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?

Also trade in any cashback & supermarket money off vouchers to offset the cost.

I've gathered a giant box of old household items, kids toys etc for the car boot sale next week. I'm going to buy supermarket vouchers from any profits from that.

Nope £4. One child doesn't eat, the other two have a showing of meat, MIL doesn't eat much and plenty for DH and me.

www.sainsburys.co.uk/shop/gb/groceries/turkey-44/sainsburys-just-cook-roast-butter-basted-turkey

If I did need more meat plenty of places do a larger frozen one for about £6 tops.

Ah. All ours are teens and love nice food. They didnt eat much when they were little.

I don't set a budget but I expect it will be at least 100 euros (2 adults, 2 children), probably more. But we will be eating the leftovers for the next few days so I won't have to buy dinner stuff for those days so I guess it balances out. I'm tempted to order some British christmassy food online though which would then add at least another 100 what with postage and all.

I’ve got two big hosting events in December for 25 and 20 people and I’m not expecting much change from £150 for each one.

BentNeckLady

I'm impressed you can cater for such a low amount per person. Does that include drinks, and if so any budgeting tips?

Probably about £400, thankfully my dad gives us about £100 towards it and he buys the dessert. It’s expensive but it’s the one day we all get together and we like to put a good meal out (about 13 for dinner).

6 adults and 1 child roughly £250...we have salmon and prawns to start,,then turkey and beef and veggies n pigs in blankets etc then dessert or rather desserts!!! then coffee and mints and mince pies.There is no alcohol in that as we don't drink much but we do have a bottle of champagne with the starters! The best bit though is the left overs of which there is lots all packaged up and sent to various houses!

No there won’t be any drinks involved - I don’t drink so I’ve told everyone to bring their own!

Pretty much 0 spent.
Turkey- DS was successful and shot 2 wild turkeys this year
Salmon- DH caught one
Veg- all home grown
Wine- will be my homemade mead

Where do you live that has wild turkeys?

@UnicornsAndLizards

What's your cooking like? I'm going on the basis that you can make decent veg side dishes, Yorkshires, good roasties and don't have to buy prepped stuff.

We buy good meat. This year our turkey and gammon will be approx £150. We buy good chipolatas too. Nice wine adds a hefty chunk too.

The rest of the main? Comes from Lidl. I think their fresh fruit and veg is unrivalled. Sprouts are £1 or so. Bag of potatoes, £2. Cabbage 80p. Carrots 50p. Parsnips, broccoli, cauliflower and it all comes in under a tenner by far.

I get the pancetta, shallots, fresh herbs, cranberries from there as well for making the accompaniments. Pennies again.

I'm more excited at how much I get in Lidl for £50 than I am at the lovely (but costly) meat centrepieces.

Around £250 to £300 for food for 6 to 8 adults (some new couples in the group, not sure if they'll bring their partners). Also, two babes in arms and one toddler, who will probably fill up on chocolate and cake.

Last year it was just us and the dcs, so spent around an extra £50 on the normal shop adding a small turkey and a few extra trimmings, plus some christmassy pudding options (no actual Christmas pud as none of us like it). This year we are hosting the in laws so will have to do it "properly" (sigh). Think last time we did this the weekly food order was an extra £150.

I’ve not costed it out as a separate meal before but Xmas food shop is usually around £200. That doesn’t include alcohol as I’ll use my Sainsbury double up nectar points for their Taste the difference range and get that next week. My dps usually bring a turkey crown.

6 for Xmas (4 cults, one teen and one dc) dinner plus adult DSS later that day or next.

I’ve just looked at the cost of the local Miller and Carter, £72.95/adult and £37.95/child, drinks on top of that. Dp thinks it’s a rip off and whilst I tend to agree with him I quite fancy it for a relaxing change.

I'm a bit scared to add it up tbh!

Main course is fairly inexpensive: We're going for the M&S vegan roast with sausages which is £12 I think then maybe another £20 of vegetables.

Have been stocking up on wine and nice snacks over the past couple of months so cost is spread out. But wine is the main cost here as we don't eat meat!

4 adults, not 4 cults!

@BentNeckLady

We live in Maine

I'm catering for 10 people.
I haven't bought anything yet, but I'm roughly estimating Christmas dinner itself will cost me £15 a head for adults (half that for children), including pudding, but not including drinks.
But some of them are vegetarian; if they were all having meat, I'd budget £20 a head.

I was worried about overspending so I've made a list. I've planned our meals for the 24th -26th and i was realistic about what We will all eat - my non-British in-laws don't pick so there's no point to do an expensive buffet spread and this will save me a fortune. I've got all of the stuff to make mincemeat and a Christmas cake and a trifle plus the trimmings like bread sauce, pigs in blanket and stuffing (I don't live in the U.K. so had to get them while in the U.K. recently - my hand luggage caused some amusement in the scanner at airport security )
I refuse to go overboard and buy loads of those freezer packs and tubs of chocolates and expensive deserts that we don't need - they easily mount up the cost and you just feel like crap after eating them tbh! I could have saved money by not making a cake and buying jars of mincemeat so I'm not being frugal but I just refuse to spend hundreds on one meal they won't even end up tasting like I did!

I don't buy anything ready made. Expensive, particularly if they are in any way nice, and mainly disgusting.

I don't buy anything ready made. Expensive, particularly if they are in any way nice, and mainly disgusting.

Even staples like mince pies?

You’re right trewser but we can afford it, and after an unfortunate nigella incident one year where I was apparently impossible to live with for several days (and spent a fortune) I’m banned from doing Xmas dinner from scratch. Dh only gets Xmas day off usually and I don’t want him spending it all in the kitchen. So m n s it is.

I still make my own cake/mince pies etc. Just not the meal.

We normally have dp's 2 adult children staying for about a week.
So total is 4 adults with the possibility that there is a 5th on Christmas Day so I make sure there is enough Christmas meal for 5.

So we do a meal plan and Iv worked out that the Christmas meal (not dessert) plus 3/4 days meals and lunches plus alcohol and snacks work out to be about 150-200. but we don't buy meat because Dp gets a joint or turkey or beef from his work

on top of that there are normally one takeaway (curry or chipshop) and one proper meal out and I normally order a desert or cake and something like macaroons or fancy gravy from m&s or Morrisons etc separately which I pick up and pay for on Xmas eve and that is separate from the food budget.

So i budget for the entire holiday week probably 350 but I never spend as much as that! It especially doesn't cost that if we don't go out for a meal as obviously that alone can be 70-100 for 4 adults in a restaurant.

I know that's more information than you asked but lots of the elements of the meal like veg, sausage meat, turkey etc become elements in the proceeding meals so it's hard to work out just Christmas dinner alone.

No budget but have same every 2nd year. 3 meat eaters, one vegan, one vegetarian. Beef in red wine cooked in slow cooker (posh stew) so can take with me and doesn't need oven space or cooked in vegans home. Ready made pastry all round. Carrots, peas, sprouts all straight cooked and melted butter added to meat eaters portions. Nut roast for the vegetarian. Roast potatoes done in actifry. No starter and pudding is ice cream and fruit or trifle. Not the most culinary event but just easier all round.