5 easy Christmas dinner switches that will save you cash
Turkey, trimmings and treats - it all adds up, but you could slash the cost of christmas-dinner>Christmas dinner this year with a little bit of careful planning.
In fact you could eat like a king or queen during the festive season for a fraction of the cost. We added up all the ways to save money on your Christmas dinner this year so that you can avoid a financial hangover come the New Year.
First things first, an easy but effective way to save pounds on Christmas dinner and the festive food shop is to write a list of everything you need. While for many people the festive season is about over-indulging, buying the right amount of food - and resisting temptation to go overboard - could save you a small fortune this year.
Buy frozen
And if you do it now you could spread the cost over the remaining few weeks of December. Frozen is also cheaper, a turkey crown (2-2.5kg) will feed six people and the cheapest we found was £23 from Iceland - Bootiful! by Bernard Matthews Golden Norfolk Basted Turkey Crown Medium.
Indulging in a turkey dinner with all the trimmings is what Christmas is all about (Getty Images)If money is really tight then why not swap your turkey for a roast chicken as this will set you back a lot less. You can pick a small 1.25kg chicken up from Asda for £4.40. Meanwhile, there’s nothing wrong with asking guests to bring a side dish to share which will bring your costs right down.
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Buying the less pricey products. rather than branded items can also make a difference and who will know? Money Saving Expert founder Martin Lewis recently held a blind taste-test for nurses at a hospital with champers and turkeys and 62 percent of the time they couldn’t tell the difference between the pricier and cheaper items.
Go vegetarian
If you’ve been toying with becoming a vegetarian or flexitarian, why not go veggie for the day? Christmas is much cheaper for non meat eaters - Adventrum found the price of a veggie-friendly Christmas dinner is cheapest at Aldi where it costs on average £28.20, compared to Waitrose at £53.24. We found this OMV! No Turkey Joint with Umami Gravy which contains four servings at Asda for £6.
When it comes to veg, Aldi and Lidl are usually cheaper and a wonky veg box from the checkout area of Lidl could save you even more. Grab one when you see it as they tend to sell out quickly. Again, frozen veggies are cheaper and could save time and patience as well. These days there are some great options including this 750g pack of Iceland Luxury Chunky Roasting Vegetables for £3.
Save money on energy bills
Using an airfryer or slow cooker to cook your Christmas dinner will save on your electricity bill, especially if you have a small family. A quick internet search will tell you how long you need to cook the turkey and veg depending on the appliance and there are some great recipe ideas on the web too. While it won’t make that much difference for one meal, use these smaller appliances consistently and the savings will add up.
Look for drinks deals
Why not spend your supermarket loyalty points on your big food shop this Christmas and look out for vouchers and extra discounts too. Asda has 1 litre Captain Morgan Original Spiced Gold Rum for £18, Smirnoff Vodka for £18 and Baileys Irish Cream Liqueur for £10.
Meanwhile, Tesco has a 70cl bottle of Gordon’s Premium Pink Distilled Gin for £18.50 while Aldi is selling the same size bottle, but a Haysmith’s Raspberry and Redcurrant Pink Gin version, for £14.99. For a cheaper copy of Baileys, try Lidl’s Ballycastle Country Cream which is a fraction of the price at £4.99. Did you know you can order wine from Amazon? Its South African Chenin Blanc works out at £5.99 a bottle or X for a case of six.
Pay less for pudding
One of the cheapest offerings this year is from Iceland and can be popped in the microwave for two and a half minutes. The 400g Iceland Christmas pudding comes in at a budget-busting £2.25 while Poundland isn’t far behind with its 400g Huntley & Palmer Luxury Christmas Pudding costing just £2.50. If those options don’t tantalise your tastebuds, Asda has an Extra Special Luxury Christmas pudding for £4. Now all that’s left to do is set back and relax and let the kids do the washing up.
There's also money to be saved when it comes to a cheese board. Morrisons is selling a cheese board for £7 which includes British Mature Cheddar, Mild & Creamy French Brie, British Red Leicester, British Applewood Smoke Flavoured Cheddar and French Bleu d'Auvergne. Or Asda has a Classic Cheese Board for £6.30 which consists of Mini Brie full fat mould-ripened soft cheese; Mature Cheddar cheese; Red Leicester cheese; Wensleydale cheese with sweetened dried cranberries and Blue Stilton.
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