Hosting Christmas this year won’t cost you a fortune, as long as you know where to shop.
Good Housekeeping’s annual Christmas dinner price index has revealed you can feed eight people for under £20, at just £2.48 per head.
The trick is shopping around and getting the essentials - such as potatoes, sprouts and mince pies - from discount supermarkets such as Aldi, Lidl and Iceland.
But if visiting multiple supermarkets isn’t for you, the cheapest place to grab a basket of Christmas goodies this year is Aldi.
Good Housekeeping’s experts tracked the price of 11 Christmas dinner essentials across 10 supermarkets and found prices had actually dropped 10.8% since 2009.
Of the 11 foods tracked, six have gone down in price including turkey and three have stayed the same as last year.
Only the prices of Christmas pudding and mince pies have increased.
Aldi was the cheapest supermarket for buying the entire list, with Christmas dinner for eight costing just £22.03.
Aldi’s basket is 11% cheaper than last year’s winner, Iceland, which this year falls to third place (£24.81), behind Lidl in second place (£24.57).
“Supermarket shoppers will be relieved to see Christmas essentials are still so affordable,” said Caroline Bloor, consumer director at Good Housekeeping.
“While five of the supermarkets have cheaper baskets this year, it’s mainly thanks to the big decrease in the cost of these groceries at Aldi and Lidl that the overall basket is significantly cheaper.
So think carefully where you shop or you could end up paying twice as much.”
Cheapest one-stop-shop baskets:
Aldi: £22.03
Lidl: £24.57
Iceland: £24.81
Tesco: £28.08
Asda: £29.68
Morrisons: £31.12
Co-op: £31.26
Sainsbury’s: £35.40
Waitrose: £40.02
M&S: £49.40
How to cook dinner for eight at £2.48 per head:
Turkey: Asda - £8 (2.8-4kg)
Potatoes: Aldi Maris Piper - 29p (2kg)
Stuffing mix: Asda and Morrisons - 30p (2 x 85g)
Brussels sprouts: Aldi - 58p (2 x 500g)
Carrots: Aldi - 29p (1kg)
Parsnips: Aldi - 58p (2 x 600g)
Cranberry sauce: Lidl and Asda - 55p (200g)
Christmas pudding: Aldi and Lidl - £3.49 (907g)
Brandy butter: Aldi and Lidl - £1.25 (200g)
Mince pies: Lidl Favorina - £1.49 (12 pack)
Christmas cake: Iceland - £3 (2 x 400g)
The Good Housekeeping January issue is on sale 8 December. For more money saving advice this Christmas head to goodhousekeeping.co.uk