Here's how to get hold of a family Christmas dinner - for just £12.35
It's easy to spend more than you mean to at Christmas. You've left it all a bit late, your local supermarket has become a battlefield and suddenly you're doing a trolley dash round the shops grabbing things without checking the prices.
Here, I've pinpointed some of the best-value Christmas essentials currently on sale in the nation's supermarkets. Hopefully, this will mean you've got some idea what to look for before you venture out - you can even print the article off and take it with you as a shopping list.
And if you feel brave enough to shop around, you'll find you can get a traditional family Christmas dinner for just £12.35.
TURKEY:
Most supermarkets will have fresh turkeys in stock from December 20th (prices not available until then). However, here are two good-value frozen equivalents:
Lidl self-basting turkey 4-4.2kg - £5.69
Aldi frozen turkey 4-4.8kg - £5.99
(However, if you can afford to spend a bit more than this, you might want to consider doing so. You're likely to get a better quality of turkey that has been less intensively reared.)
STUFFING:
Sainsbury's Basics sage and onion stuffing mix 85g - £0.12
Tesco sage and onion stuffing mix 85g - £0.19.
Asda Smartprice sage and onion stuffing mix 85g - £0.12.
GRAVY:
Sainsbury's gravy granules 170g - £0.49
Asda Smartprice meat gravy granules 170g - £0.44.
SPROUTS:
Sainsbury's button sprouts 1kg (frozen) - £0.75
Lidl fresh sprouts 1kg (half original price) - now £0.49
Asda button sprouts 1kg (frozen) - £0.62
PARSNIPS:
Sainsbury's parsnips 500g (save 33%) - now £0.72
Tesco Value parsnips 1kg - £1.38
CARROTS:
Sainsbury's Basics carrots 2kg - £0.99
Tesco carrots 2kg - £1
Asda Smartprice carrots 1.5kg - £0.55
ROASTING POTATOES:
Sainsbury's Basics potatoes 5kg - £1.49
Asda Smartprice potatoes 2.5kg - £0.73
Lidl fresh new potatoes 1.5kg - £0.39
CRANBERRY SAUCE:
Asda Smartprice 200g - 0.34
CHRISTMAS PUDDING:
Sainsbury's Basics Christmas pudding 454g - 0.98p
Tesco Value Christmas pudding with cider 454g - £0.98
Asda Smartprice Christmas pudding 454g - £0.98
MINCE PIES:
Tesco Value 6 mince pies - £0.49
CHRISTMAS CAKE:
Asda Smartprice iced fruit cake - £1.48
CHRISTMAS PUDDING:
Sainsbury's Basics Christmas pudding 454g - 0.98p
Tesco Value Christmas pudding with cider 454g - £0.98
Asda Smartprice Christmas pudding 454g - £0.98
So, lowest total spend = £12.35
To finish, here are some of the best deals on other Christmas odds-and-ends - just in case you've left it all to the last minute...
CRACKERS:
Sainsbury's 10 mini crackers for £2, or 12 foil crackers for £2.50
Bhs 12 family crackers (were £12) now £6
ROASTING TIN:
Sainsbury's Basics roasting tin - £0.99
Asda Smartprice roaster 32cm - £0.83
CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTS:
Homebase 20 coloured lights (were 0.99) now 0.19
Homebase 50 clear Christmas lights, were 2.99, now 0.99
If you'd like to tell us about any good Christmas deals and discounts, you can email us at moneysavingtips@fool.co.uk. You'll also find more deals and discounts on our Money Saving Tips home page.
Good luck grabbing that turkey!