From frozen turkey to DIY gin, bloggers share their top tips on how to save money on Christmas dinner
Brits are expected to spend a huge £216 on their festive feast this year but these bloggers reckon they can shave £45 off your bill
IF anyone knows how to save some cash on their Christmas dinner it's money bloggers.
Brits are expected to spend a huge £216 on their festive feast this year so we're taking all of the money saving tips we can get.
From buying the ingredients frozen to making your own gin, these are the tried and tested tips and tricks that will help you keep hold of your cash over the festive period.
We spoke to six money bloggers who reckon they can shave £45 off your food and drinks bill, from swapping the turkey for chicken to using supermarkets' own-brands.
Tip: Save £9 with a frozen bird and make £1 meals with leftovers
Limahl Asmall, 33,
The most expensive part of the Christmas dinner is the bird, so if you find yourself throwing away leftover turkey each year, either go for a smaller and cheaper bird or plan how you’re going to use up the leftover turkey.
A frozen bird is cheapest, with Iceland’s frozen turkey beating birds almost three times more expensive in taste tests.
Extra turkey can make an additional two to three meals using up the leftovers, which can cost £1 a dish.
Quick curries, turkey and vegetable pies, and flash stir-fries are all good and cheap ways to use up turkey, using low-cost supermarket veg.
A delicious country soup can be made by frying onion, garlic and thyme in butter, before cooking potatoes and pearl barley in chicken or turkey stock, and lastly adding chopped carrots, shredded turkey and frozen peas.
Tip: Save £4 by making your own fancy flavoured gin
Fiona Hawkes, 31,
Fancy flavoured gins are all the rage at the moment but they also come with a hefty price tag.
Try making your own DIY versions by adding fruit or flavoured syrup your usual brand of gin.
While a bottle of Gordon's pink gin costs £16, you can actually get a strawberry flavoured syrup from Asda for £1.75, and own brand gin for £10.50.
You might only be saving £3.75 on the first bottle but the syrup will last you more than one bottle.
I'd also recommend opting for a budget version of popular spirits available at the supermarkets.
I love to make Snowballs at Christmas and Lidl's own brand Aadvocat is half the price of the real thing and tastes exactly the same.
Tip: Save £100 a year by downshifting your brands
Laura Light, 33,
Downshifting is when you swap your normal branded items for the supermarket’s own brand.
You start at the bottom with the cheapest brands and work your way up, stopping when you’ve found something you like.
On some products you may like the cheapest, where as with others it could be one or two brands in the middle price band.
Things like cranberry sauce, gravy, stuffing mixture all can be downshifted because they pretty much all taste the same.
Of course, it depends on the size of your shop but over the year this trick saves me at least £100.
Tip: Save £15 by comparing the price of your meat
Jane Berry, 55,
I don’t eat meat so I will be settling down to a vegetarian Christmas dinner but the rest of the family do.
I am absolutely positive that the price of a roast goes up at this time of the year so it makes sense to compare prices of meat online before you order.
It's worth checking out your local butcher or farm shop as well because they might be able to offer you a better price than the supermarkets.
You can save around £15 on meat for Christmas Day for a family of four or five by comparing prices first.
Tip: Save £17 by swapping the turkey for chicken
Ricky and Naomi Wilson, 40, and 35,
A fresh whole turkey is expensive so to cut costs look to go frozen or just get the crown, or for even more savings, stick with a chicken as it can be cheaper and even juicier.
A 4.5kg turkey is around £25. But if you switch to two whole chickens for a similar weight, it'd cost around £8, saving you £17.
Tip: Save money by doing the maths
Kara Gammell, 39,
If you are having the traditional turkey this year, buying the right sized bird will help to prevent waste and save you a packet.
A 2kg (4.4lbs) bird will feed three to four people, for instance, while a 3kg (6.6lbs) bird will feed five to six people and so on.
To reduce the amount of produce that you throw in the bin, use a handy online portion planner such as to make sure you cook just the right amount of veg.
MOST READ IN MONEY
Christmas shoppers have slammed the supermarkets for running out of delivery slots hours after they were made available.
Meanwhile, a mum has shared a very sneaky tip for guaranteeing free delivery on her online shopping, but not everyone thinks it's ethical.
As of last month, Londoners can get Aldi delivered to their door, but there's a catch.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Money team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 78 24516. Don't forget to join the for the latest bargains and money-saving advice.