8 ways to save money on Christmas dinner, according to experts

From getting cashback on your shop to the cheapest time to buy vegetables, here are my top tips

Chicken is a better-value centrepiece than turkey this year, say experts (iStock)

There’s just over a week left until the big day, and if you’ve finished your Christmas shopping, you’re likely feeling the pinch already. According to a survey by YouGov, Brits expect to spend a median of £300 on presents this year, with about half (49 per cent) of parents planning to spend £100 per child. That’s no small amount, and that’s before factoring in your festive food.

Tradition is a big part of Christmas, and nowhere more so than the dinner table, so it’s easy to feel like overspending is inevitable. But if you’re buying bread sauce each year even though no one ever eats it, or you end up with way more turkey leftovers than you can eat, maybe it’s time to do things a little differently.

As financial expert Lynn Beattie, also known as Mrs Mummypenny, put it: “Christmas dinner is just a glorified roast.” There are plenty of ways to have a delicious meal while minimising the financial strain, which is why I’ve pulled together this expert guide to making your Christmas dinner for less.

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Plan ahead

As well as avoiding running around like a headless turkey come Christmas Eve, planning ahead can also help you save money on your Christmas dinner. Trust me, last-minute trips to the corner shop are rarely good for your wallet.

Write a list of the items you need to buy, as well as the exact amounts – there are portion calculators online 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 can help you waste less food and, therefore, less money.

Swap out the turkey

Hear me out. It’s a festive favourite but, this year, there’s a good reason to consider a new Christmas centrepiece: the turkey shortage.

“The turkey shortages this year are a perfect storm of factors,” explains Hannah Twiggs, food and drink editor for The Independent. “A severe bird flu season has led to tens of thousands of birds being culled, hitting small free-range and organic producers hardest, while higher feed, energy and labour costs mean farmers are producing fewer birds overall.

“Add in ongoing supply-chain pressures and you’ve got a much tighter market than usual, which is why prices are creeping up.”

(Adobe Stock)

It may break tradition, but being flexible can help you save money on your Christmas meal, as alternatives such as chicken, beef, pork or a vegetarian option offer better value this year.

Can’t imagine a Christmas without turkey? “Opting for a smaller bird or switching to turkey crowns can cut costs,” says Hannah. “Buying from local butchers, who often have a more stable supply, can also help – and whatever you choose, plan the portions carefully, so nothing goes to waste.”

Buying a frozen turkey, rather than a fresh one, can also help you save significantly.

Try making food from scratch

Cooking from scratch may sound intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. There are plenty of Christmas food staples that are easy and cheap to make – plus, you can prep them ahead of time to save yourself the hassle on the big day.

“There are lots of ways to save money on the feast,” says Lynn. “Try making treat components from scratch, like roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, and cauliflower cheese.”

Pigs in blankets are another favourite that are cheaper to make yourself. And if your Christmas dinner includes a starter or dessert, Lynn has some suggestions.

“A roasted vegetable soup made from 19p vegetables is delicious,” she says. “Maybe a lemon posset 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 attract plenty of criticism for gatekeeping lower prices. Many 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 a genuine saving on the usual price by buying loyalty priced products”.

So, whether or not you think it’s fair, 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 32 per cent with Clubcard prices (£11.50, Tesco.com). Sainsbury’s is also offering cheaper turkey and vegetables for those with a Nectar card 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 on your food shop. Sites such as TopCashback and Quidco will essentially pay you to shop through them. For example, new customers ordering from Tesco can earn back up to £10 on a click-and-collect order of £40 or more, or £8 on a home delivery order of £40 or more, using TopCashback.

First, check if your supermarket of choice is partnered with TopCashback or Quidco. Once you’ve signed up for free, you can download their browser extensions to receive pop-ups when you can earn cashback. Click through, and your funds should be credited to your account – though there can sometimes be tracking issues, so you should see this as a bonus rather than a guarantee.

(Adobe Stock)

Shop around

According to my research, Aldi is currently the cheapest supermarket you can buy a Christmas dinner from, but you don’t need to buy every item from the same shop.

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, that could 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 individual items may not seem like much, but it all adds up. Prices of individual items are likely to drop even further in the coming weeks. Speaking of which...

Buy your vegetables at the last minute

OK, maybe not the very last minute. But as the big day inches closer, many supermarkets slash the price of produce in what’s known as the ‘veg wars’.

Lidl and Aldi are the ones to watch here, as you can usually get your vegetables for just pennies the week before Christmas. Even if you do the rest of your shop at another supermarket, I would recommend popping in for cheap potatoes, carrots, parsnips, sprouts and the like.

We’ll be updating our cost of Christmas dinner article ahead of the weekend, so be sure to bookmark that page to find out which supermarket has the cheapest festive vegetables.

Cook with energy efficiency in mind

With the cost of energy still very high, many of us have been exploring more energy-efficient cooking methods over the past few years, hence the popularity of air fryers and slow cookers. If you’ve got one of these gadgets, it’s worth getting the most out of them on Christmas Day, says energy writer Jeff Meyer.

“Using smaller, more efficient appliances can make a noticeable difference on Christmas Day,” he said. “A slow cooker uses far less energy than an oven running for several hours and can keep a turkey moist while freeing up space, while an air fryer cooks roast potatoes faster and at a lower wattage than a full-sized oven.”

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