Preparing a festive feast with all the trimmings can be daunting at the best of times but, as the cost of living crisis still continues to affect many British households alongside high energy prices, many may feel pressured at the prospect of fulfilling the usual high expectations around Christmas for their families.
To help households provide the best possible Christmas and be savvy with their spending, Liz Hunter, Commercial Director at comparison site Money Expert, has researched a selection of UK based supermarkets to determine which offers the cheapest ingredients for a Christmas dinner for four people. She also provides five expert tips on how to spend smarter over the festive season, maintaining the usual Christmas spirit without breaking the bank.
Which UK supermarket offers the cheapest Christmas dinner ingredients?*
Money Expert looked at eight UK based supermarkets to determine which offered the cheapest overall cost for Christmas dinner ingredients. The analysis includes supermarkets ranging from discount, mass market and premium brands that are widely available throughout the country.
Cheapest | Supermarket | Total Meal Cost |
1 | Lidl | £14.73 |
2 | Aldi | £17.16 |
3 | ASDA | £18 |
4 | Tesco | £21.50 |
5 | Sainsbury’s | £26.75 |
6 | Iceland | £29.85 |
7 | Waitrose | £36.40 |
8 | M&S | £43.15 |
*Prices correct as of December 17th 2024
The analysis revealed that Lidl was the cheapest supermarket for purchasing Christmas dinner ingredients in 2024. Shoppers can purchase ingredients for a full meal for four people for under £15, including a turkey crown, pigs in blankets, stuffing, gravy, yorkshire puddings, all the vegetable trimmings and even cranberry sauce.
Aldi came in close second place, where shoppers can get similar items for just under £3 more, closely followed by ASDA in third. Both Lidl and Aldi are well known for their competitive pricing, with many price matching to both stores, so it’s no surprise that there’s only a few pounds between their overall prices.
Unsurprisingly, Marks and Spencer’s came in last place in the analysis, where ingredients for Christmas dinner can cost nearly double the amount they do at Aldi and other supermarkets. M&S has always focused their attention on quality over discounted prices, therefore this outcome was to be expected for the retailer.
No matter which supermarket you choose to shop in, or if your choice of store is limited in your location, there are a number of ways you can still keep your spending down on your Christmas food shopping.
Liz Hunter has put together five tips on what consumer can do to save money on a festive food shop:
Compare prices before you shop
If you live in an area where multiple supermarkets are on your doorstep, it’s worth comparing prices on the products you want to purchase beforehand. There are websites such as My Supermarket Compare that allows you to search for the products you want and compare their real time prices. Many supermarkets provide pricing on their website or apps too, so you’re able to estimate how much you’re likely to spend in each supermarket before you part with your money.
Consider swapping for cheaper products
There are easy swaps you can make in order to save on costs but not impact the taste. For example, opting for Tesco’s sage and onion stuffing mix will cost you just 45p, whereas their fresh stuffing balls are priced at £2.40, equating to a 81% saving at the tills.
You should also consider buying your turkey frozen rather than fresh as it can save you as much as £15. It is also considered to be a better environmental purchase by many in the industry too, as frozen foods last a lot longer than fresh foods and are typically lower in cost. Considering frozen foods can help to reduce waste, which is a huge issue in Britain where we waste almost 9.5 million tonnes of good food every year.
Try to buy the right amount of food and drink
When it comes to saving money, at the core of any savvy shopper’s tactics should be pre-planning. Prior to doing your shop, plan out your portion sizes per person in order to buy exactly what you need. Don’t be tempted to size up “just in case” because in reality you always tend to have waste, as shown by the 263,000 turkeys that end up in landfill each year. Stick to getting enough for each person in order to reduce spending and avoid waste. Make a list before you visit the supermarket and stick to it as best you can.
If you do end up with any leftovers, there are plenty of recipes online offering ample inspiration to repurpose those scraps into new tasty meals.
Shop around for extras and look for yellow sticker reductions
Although the day is generally centred around the main meal, there are other things to consider such as your sweet treats and desserts. If you’re able to travel between different supermarkets, products like mince pies and Christmas pudding are constantly fluctuating in price due to tempting offers from the big supermarkets. Do your research ahead of your shop to see which supermarkets are offering the best deal that week.
ALDI is the best value for money overall when it comes to sweet treats, at just £5.59 for three family-sized desserts.
Supermarket | Christmas Pudding (400g) | 6 x Mince Pies | Berry Trifle | Total dessert cost |
ASDA | £2.50 | £1.25 | £3.00 | £6.75 |
Sainsbury’s | £3.00 | £1.70 | £3.30 | £8.00 |
Tesco | £3.25 | £1.25 | £3.30 | £7.80 |
Iceland | £4.00 | £1.45 | £2.00 | £7.45 |
Aldi | £1.85 | £1.25 | £2.49 | £5.59 |
Lidl | £1.85 | £1.49 | £2.50 | £5.84 |
Waitrose | £4.00 | £1.95 | £3.55 | £9.50 |
M&S Food | £4.00 | £2.75 | £4.25 | £11.00 |
*Prices correct as of December 17th 2024
Don’t forget the reduced section for your Christmas food, where shoppers can see huge discounts on great quality products. Supermarkets have been stocking their shelves with Christmas products for weeks now, so it’s inevitable that many of these items will expire well before the 25th December. Reduced products, or yellow sticker items, can often be frozen, even if they’re about to expire, so make sure you take a look to see if you can bag yourself a serious bargain.
Remember, Christmas is just ONE day
It can be easy to get carried away with the festivities but it is important not to put yourself in financial difficulty because of it. Due to the cost of living crisis, lots of families are already struggling to make ends meet and put food on the table as they did before. With this in mind try not to let the pressure of Christmas influence your buying decisions and focus on the bigger picture.
Being smart with your spending by making these small changes to your spending habits this festive season, isn’t all bad. Working through this and building up these types of habits will help you better prepare and give you more tools to live within your means during a tough financial period.
