How To Save Money On Food At Christmas
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How To Save Money On Food At Christmas
Start Buying Early
The earlier you get started with Christmas food shopping, the better! Start stocking up on non-perishables like crisps and drinks from August onwards and then top up with more festive food as it’s released in October and November.
Do be aware that some things have a shorter shelf life than you might expect – for example, Yule logs and Mince Pies are often on sale in shops from October but only have a shelf life of a few weeks.
Stock Up On Cheap Vegetables
Buy Yellow Stickers
Know What Can Be Frozen
Ditch the Upgrades
Check The Price Per 100g
Love Your Leftovers
How To Save Money On Food At Christmas: Eliminate Food Waste
Don’t Buy Food For The Sake of It
It can be so easy to buy food just for the sake of it at Christmas time. It could be something that’s traditional but that no one ends up eating while there are much nicer things on offer.
It could be just to keep one family member happy, who may one or two of something from a pack of six and the rest just gets wasted.
I’m all for having lots of treats at Christmas, just make sure it’s treats that will get eaten!
Use Shopping Apps For Discounts and Freebies
Shopping apps are a great way to get some free and discounted food in the months leading up to Christmas. They often feature well-known brands and can be great for items to add to hampers as well as stocking up your own cupboards.
Shopping apps are easy to use, simply browse the products on offer, buy from the correct retailer and then upload your receipt for a full or partial refund depending on the offer.
I’ve reviewed my favourite shopping apps in the posts you can read below:
A few years ago, I made my Dad a hamper entirely from the food I’d bought using these apps and other special offers. It Cost £3 instead of £20 to make!
Ditch The Turkey
While turkey is traditional at Christmas it can be both expensive and tricky to get right.
Generally speaking, it’s drier than chicken and therefore is easy to overcook. It can also take a notoriously long time to defrost. If the meat does end up being dry, it’s less likely you’ll want to eat the leftovers.
Here are some alternative options when it comes to turkey.
Switch To Chicken – Chicken is much cheaper than turkey and most people are used to roasting a chicken. You can still add all the trimmings that it festive such as pigs in blankets, bread sauce and cranberry sauce.
Buy Turkey Breasts or Turkey Legs – Buying these smaller cuts of turkey instead of a whole bird is much cheaper and also much less work. They cook more quickly meaning less money is spent on fuel and as they are small will defrost much more quickly too.
Buy Precooked Turkey – I worked in catering for many years and over Christmas, we’d buy precooked turkey crowns for our festive menus. These are usually cooked slowly in a water bath and the turkey is super tender. Just reheat before serving and plenty of yummy leftovers as the turkey isn’t dry. If I ever host Christmas Dinner again this is 100% what I will be serving.
Save Money At Christmas By Shopping Around
If you have the time, then shopping around can save you quite a bit of money. For Christmas treats, especially chocolate I actually find places like Poundland and B&M are cheaper than the supermarkets.
You’ll also find Lidl and Aldi often have excellent dupes of branded products and much of their Christmas food ranges have similar products to fancier supermarkets like M&S and Waitrose.
I hope this post has given you lots of ideas on how you can save money on food at Christmas!
I absolutely love these tips! They are explained so clearly and make absolute sense. There is really no need to overbuy at this time because, as you say, it’s just like throwing money in the bin. Planning wisely in the months leading up to Christmas is a wise thing to do.
Merry Christmas when it comes.