What food are you buying on a budget this Xmas?

[Lottie4]

Just wondering what food others buy who need to keep food spending low at Xmas. Money is tight this year, but we'd still like a few treats and to feel it's Xmas. What do you buy for Xmas Day & Boxing Days meals etc, tea, snacks for guests?

We may have friends Xmas Eve and family one afternoon, so will do something snacky. We've got my Mum Xmas Day and mother-in-law Boxing Day (DH feels we should cook for her so need to think about two different meals and she has to have meat, nothing fancy).

So far I've bought some Lidl crusty bread to bake, Lidl Stollen cake, pickled onions (while on offer) and have got some Tesco value tortillas and nuts. Husband has been making some homemade wine (not sure what visitors will think, but that's what'll be on offer - actually it's not bad!).

Morrisons prosseco bought whilst on offer for 7 quid, because it's lush. We drink beer not wine, as Mr Tigga doesn't like it and I can't drink it after pushing a human being through my vagina. So I've been buying a few extra bottles per week from Aldi, we'll have about 10 bottles come Xmas and will still be drinking them well into the New Year. We're totes rock and roll in our house.

Xmas day will be chicken because there will just be 3 of us and there's always to much left over with turkey. Veg from our local market - lasts longer and is better value imnsho. There will be mince pies and choc but not to much. Mr Tigga and Cub will get a Santa and reindeer each from Aldi, no selection box this year as there's no value in them. We don't buy Nestle so 1 tub of chocs for 4 quid when they were on offer. I'll probably get the Aldi mint and orange sticks and thins because we don't do Nestle. Sausage meat stuffing because there would be riot if I didn't but it's homemade so doesn't cost a lot. Pigs in a blanket, home made because they get snaffled and they are to bloody expensive to buy ready made. Mini stollen, beware if you buy them because they are laced with crack cocaine and you will be addicted #fact

Boxing day will be left over Chrismas eve nibbles and Xmas day food.

I'll probably get a box of oranges from the market because Mr Tigga and Cub eat their own weight in fruit everyday.

I bought crackers last year in the sale for 10 p so they'll come out.

I'll probably get a box of broken biscuits from the market and a more expensive choc box from Aldi and mix them together, they last longer that way.

FeelingQuiteFestiveTiggaxx

In the past I went a bit mad thinking I needed ro buy x, y and z just because it was Christmas. We wouldn't eat half the stuff and I'd end up throwing it out in January because it would be gone out of date .

We're going to family on Christmas Day and St. Stephen's Day and then we've a family day out on the 27th. So we're both mindful of the fact that we won't be here much at Christmas and there's no point in filling our fridge and cupboards.

The main things we'll get are:-

Tayto crisps (obviously )

One or two nice cheeses and some crackers for nibbles while watching all those movies

Baileys

Cream (to go with the pudding MIL makes us each year)

Nuts

Breakfast ingredients for Christmas Day (bagels, sausages, pancetta and scrambled eggs)

One or two bottles of wine

One tin of sweets (not four or five!)

If you loiter in the fresh turkey aisle in sainsbos on Xmas eve about 6pm you'll get a turkey etc half price. They bring out trolleys full of fresh birds.