Roughly how much should I budget for Christmas dinner?

[NoCapes]

I'm hosting for the first time properly this year and I'm just trying to set budgets to put money away for the rest of the year and realise I haven't a clue how much it will all cost

I realise it's a little bit of a 'how long is a piece of string' question, but how much do you usually spend?

I'll be hosting 9 adults and 4 kids aged between 2 & 9 and was hoping to do it for around £150 including booze - am I way off with that number?

It can be as much or as little as you like.

You could do it for £150. Can often get 6 bottles of wine for a reasonable price close to christmas.

The next big expense is meat..

Are you having a starter? Etc

When hosting Christmas I usually ask people to bring wine. That brings the cost down but i still get some in

A decent turkey can easily cost over £100 for that many people, or you can get a frozen one from Lidl.

Well we spend £150 on a normal weekly shop.

We get the Christmas turkey frozen, from Tesco. About £35. Then a ham, on the bone, £30 ish.

But we spend loads on puddings, side dishes, cheese, drinks, crackers, the tree and decorations, gifts and wrapping...

Plus the usual weekly shop.

£100 just for a turkey? Wow!

I wasn't planning on doing a starter, just a main with two meats (turkey and beef I think) and choice of a couple of puddings

Two of the guests won't be drinking (one pregnant and one with a very very newborn) the parents of the younger kids won't be having a lot and my Nan usually just has a glass with dinner then back on tea, so if I could get a good deal on 6 bottles I think that'd be plenty with a crate of beer thrown in for the men folk

...the £100 turkey has worried me now though

Ah £35 phosphorus that's more the price I was going for

I go to my local butcher and get a rolled turkey crown stuffed or not bacon wrapped or not, for under 25 30 quid and could easily serve all those people. I wouldn't go turkey bird. Maybe a crown and a baked ham.

Lidls doing their own presecco 3quid. Bottle as of Thursday,

You can get something far cheaper than that! Especially if you buy frozen. If you're doing two meats, maybe just get a crown plus the joint of beef?

You'll need pigs in blankets, stuffing etc.

I reckon I could bring it in for £150 for the day given a bit of time online ordering it all.

Do you have any Nectar points? They tend to do a double up in November so you can get £40 towards Finest booze for £20 of points.

No idea on quality, but here's the type of thing you could consider: groceries.iceland.co.uk/iceland-100-large-british-turkey-crown-2-6kg-3-kg/p/63903

(Iceland gets good reviews for its Christmas food.)

I think you could do it for £150 esp if you go down the frozen route but I think it would be tight. But then we always have way too much food and we traditionally have a 'tea' as well which bumps up the £££. And a lot of booze.

Could you ask people to bring things on order to get the cost down? If you do the main meal and others bring puddings, snacks and some alcohol, would that help?

We do Christmas for 7 adults and 3 children. We get most of our stuff from local shops -

£75 meat pack from the butcher. Turkey, sausage meat (for stuffing), ham, bacon, pigs in blankets. More than enough.

£35 veg box from local greengrocers. Eating veg for weeks out of that! We have for Christmas dinner whatever appears in that.

Christmas pudding from Aldi. Ditto pate for starters. Supermarket cheese board which I eat over the next week

We buy booze from Sainsbury's when they do their double your nectar points events or when things are on special offer.

So I reckon we spend about £150.

I already have crackers - I buy them in January and store them away

For £100 i'd want a magic turkey! If you have some butchers near you speak to them. If you tell them what kind of thing and for how many people youre cooking for the might be able to give you some prices and pre order. The one i go sometime lets you pay in advance for xmas meats so it makes things a bit easier cos you can spread the cost! I also find you get better quality for your money at a butchers than a supermarket, but def nothing wrong with a frozen one from aldi either!

I know some people would be horrified at the thought but iceland do good desserts at xmas that are really good value. I quite often get something like a massive gataux but spend a bit more on good quality ice cream.

And for booze, if you can start buying a bottle of wine every other week from now till then you'll have a good stock by xmas without feeling the hit quite as much in the big shop!

I think you could do it for £150 but it might be a bit tight. I usually cook for 4 adults 1 teenager and 3 children and I budget for around £200 for the whole meal but we are pigs and have way too much food. £150 would be okay if you buy frozen everything.

