuffing	85g	£0.15
Cranberry sauce	185g	£0.50
Christmas pudding	907g	£2.00
Christmas cake	907g	£5.00
Brandy butter	200g	£1.55
Mince pies	Two packs of six	£1.50
Total		£24.54
Per head (for eight people)		£3.07

Asda

Item	Amount	Price
Turkey	3.54-5.19kg	£12
Potatoes	1kg	£0.69
Frozen sprouts	1kg	£1.00
Parsnips	750g	£0.80
Carrots	1kg	£0.80
Stuffing	85g	£0.15
Cranberry sauce	240g	£1.00
Christmas pudding	Two at 454g each	£1.96
Christmas cake	907g	£5.00
Brandy flavour sauce (packet)	500g	£1.48
Mince pies	Two packs of six	£1.50
Total		£26.38
Per head (for eight people)		£3.30

The Co-operative

Item	Amount	Price
Turkey	2 - 3.59kg	£10.00
Potatoes	1.5kg	£2.00
Frozen sprouts	907g	£1.00
Parsnips	600g	£1.00
Carrots	1kg	£1.00
Stuffing	85g	£0.33
Cranberry sauce	190g	£0.74
Christmas pudding	Two at 454g each	£3.50
Christmas cake	907g	£5.00
Brandy cream	250ml	£1.75
Mince pies	Two packs of six	£1.60
Total		£27.92
Per head (for eight people)		£3.49

Sainsbury’s

Item	Amount	Price
Turkey	2.6-3.8kg	£13.75
Potatoes	1kg	£1.00
Frozen sprouts	1kg	£1.00
Parsnips	850g	£0.96
Carrots	1kg	£0.50
Stuffing	85g	£0.15
Cranberry sauce	200g	£0.63
Christmas pudding	Two at 454g each	£1.96
Christmas cake	900g	£6.00
Brandy butter	200g	£1.55
Mince pies	Two packs of six	£2.00
Total		£29.51
Per head (for eight people)		£3.69

Waitrose

Item	Amount	Price
Turkey	up to 4.7kg	£15.00
Potatoes	1kg	£0.66
Frozen sprouts	1kg	£1.00
Parsnips	850g	£1.67
Carrots	1kg	£0.90
Stuffing	85g	£0.40
Cranberry sauce	200g	£0.95
Christmas pudding	Two at 454g each	£6.98
Christmas cake	900g	£5.99
Brandy butter	200g	£1.99
Mince pies	Two packs of six	£2.00
Total		£37.54
Per head (for eight people)		£4.69

Ocado

Item	Amount	Price
Turkey (free range)	3Kg	£17.37 (£5.79 per Kg)
Potatoes	1kg	£1.17
Frozen sprouts	1kg	£1.00
Parsnips	700g	£1.00
Carrots	1kg	£1.00
Stuffing	100g	£0.85
Cranberry sauce	195g	£0.95
Christmas pudding	Two at 454g each	£6.98
Christmas cake	907g	£6.49
Brandy butter	200g	£1.99
Mince pies	Packs of 12	£2.00
Total		£40.08
Per head (for eight people)		£5.01

Before you hit the supermarket, remember to always check MySupermarket to compare the best deals.

Where are you planning to do your Christmas food shopping? And when's the best time to do it?

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