NOW CLOSED Talk to Aldi about shopping for Christmas bargains and be in with a chance of winning a £100 voucher

[TheOtherHelenMumsnet]

Aldi are gearing up for Christmas with loads of bargains on their website - they'd love Mumsnetters to check out what's on offer then come back to this thread and give their feedback. Please visit the website here.

Are you an Aldi shopper already? If so, are you planning to do your full Xmas shop there, or will you pick up specific bits and pieces from there? What's the best bargain you've ever picked up from Aldi?

If you've never shopped at Aldi before, why? Is there anything on the website that has convinced you to give it a go?

Also, Aldi would love to hear your top tips on how to bag a Christmas bargain, or any other genius money-saving tips you have, so please do share here.

Everyone who posts their comments on this thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 voucher to spend in store.

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw
MNHQ

Most of my Christmas shopping is from Aldi and has been for many, many years.

However I have to say that in recent years the Christmas products have become a bit anglicised and I've wandered across to their main rival for a better range of german products (wider range of lebkuchen, better range of cakes and chocolates, etc) Sorry Aldi but it was the vast range of continental Christmas items that sucked me in in the first place and you've reduced them a LOT from perhaps 10 years ago.

I will be buying something special in the meat line from Aldi this year as it's not my turn to host Christmas and we have our own special family meal on another day. I've had the three bird roast in the past and it went down well but I'm undecided at the moment. I'll probably make my mind up in store. Otherwise I'll be buying mince pies and stollen, and a variety of cakes and biscuits for visitors, chocolate and sweets for stockings and gifts, cold meats and cheeses and as much veg as I can can carry.

My best bargain from you - not sure. I've bought plenty of really excellent quality items from your specials aisle in the past but seeing as they were impulse buys and I didn't need them I'm not sure they were bargains :)

I'll carry on shopping at Aldi for sure because quality and price is definitely right up my street but I do regret the reduction in the 'german' feel of the store over the years. Quite a few of my favourites seem to have made way for UK type products that you can get anywhere :(

I shop at Aldi a lot. I get butter, OJ, milk and bread twice a week. The fresh fruit and veg is great and very reasonably priced. The Mac red apples (just back in season) are my favourite thing! I will probably do most of my xmas food shop there.

The big bars of honeycomb swiss milk chocolate at the tills are the BOMB. I will be buying them as stocking fillers and hopefully I will manage not to eat them all myself

I already shop at Aldi and have been doing so for about 3 years now after reading loads of people raving about their products on MoneySavingExpert.com. I totally LOVE Aldi and have been encouraging everyone within earshot to give it a try for ages. I do my weekly shop there and average about £50 pw which includes booze and treats

I will be doing my full Christmas shop there - I have done it for the last two Christmases so I know more or less what I'll be getting. We bought a fresh turkey two years ago which was fantastic, but missed out last year as I left it too late and they sold out in all 4 Aldis that are nearby. I will also be buying their Irish Cream and loads a few bottles of the Prosecco DOCG which is amazing. I also noticed Aldi are stocking beef rib in the lead up to Christmas so will probably get one of those for Sunday dinner before/after Christmas. Ooh, I also will be getting some frozen prawns (both jumbo and large) and pate for Christmas Day starters

I've never shopped at aldi because there isn't one near me, which is strange because I live in a very big town which has all the other major shops you can think of and I've always thought aldi would go down a storm round here.

Looking at the website it looks mega cheap though, so I am very tempted. I know other mumsnetters have posted before about how good it is, so I might make the longer trip to have a look at what's on offer.

I heart Aldi. Good products available to people regardless of their income.

Are you an Aldi shopper already?

No, I shop at Lidl and Waitrose

If you've never shopped at Aldi before, why?

because I assume the fruit and veg would not be top quality (Lidl fruit and veg is very good and cheap), but maybe I am wrong? Also, I am not sure it would be really cheap, or just smaller packets and worse quality??

