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When you think about the financial impact of this Christmasyou probably think about all Gift You’re planning to buy – especially if you have children. According to a survey by YouGov, Britons expect to spend an average of £300 on gifts this year, with almost half (49 per cent) of parents planning to spend £100 per child.
Over the past few months, I’ve written a lot about how to get great deals on gifts, especially during Christmas black Friday Sales that came and went. But with food inflation continuing to rise, I’m here to talk about another festive cost that often gets discounted: your Christmas dinner.
Tradition is a big part of Christmas, and nowhere more so than at the dinner table, so it’s easy to feel like overspending is inevitable. But if you’re buying bread sauce every year even though no one eats it, or you have far more turkey leftover than you can eat on Boxing Day, it’s probably time to do things a little differently.
As financial expert Lynn Beattie, also known as Mrs. Mummypenny, said, “Christmas dinner is just a glorified roast.” There are plenty of ways to eat deliciously while reducing financial stress, which is why I’ve put together this expert guide to cooking your own. Christmas dinner for less.
Read more: Best Supermarket Christmas Food
plan ahead
As well as avoiding running around like a headless turkey on Christmas Eve, planning in advance can also help you save money on your Christmas dinner. Trust me, a last minute trip to the corner shop is hardly good for your wallet.
Write down a list of the items you need to buy, as well as the exact amounts – there are online portion calculators that can help with this. When shopping, try to stick to your list as much as possible and avoid the temptation to buy more than you need ‘just in case’. This will help you waste less food and, as a result, spend less money.
swap turkey
Listen to me! It’s a festive favorite, but this year, there’s a good reason to consider a new Christmas centerpiece: the lack of turkey.
“The turkey shortage This year is a perfect storm of factors,” explains hannah twigsFor Food and Drink Editor Independent. “The severe bird flu season has led to the culling of thousands of birds, with small free-range and organic producers hit hardest, while higher feed, energy and labor costs mean farmers are producing fewer birds overall.
“Add ongoing supply-chain pressures and you get an even tighter market than usual, which is why prices are rising.”
It may break tradition, but being flexible can help you save money on your Christmas meal, as options like chicken, beef, pork or vegetarian options offer better value this year.
Can’t imagine Christmas without turkey? “Choosing a smaller bird or switching to a turkey crown can cut costs,” Hannah says. “Shopping from local butchers, who often have a more stable supply, can also help – and whatever you choose, plan portions carefully so nothing goes to waste.”
Read more: The best supermarket champagne according to experts
Try cooking from scratch
Cooking from scratch can seem intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. There are plenty of Christmas food staples that are easy and inexpensive to make — plus, you can prepare them ahead of time to avoid the hassle of the big day.
“There are lots of ways to save money on a feast,” says Lynn. “Try making delicious components like roasted potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and cauliflower cheese from scratch.”
Pigs in a Blanket is another favorite blanket that is inexpensive to make yourself. And if your Christmas dinner involves a starter or dessert, Lynn has some suggestions.
“Roasted vegetable soup made with 19p vegetables is delicious,” she says. “Maybe a lemon pousette for dessert, light and fresh and cheap to make the day before.”
Join loyalty schemes
Loyalty schemes such as Tesco’s Clubcard and Sainsbury’s Nectar receive a lot of criticism gatekeeping prices lowMany consumers have also questioned whether the offers promoted as part of these schemes were misleading, However, last year the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigated the matter and found that customers can “almost always make real savings on the regular price by purchasing loyalty-priced products”,
So, whether you think it’s fair or not, the reality is that signing up to a loyalty scheme can help you save money. For example, when you buy a small turkey at Tesco, you can save 20 per cent with Clubcard prices (£13.60). tesco.comSainsbury’s is also offering cheap turkey and vegetables to people with a Nectar card in the week before Christmas.
Get cashback on your Christmas food shop
If you’re buying your Christmas dinner online, check if you can earn cashback at your food shop. Sites like Topcashback and Quidco will essentially pay you to shop through them. For example, new customers ordering from Tesco can use TopCashback to earn up to £10 on click-and-collect orders of £40 or more, or up to £8 on home delivery orders of £40 or more.
First, check if the supermarket of your choice partners with TopCashback or Quidco. Once you sign up for free, you can download their browser extension to get pop-ups to earn cashback. Click through, and your funds will be deposited into your account – although sometimes there can be tracking issues, so you should view this as a bonus rather than a guarantee.
shop around
According to my research, Aldi is currently The cheapest supermarket you can buy Christmas dinner at From, but you don’t need to buy everything from the same store.
If it’s practical and convenient for you, it pays to shop around to make sure you’re getting the best possible deal on each item. Right now, this might look like going to Aldi for your turkey and brandy butter, Sainsbury’s for your vegetables and Tesco for your gravy. The price difference between different items may not seem like much, but it all adds up. Prices of individual items are likely to fall further in the coming weeks. speaking of which…
Buy your vegetables at the last minute
ok, maybe not Very Last minute. But as the big day approaches, many Supermarket In what is known as the ‘Vegetarian War’, cut the price of produce.
Lidl and Aldi are worth a look here, as you can usually get your vegetables for just pennies a week before Christmas. Even if you do the rest of your shopping at another supermarket, I would still recommend buying cheap potatoes, carrots, parsnips, sprouts and the like.