It's going to be a tight Christmas rather than a white Christmas this year, as families opt to give Grocery vouchers, money or even nothing at all in a bid to save cash.
This year's cost of living Christmas plans have been scaled back in half of UK homes, with money-saving measures such as cutting back on gifts and alcohol, according to research by cashback site, TopCashback. And one in 20 hosts are even planning on charging their guests an average of £34.79 each to stay with them.
Adam Bullock, UK director of TopCashback said: 'Under normal circumstances, Christmas can be financially really tough for many of the population, especially when under mounting pressure to have a "perfect" time. Thanks to the cost-of-living increases, budgets are now required to stretch even further, and our research shows the extent that some Brits are going to, to recoup some of the cost."
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The study found that almost two in five Britons are planning to switch to a cheaper supermarket or to own-branded products to cut back and one in seven will also be swapping their turkey for a cheaper cut of meat.
According to Moneysavingexpert, Aldi is the cheapest supermarket to buy your Christmas dinner, with a basket of essentials for the big meal coming in at £23.33 - nearly half the price of upmarket grocer Waitrose, where you will pay £46.20 for a similar basket of groceries, including turkey, carrots, cranberry sauce, potatoes, stuffing, gravy, Yorkshire puddings, sprouts, mince pies and Christmas pudding.
The individual Christmas dinner essentials were checked at most major UK supermarkets to find which one is the cheapest overall for a dinner for four people.
The results were:
Aldi: £23.33
Asda: £23.35
Tesco: £23.62
Lidl: £24.58
Morrisons: £24.91
Iceland: £26.60
Sainsbury's: £28.37
Marks and Spencer: £38
Waitrose: £46.20
But regardless of where you shop, you are likely to be paying more than you did last year if you opt for supermarket own brands. Grocery price inflation rose to a record high of 14.7% in November, and the traditional ingredients for your festive meal are likely to set you back more this year. Stuffing mix, Yorkshire puddings and potatoes have seen the biggest price hike over the past year, a survery by Getir found, and the average cost of a Christmas dinner for a family of four from supermarket own brands has increased by 12.4% since last year.
Across the board, all items from supermarket own brands have seen an increase in cost since 2021, but it’s stuffing mix that’s seen the biggest hike in price. A 170g supermarket own brand of stuffing mix now costs 76p, up 42.7% from last year. Coming in at number two is the debatable Christmas dinner component of Yorkshire puddings. The price of a packet of 6 has increased by a staggering 25.87%. On average, frozen turkeys have seen a 15.63% price increase since last year, but it’s small and medium birds that inflation is hitting the most.
When it comes to the festive tipple of sparkling wine, the average price of a 75cl supermarket own brand bottle has seen an increase of 4.43%. Whilst still an increase, the fizz hike is comparably lower than the likes of turkeys, potatoes and Yorkshire puddings. Out of the three sparkling wines analysed, it’s Champagne's price tag has seen the biggest inflation, of 4.01%, this year.
Last year the average price of Christmas dinner for four, was £35.07. This year, the average price of the same Christmas dinner items has increased to £39.42, costing £9.86 per head.
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