Plan your Christmas food shop early and save some money with our cash-saving tips
From stocking up to baking your goodies, there's countless ways to ensure that you're not overspending over the festive period
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IT’S never too early to plan your Christmas food shop – and the earlier you do it, the more you can save.
Follow these tips and you won’t end up a Christmas turkey.
- Start stocking up. Most big retailers do not have their festive range in store until the first week of November. But you don’t need to wait that long. Lots of shops already have offers on Chrimbo treats with long use-by dates, such as crisps, tins of chocolate, nuts and booze.Budget for one item a week and stash them in your cupboard. We have already spotted tubs of Quality Street and Heroes, which are usually £5 in Tesco, going at £7 for two. Tesco is also doing a box of McVitie’s Family Circle biscuits half-price at £2 and mulled wine for £3.50. Bargain.
SAVE: up to £6 - Don’t buy if you can bake. If you have flour, sugar and spices in your cupboard at home, try baking your own treats. You can do it well ahead of time and freeze them in batches. Try homemade mince pies, using Tesco mincemeat for £1. Or make cookies with Christmas-themed cutters. You can get a set of six from Hobbycraft for £3. Take savoury treats to the next level and wrap sausages with bacon and stuffing, which you can freeze and bake on the day.
SAVE: up to £10 - Get veg for pennies. Forget frozen spuds and sprouts. Wait to the last minute to snag bargain-basement fresh food instead. Last year’s price war between Tesco and Lidl pushed the cost of veg way down. Tesco’s carrots, parsnips, sprouts, cauliflower and potatoes were going for just 29p a bag in its Festive Five deal. A 1kg bag of carrots was slashed from 47p but the biggest discount was a 2.5kg bag of potatoes, down from £1.35. Lidl’s discounted veg — including carrots, parsnips and sprouts — was also just 29p a bag. But remember, there is no guarantee what you will find if you do leave it very late.
SAVE: up to £5 - Use comparison sites. Check mysupermarket.com to shop around and see which retailer has the best prices. Add the items you want to your online basket and it will compare the latest prices at Tesco, Asda, Ocado, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Poundland, Iceland, Aldi, Lidl, Amazon, Boots, Superdrug, Marks & Spencer and Poundstretcher. Then it will tell you where is cheapest for your list.
SAVE: up to 30 per cent - Make it a family affair. If friends and relatives are coming over, get them to bring something each, spreading the cost of your spread.
SAVE: £40 or more.
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ADD a pop of colour with the e.l.f. Opposites Attract Palette, a great option over the Urban Decay Born To Run Palette.
SAVE: £24.50
Deal of the day
TRY a new look with . A box of six full-size products at , worth £47.50, is £20.
SAVE: £27.50
Save a fiver
PREP smart with Russell Hobbs’ Food Collection Mini Chopper. Was £15, currently £9.99 at Sainsbury’s.
Reader's saving tip
JOAN STONE, of Bexley Heath in Kent, says: “I save the cellophane bags from occasion cards. They are ideal for making up gifts. Just tie with a bow or string.”
- Send your suggestions to sunsavers.co.uk/tips and get 28 codes, worth £5, if your tip is used. Please include your name and town.
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WE’VE teamed up with free online mortgage broker Habito to offer one lucky reader £15,000 towards their mortgage.
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Not a Sun Savers member? Go to sunsavers.co.uk or download the Sun Savers app to get involved.
- Terms and conditions: 18+ UK residents only (excludes IoM, Channel Islands). Code collect Sep 8 to 25, 2018. Entry closes Oct 8, 2018. Winner selected at random. T&Cs apply. For full T&Cs see .
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YOUR dream wedding can come true – thanks to Sun Savers.
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To be in with a chance of winning, you need TEN of the 18 Sun Savers codes, printed daily in The Sun from today to Tuesday, October 2.
After entering your codes via the Sun Savers app or website, head to the “Offers” section and click “Enter” on the “Win Your Wedding” section before midnight on Monday, October 15. Then you are in.
Not yet a Sun Savers member? Search for “Sun Savers” in the app store or register at sunsavers.co.uk. Just enter your name, date of birth and email address to get started.
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- Terms and conditions: Collect TEN Sun Savers codes from the 18 printed in The Sun between Saturday, September 15, and Tuesday, October 2, 2018. Last chance to join in is Sunday, September 23. Competition closes at 23:59pm on Monday, October 15. Over-18, UK residents only. One entry per person. Winner will be selected at random from all valid entries. There will be ONE winner of 1 x £27,000 cash. Allow seven days from entry closing for the draw to take place. Winner will then be notified within 14 days.
Please allow 28 days for receipt of prize. Prize is non-transferable. Your information will be used only for the purposes of this competition. Promoter is News Group Newspapers Ltd. Not open to staff of the Promoter and promotional partner or their families. The winner will be asked to participate in reasonable publicity relating to this competition. The Editor’s decision is final.
For winner details, send a stamped addressed envelope to News UK, Competitions Department, 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF, stating which competition you require details for.
Play now to win £15,000 on the Sun Savers Raffle
JOIN thousands of readers taking part in the new Sun Savers Raffle.
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To take part go to or open the Sun Savers app. Then opt in to each month’s Raffle by clicking “Yes!” when prompted and start collecting the Sun Savers codes printed daily in the paper.
Today’s code is on Page 20. Every time you scan or enter a code into Sun Savers, you get a Raffle ticket in the £15k Raffle.
Not yet a Sun Savers member? Just go to sunsavers.co.uk or find “Sun Savers” in the app store to get started.
- T&Cs apply. Full T&Cs at .
Fancy a free fiver?
YOU can get FREE cash with super Sun Savers just for buying your favourite paper.
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