To ask how much you will spend on Christmas Day meal

[UnicornsAndLizards]

Just that really. Last year was the first time we've ever had family over to ours on Christmas Day (we had recently moved to a large house) and we went all and spent a fortune. We're hosting again this year and whilst I want the day to be special I don't want to go overboard and spend heaps on fancy food. We will be 7 adults, 1 of which is a vegan and no children. What is a reasonable budget to set?

£200-£300 for Christmas period (3 days) for 5 people including alcohol and treats. The alcohol is £60, meat about £60, the actual trimmings and meal is only about £30, alcohol and choc adds it up.

Surely no one wants a big buffet meal in the evening? I wouldn’t buy anything special for a separate meal, people can help themselves to turkey sandwiches, cheese & biscuits, pudding & mince pies.

We get a really good free range local turkey which costs us £60. Then our Christmas shop (for the whole week - the meal and all other meals and treats) cost an extra £120 on top. But that gives us leftovers to live on for weeks!

We find the Sainsbury’s £25 taste the difference whole frozen turkey brilliant - better than much more expensive other options we’ve had.
Veg and potatoes are from scratch so that’s just a few quid. Stuffing ditto (leftover nice bread, a pack is decent sausages). Then we’ve fed 8-10 people the ‘main’ for well under £50, all very delicious and lots of it.

Then starters, canapés, wines, puddings, cheese etc are where it gets as pricey or cheap as you like. So depending whether our guests are bringing anything and how flush/broke we’re feeling, there might be home made chicken liver pate or there might be fancy smoked trout. There might be a Lidl Deluxe stilton or a blow-out at the British cheese deli. And champagne, sweet wine etc or just a couple of bottles of supermarket red.

My top tip is to cook enough for the day not enough for a week’s worth of leftovers! You can more than double the cost by assuming everyone wants to eat everything, that people can manage as much meat with five sides as they would with only one side, that they can manage a whole pudding portion after they’ve had starters and a big roast, etc.

You are well within the bounds of acceptability to ask 7 adults ( the working age ones / not teenagers I mean ) to bring something to contribute. Wine cheese pud the crackers cake etc.
I would not have a problem asking the Vegan to bring their main either.
I go full on all out catering for Christmas often over 2 or 3 days. I couldn’t cope without delegating.
Getting Someone who is a fantastic gravy maker to bring that is one of the best helps I’ve ever had.

We’ve done the ridiculous spending in the past and realised how daft we were. There is a limit as to how much anyone can eat at one meal. Yes we buy good quality food but it is at the end of the day a roast dinner.

Echoing Parker I understand people want to spoil themselves and loved ones. But there's a limit on what people can eat, and buying to excess means so much is wasted or unused.

We have a late breakfast then a late afternoon feast, so no need for another meal. All my dcs are teens and love really good food. Plus PILS, also foodies.

In the past I've done a big chicken roast which was also fine when kids were too excited to eat much.

Now we have cocktails, a starter, beef main course and puddings and cheese and lots of different wines. We all look forward to it all year and i enjoy cooking it. I've never really added it up but it probably costs £300. We have ham on xmas eve then boxing day and day after is strictly leftovers and a huge Turkey and cranberry pie with lots of pickles.

Oh, and the starter. Someone can make that and bring it along too.

No idea really but in the region of £100 i would say. We host our in laws each year - they bring a bottle of fizz (which is usually a gift from a great aunty) and a bottle of wine. We have hosted them for years but they never offer any more than this.

I think because when they used to make xmas dinner it was essentially sunday dinner, no starter and the only pud they would buy was those mini xmas puds (one) and that was it. My dh like most kids didn't like xmas pud so they got used to not buying a big one but I couldn't understand why they never bought something else as well - not how i was brought up. I did Christmas dinner at theirs twice then refused to do it again 😂

There are 4 of us and we are having Christmas Day at Miller & Carter
So £80 a head for a 5 course meal
Expensive but we did the same last year and it was worth it

Just what we would normally spend on a Sunday meal. 🤷‍♀️

Reading some of these posts I can see that the true meaning of Christmas is how much money you can spend to look rich and posh

Another vote for getting people to contribute. Try and tailor it to them as much as you can. So, e.g. MIL likes to do the Christmas Eve meal which frees me up to do the prep for Christmas Day, the bakers make the pudding/cake/mince pies, the sibling who lives in Switzerland takes the chocolates, the farmer takes the veg, the wine buff takes the wine, the younger adults take the crackers/sort out games, the children (or the calligraphy fan) do placecards for everyone, someone willing irons the napkins and tablecloth. I do the starters and main.

Cripes. What an obscene amount of money some spend. There's 4 of us (me and 3dc) and we are all veggie. I've costed it out to £20 for the day including drinks. Ds wants pancakes for breakfast (dds away until the afternoon), dinner is Yorkshire puddings, stuffing, roast potatoes, roast carrots, roast parsnips, peas, broccoli, veggie gravy, cranberry sauce. I'll make pudding but normally we are too full to eat it. We drink shloer with dinner and I got that half price for £1 ages ago. Dinner will be around 5pm so we might have a sandwich for lunch. Or crackers. I remember how much my parents used to make and how much got wasted and that is probably why we keep it simple. The specialness comes from setting the table all festive and fancy and the Christmas themed cake I make. We just can't eat that much in one day.

£250-300 for 10-12 of us but recently my guests have contributed £50 a couple

@ahhgoongoongoonhaveacupoftea👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

I cant believe how much people spend on food neither. Id be sick of eating by the end of the festive season. No wonder people diet in January 😂😂😂

I stopped 'doing' Christmas about 15 years ago (so before it was fashionable ) at least partly because I found the excessive consumption a bit grim. This thread has reminded me how I came to that conclusion.

Have done both. I now do reasonable. By shopping mainly at Aldi. Which is half the price or more of M and S and just as nice, if not nicer.

^I have tried both and Aldi food is nowhere near as nice as M&S

Frouby please add me to your waiting list

Hooting at the ironing of the napkins - sorry, but I am. How the other half live eh?

Christmas is the only time I get the iron out-for the tablecloth and napkins. I might treat myself to some new napkin rings this year.

M and S order has just come to about £120 (for five of us). That covered all of main meal (except starter which will be smoked salmon bits) and a cold meat platter and cake for evening meal (will prob get nice cheese and pork pie too). We have wine already, get a free bottle with our order and dps will bring some. We'll be eating the leftovers for 2/3 days after so I don't think it's too bad!

People do Christmas differently shocker. I love Christmas and I work bloody hard all year and want to enjoy my two weeks off. Enjoyment for me is having the best food I can afford (used to work in Michelin restaurants so it’s the norm now!) and having a good time with my friends and family.

It doesn’t make you a better person if you spend 27p per person or £500. It’s just how you enjoy Christmas. Op was just asking for budgets anyway, no need to drag people down for how they spend their money.

Not too much I've saved with Asda Christmas club so have £130 so far would like to get up to £150 but that will go on gifts too .
The expense is turkey & alcohol, potatoes & veg is cheap and don't supermarkets sell really cheap like 20p for carrots just before Christmas?
Dessert everyone too full so get mince pies , Xmas cake but no one has them after Christmas lunch . Evening buffet , turkey sandwiches, crisps more alcohol .
I don't think I'd spend more than £70 .

Yep, we go all out. There is almost no waste either as I've done it for years and know exactly what will and won't get eaten. I used to cook professionally so it's my treat to myself to do this plus everyone else benefits.

My dcs look forward to it all year! I'd hate to go anywhere else as I know noone in our family would do it as well as I do