Where to get your Christmas lunch cheapest

With Christmas right around the corner we look at how to feed the family without spending a fortune.

Whether you're cooking for friends, family, neighbours or acquaintances, keeping the cost low is key to a less stressful Christmas.

After comparing the prices of some of the UK’s biggest supermarkets, we’ve discovered that Aldi is the cheapest one-stop shop for your festive feast. Every item makes up part of the classic Christmas dinner including turkey, Brussels sprouts, mince pies and brandy butter.

Morrisons has been the cheapest for the past two years running, with Aldi some way down the table so it's been quite the turnaround for the deep discounter.

Supermarket spend

As the table below shows, the cost of putting on a full Christmas dinner varies significantly.

Supermarket	Total price	Price per head (eight people)
Aldi	£26.16	£3.27
Tesco	£28.84	£3.60
Lidl	£29.11	£3.63
Iceland	£31.04	£3.88
Co-operative	£31.95	£3.99
Sainsbury’s	£32.50	£4.06
Asda	£32.54	£4.07
Morrisons	£32.76	£4.09
Ocado	£50.32	£6.29
Waitrose	£57.69	£7.21

Here’s a breakdown of the full baskets. Please note that there will be variations between products depending on what each supermarket has to offer.

Item	Aldi	Tesco	Lidl	Iceland	Co-operative	Sains- bury's	Asda	Morri- sons	Ocado	Wait- rose
Turkey 3.6-4.8kg	£11	£16	£9.99	£11	£11.76	£17	£16	£16	£27.94	£35.94
Potatoes 1kg	89p	50p	79p	75p	80p	70p	69p	89p	£1	66p
Brussels sprouts 1kg	99p	£1	89p	89p	£1	£1.20	99p	£1	£1.20	£1.20
Parsnips 750g	59p	90p	59p	£1.75	£1	90p	91p	69p	£1.19	£1
Carrots 1kg	55p	60p	55p	65p	85p	60p	57p	59p	60p	60p
Stuffing 85g	37p	15p	37p	N/A	85p	20p	15p	15p	60p	60p
Cranberry sauce 200g	65p	50p	99p	£1	£1.50	£1	82p	82p	£1.80	70p
Christmas pudding Two at 454g (each)	98p	£1	£2.99	£2	£3	£1	£1.89	£2.50	£3	£3.50
Christmas cake 900g	£6.49	£4	£4.49	£7	£5	£7	£5	£3.99	£6	£6
Brandy butter 200g	£1.49	£1.89	£1.49	£2	£1.75	£1.60	£1.85	£1.85	£1.99	£1.99
Mince pies Two packs of six (each)	59p	65p	£1.49	£1	£1	£1.30	89p	89p	£1	£1
Total price	£26.16	£28.84	£29.11	£31.04	£31.95	£32.50	£32.54	£32.76	£50.32	£57.69

Prices correct at time of writing

As you can see, there’s a massive jump between Aldi and its most expensive competitor, Waitrose. Vegetables and potatoes are a pretty safe bet as they are more or less the same price across all supermarkets. It’s the larger items like turkey and Christmas cake where the gap really starts to show. Make sure you order your turkey early so you don't miss out.

Cash in on your loyalty

If you haven’t exchanged your supermarket loyalty points for a while, now’s the time to do it. Nectar card holders have until 24th November to double up their points while Tesco shoppers can boost their Clubcard points until the week before Christmas Day.

Cut costs and have a bit of fun with the kids this Christmas by doing a little yuletide baking. Get experimenting with new takes on old favourites like mince pies and Christmas pudding. Why not head over to lovefood.com for a spot of inspiration?

Speaking of which, be sure to keep an eye out for lovefood's guide on how to source your local Christmas fare next Friday.

Earn cashback on your Christmas shopping with a cashback credit card

What’s the plan for your Christmas food shopping this year? Let us know in the comments below

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