We tested all the Christmas sandwiches and supermarket’s own offering beats Pret A Manger and M&S

THE countdown to Christmas starts in your lunchbreak – festive sandwiches are hitting the shelves everywhere.

From Aldi and Pret to Marks & Spencer and Starbucks, retailers are hoping to tempt shoppers with a seasonal treat.

There are returning classics such as Pret’s Christmas Lunch Sandwich, as well as innovative new flavours.

Lynsey Hope puts them to the test and gives each a mark out of ten .

M&S – Christmas Club Sandwich £4.50, 613 cals

TRADITIONAL sarnie has been supersized with 12 layers.

This has it all – turkey, ham hock (read bacon really), stuffing, cabbage and cranberry sauce.

I liked the golden toasted bread and pickled red cabbage but struggled to pick out the promised gravy mayo.

Heavily calorific though, so this should perhaps be reserved as a treat.

RATING: 9

Tesco – Turkey and Trimmings, £3, 469 cals

TURKEY breast, mayonnaise, sausage, cranberry sauce, sage and onion stuffing and sweetcure bacon in soft, malted bread.

Given this is a fair bit cheaper than some others, it is very impressive.

There was lots of turkey and a noticeable amount of cranberry sauce.

Delicious but not at all good for the waist.

RATING: 8

Pret – Christmas Lunch Sandwich, £4.75, 549 cals

MADE up of thick slices of British turkey in a port and orange cranberry sauce, teamed with a herby pork stuffing, baby spinach leaves, mayo and crispy onions, this is a real winner.

There was enough meat for a proper carnivore, the bread was soft but not so much that it fell apart and I liked all the fresh ingredients.

All very festive.

RATING: 10

Lidl – Turkey Feast, £1.99, 457 cals

AN amazing price from Lidl, this contains a good amount of British turkey and streaky bacon.

I wasn’t overwhelmed by a festive feeling, though. If you closed your eyes you could have been eating just a regular chicken and bacon sandwich sold on any other day of the year.

A tasty enough snack though. For less than two quid, a decent lunch.

RATING: 5

Costa – Turkey & Trimmings Toastie, £4.25, 443 cals

A VERY festive offering from the coffee chain, this is a really impressive bite.

The instant taste of turkey makes you feel like you’re tucking into Christmas dinner and I liked that it was warm, not cold.

There was a good amount of filling and it was not at all dry.

The crispy top was a nice touch and I’ll definitely be going back to Costa for another.

RATING: 7

Morrisons – Christmas Lunch Sandwich, £2.85, 427 cals

THE best thing about this was the delicious cranberry chutney.

There was plenty of turkey and I loved the stuffing.

Just the right amount of mayonnaise. Not as cheap as Aldi or Lidl but I reckoned it was worth the 86p more.

It was more filling and felt so much more Christ-massy.

Christmas has certainly come early with this delicious Morrisons sarnie.

RATING: 10

Waitrose – Turkey, Stuffing and Bacon, £4, 496 cals

A GOOD amount of filling and the flavours seem to have been nicely balanced here.

It feels very Christmassy with every bite you take.

If I had one complaint, though, I would maybe say the bacon was just a little too chewy for my liking.

I had to pick some out before finishing this sandwich and, for £4, I would have expected better than that.

RATING: 7

Asda – Jolly Festive Feast, £3, 555 cals

MORE malted bread with turkey, Cumberland pork sausage, mayo, cranberry and port sauce, pork, sage and onion stuffing and beechwood smoked bacon.

This sarnie also contained fried onions, which were a bit overpowering.

It’s a competitive price but wasn’t my favourite for flavour.

It packed too much filling, making it hard to eat without it going all over your face.

RATING: 5

Starbucks – Festive Feast Panini, £4.89, 530 cals

I DIDN’T think there was much inside this panini for the price – a festive feast it really is not.

The smoked bacon was lovely but there was not enough turkey and I struggled to taste the promised turkey gravy.

Not enough cranberry sauce and the ciabatta was heavy and bloating.

So, all in all, not great.

RATING: 4

Aldi – Turkey Feast £1.99, 511 cals

BACK for another festive season, Aldi’s turkey special packs a great flavour.

It really reminded me of tucking into a sumptuous Christmas dinner.

If I was being really picky, though, I would say it could have benefitted from some fresh ingredients – maybe a bit of vegetable in there.

But overall I did really enjoy tucking into this sandwich.

RATING: 9

Sainsbury’s Free From – Turkey Feast, £2.95, 455 cals

YOU could soon tell this was gluten-free, as the bread had a different texture.

It also felt a little drier.

That said, the turkey breast, pork, sage and onion stuffing and cranberry chutney were all delicious, so you quickly forgot the bread.

This is a real winner if you want a “free from” festive sarnie.

Sainsbury’s had a great variety of options for vegans and veggies too.

RATING: 7

By Amazon – Turkey Feast on Malted, £3.30, 533 cals

A LOVELY sandwich, this one, but it just didn’t have that Christmassy feeling – it could have been a regular turkey sandwich, really.

To be fair, there was a pretty good amount of filling – although this was a bit squashed toward the front on the packet and there was less of it to be found at the back.

RATING: 6