Christmas food on a budget 12 December 2015 at 11:38PM in Special occasions & other celebrations 13 replies 2.8K views

Bluelala

Hi,
I was wondering if anyone has any tips for Christmas food shopping on a budget? We are having a relatively low key Christmas with 6 of us for dinner however every year I seem to buy way too much food. I am a sucker for all the party food & nibbles from the 'finest' ranges which look so pretty but ends up costing a fortune. I also have the attitude that I'd rather had too much food than not enough.
Would love to hear your tips or advice, thanks!

Katiehound

This might interest you- Good Housekeeping shows how to do the main meal for £2.53 per head:
http://www.goodhousekeeping.co.uk/consumer-advice/save-money/christmas-dinner

SailorSam

If you were planning on going down the traditional turkey route, why not change. Check here on Mse and get chicken; pork; beef or ham much cheaper.

Sharon87

Try not to go for Finest or brand names, supermarket own brand or basics ranges can be good. Basics stuffing is exactly the same in my opinion! Also get a turkey/crown that's big enough just for Christmas day, instead of the next few days as well as you'll get bored of it! Or if you're not bothered about tradition, get a large chicken instead.

Veggies can be cheap if you shop around. You can make yorkshire puddings from scratch very cheaply, you probably already have most of the ingredients anyway, key is to get the oil very hot before you put the batter in.

Christmas doesn't have to be expensive if you shop right. I've already had a Christmas dinner and we got a turkey breast joint thing - £5 from Tesco and serves 3 comfortably.

kingfisherblue

If you set a budget and take cash, you can't overspend. Buy the things you need, not all the extras that you want. If you have any money left over, fair enough, buy the extra goodies. If you normally overbuy, you probably won't miss half of what you would have bought.

Do you really want to fill the food caddy with excess food that you couldn't eat?

enthusiasticsaver

I buy a turkey crown rather than a massive bird and that plus a gammon joint plus sausages and bacon make meals for the whole of Christmas week. Curry, risotto, bubble and squeak, toad in the hole and cold meat and salad.


All the extra groceries like nice biscuits which we don't eat a lot of the rest of the year have come from Lidls and my elder daughter and I love baking - again we don't do much the rest of the year. My son in law needs gluten free so we do gluten free chocolate chip muffins, shortbread etc and I probably like you buy too much but I would rather not run out of food so often it ends up still hanging around mid January. Fresh stuff though I do not over order as the shops are only shut for two days so can get more fresh stuff on 27th or 28th. I don't bother with finest range unless I am convinced it is a lot better than the non branded stuff though. Lidl's luxury biscuits are a must but at £2.99 for a box which will last us through Christmas and new year I am happy with that. I also never buy sweets or chocolates as we almost always end up with some as presents. Satsumas, mince pies and nuts and an iced Christmas cake bar again from Lidls are our treats. I do not buy a lot of nibbles as we are normally stuffed after Christmas dinner anyway. Sausage rolls and mince pies on Christmas eve though is a tradition with us.


I would also agree that if you are on a really tight budget you could go for Chicken on Christmas day rather than turkey. To be honest I prefer chicken but still feel like I should get turkey for tradition's sake. Veg is cheap. Also resist the urge to splurge on alcohol. This year I have bought one bottle of prosecco, 2 bottles of wine and a bottle of Irish cream liquer again from Lidls.


OK I am feeling hungry now

Bluelala

Thanks so much for your replies, some very good tips here which I do appreciate xx

HappyMJ

Bluelala wrote: »

Thanks so much for your replies, some very good tips here which I do appreciate xx

Starting tomorrow Tesco has a whole lot of Christmas veg for 39p.

Potatoes, carrots, brussels, parsnips and cauliflower. That's all you really need for the veg component of your meal.

kingfisherblue

HappyMJ wrote: »

Starting tomorrow Tesco has a whole lot of Christmas veg for 39p.

Potatoes, carrots, brussels, parsnips and cauliflower. That's all you really need for the veg component of your meal.

That's me steaming a pile of veg for freezing then

happilymarried2013

kingfisherblue wrote: »

That's me steaming a pile of veg for freezing then

Ditto :j

Vampgirl

Bluelala wrote: »

every year I seem to buy way too much food. I am a sucker for all the party food & nibbles from the 'finest' ranges which look so pretty but ends up costing a fortune. I also have the attitude that I'd rather had too much food than not enough.

My solution for this is to make a meal plan for every meal. That way you can work out what bits you need to buy and what you already have, and you can buy just what you need - without worrying about forgetting something or not having enough to go around.

I know what you mean about the party food and nibbles - they're very tempting, but I find if I plan the meals I realise that actually we'll not have time to eat them....which makes it easier to resist temptation.