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) |
|
£26.16 |
£3.27 |
|
|
£28.84 |
£3.60 |
|
|
£29.11 |
£3.63 |
|
|
£31.04 |
£3.88 |
|
| £31.95 | £3.99 | |
|
£32.50 |
£4.06 |
|
|
£32.54 |
£4.07 |
|
|
£32.76 |
£4.09 |
|
|
£50.32 |
£6.29 |
|
|
£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
[SPOTLIGHT]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
More on Christmas:
We’re giving away £1,000 for Christmas!
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