I agree, buy booze over the next few months and you'll be fine. I would say you can get the meat you need for 85 max including sausages and that leaves you a fair amount for desserts etc.

I've got last year's Morrisons Christmas food catalogue. Tell me what you want to serve and I'll cost it for you.

I had a spare copy and shoved it in the drawer and then forgot about it. I love Christmas but not so much that I'd keep an out of date food brochure - honest guv.

That's just tiding you over until this year's M&S offering, Woolly, just admit it!

This thread has got me very excited for Christmas!!

can easy do it on that budget i think its lidl are doing 6 bottles of procecco for £20 around now maybe give it a quick google.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.thesun.co.uk/living/4277200/lidl-prosecco-offer-allini-weekend-offers/amp/

Maybe get them and go to somewhere like home and bargains and spend another £20 on booze spirts are going to eat your budget right up so would stick to maybe fruit fusion largers and wines.

£110 left for food. We dont like turkey but i always get a frozen bung in the oven type joint but places like aldi do three bird roasts at christmas quite cheap and they are lovely. Or maybe a turkey crown? the veggies are all on offer christmas week at asda my potatoes were 29p last year along with carrots and sprouts. I always makes "pigs in duvets" I call them because they are huge and everyone only needs one i get Richmond sausages and wrap in in streaky bacon. They are so good!

I do this soup for christmas day starter

allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/29686/simple-lentil-and-bacon-soup.aspx and blend it so its smooth we have only a small amount. Its so so cheap to make and tastes amazing!

Pudding mince pies are a must so much nicer homemade aswell although icelands and morrisons mince pies are lovely too. A trifle i make eton mess trifle for boxing day make a normal trifle top with cream as normal and just before serving i crush loads of merirnges and winter berries and icing sugar. Christmas pudding is a classic. Then maybe some chocolatey cake or maybe choc covered fruit?

Cheese board might get pricey too so buy cheeses individually rather than a pricey ready made board.

I love christmas and love cooking the dinner can you tell

You certainly could host for that budget, but in my honest opinion, you'd probably be compromising on quality. Last year, I cooked lunch for 7 grown-ups and 1 child, then had 16 over for a buffet tea (I love hosting). I'd ordered a case of 18 bottles of wine from Laithwaites for about £150, then bought a bottle of champagne and spirits on top (not all consumed on Christmas Day I might add). We cooked turkey and. Gammon joint for lunch and spent about £60 on both. I bought fresh veg and made own puddings, roasties etc. The buffet was a bigger expense - I bought a couple of prepared salads etc from the M&S Christmas food brochure, then added lots of other bits and bobs. It was probably about £350 in total, including the wine and spirits. I tend to start a Christmas food cupboard and from around October, buy something each week with my weekly shop to put away.

I would probably spend, to feed 9 adults and 4dcs:

Arrival nibbles & drinks (nuts/crisps/beer/prosecco) - £15.

Ingredients for soup plus bread rolls - £10.

Turkey probably £50-70 depending on where from/size.

Pigs in blankets, stuffing, cranberry etc £25.(everyone likes lots).

Potatoes, carrots, parsnips, sprouts £10-15.

I get prosecco for around £8/bottle so maybe 5 of those.

Christmas pudding, ingredients for white sauce, profiteroles for those who don't like Christmas pudding - £12ish.

Crackers £10.

Boxes of chocs for snacking, cheese & biscuits, grapes etc £15-20 depending on cheese.

Probably £200 in total depending - you could get cheaper crackers, wine or prosecco deals etc and a cheaper turkey or smaller turkey crown which has less wasted bits. So you're not far off with £150 especially if someone brings a bottle or offers to bring pudding or nibbles etc.

Oh and I'd keep the main meal simple. Last year on top of the above I also did cheese cauliflower, red cabbage (my dad likes it!) pulled onions and various other bits and nibs, hardly any of which got eaten. The main draws seemed to be the turkey, pigs in blankets and potatoes

I was disappointed my cauliflower didn't get snapped up more took me ages!

(Pickled onions)

Iceland usually do a deal.If you spenda €100, you get a tent.Whichwe used for New Year and it was lovely.

Also usually do a turkey and all the trimmings relatively cheap.

I think Icelands party food is the best.And no I don't work for them😂😂

Tent should read turkey.

We always have capon it's really tasty, that and beef