Is there anything on the website that has convinced you to give it a go?
Not really. Things that make me go to Lidl are the chocolate covered gingerbread in large boxes, the stollen (yours has cherry liquor in it so I could not give yours to the children) and good frozen party food, cheap yet good beer. Your yorkshire puds are 99p for 4, even in Waitrose they are cheaper than that!

Also, Aldi would love to hear your top tips on how to bag a Christmas bargain, or any other genius money-saving tips you have, so please do share here.

Christmas Bargain: sorry, can't think of any! Other than buying things that last in large quantities.

I LOVE Aldi

I will be getting most of our christmas shop there this year - I am tempted to try the 3 bird roast for Christmas dinner this year as there is only the four of us.

I can't think of one outstanding bargain I have got there - I always get the fruit and veg that's on offer though.

My top tip for keeping costs down for christmas is don't buy loads of extra stuff just because it's christmas. I don't usually eat crisps and nuts in the evening - why would I want to when I am stuffed with Christmas dinner?

Are you an Aldi shopper already? If so, are you planning to do your full Xmas shop there, or will you pick up specific bits and pieces from there? What's the best bargain you've ever picked up from Aldi?

I have been shopping at Aldi for the last few months having switched from Tesco. I love everything about it - it's all great quality and incredibly cheap. Very quick to do the shop. Best bargain was a pack of scissors - sounds stupid but there were four pairs and they were very good value and they're tough and are lasting brilliantly.
I don't really do a christmas shop as such but will definitely be getting chocolate reindeer, art stuff etc for the kids' stockings.

My top Christmas bargain tip is as per previous poster. Think about what you will REALLY need. We're flat broke though, so perhaps I would be more extravagent if we were richer...

I like their Parmiggiano- better than Waitrose, La Formageria and other high end priced brands.

I buy Aldi Olive Oil regularly, their French ham in the wide packaging, Frikadellen, and the bags of £3-5 tuna, catfish (Basa) and salmon steaks which are wonderful value and perfectly decent quality.

Christmas wise, the Lebkuchen and Stollen are good and should be due to their German roots and although we make a lot of Christmas Puddings for F&F, we always buy a couple of Aldi ones because they taste wonderful and have been very highly rated by chefs- not that I need a chef to tell me what to buy! The Florentines look lovely and I always buy their mini Brioche buns although would like to see the individual wrappings abandoned as very wasteful.

I may buy a goose this year as we only have a few for lunch this year and the Aldi one is very well priced.

And thank you for your brilliantly priced cereals- Our son gets through more cereal than a colony of Hamsters and only having to pay 1:49 or so for Muesli and £1 for other cereals makes such a difference.

My DH prefers the smoked salmon to any other brand including Forman&Field and the price is incredibly low for the excellent quality and you get more than a paltry slivers unlike Waitrose brands.

Aldi maple syrup is an incredible bargain when you see other stores charging up to £5 a bottle for no better quality. I like being able to buy other American products too from time to time as well as niche European brands that I recognise from my Fathers local french supermarket.

I haven't tried the Aldi cat food on my cat. Has anybody got any comments about it?

I would be happy to put Aldi products into food hamper gifts for friends. Should anyone spot the colour coded silicon/plastic chopping mats then snap them up! Mine have lasted 6 years and still going strong.

I shop at Aldi occasionally. It's not our closest or most easy to get to Supermarket but I am a complete convert to their nappies and baby wipes so I do a trip over there once a month or so to stock up. I try to make sure I go on a special deals day and got some good running bits from there a little while ago. My latest bargain was a good, thick bike lock and some flashing, high viz arm bands for night running.

We love Aldi's butter with salt crystals and the sandwich meats and pasta can be good too. I've found veg a little hit and miss at our store so tend to avoid that now and we had a really nasty tomato and pancetta pasta sauce a little while ago too. The face cream brings me out in spots which was a disappointment as it was very highly recommended.

I will be popping over to Aldi for Christmas food. We get Good Food magazine and quite a few of their recommended "Best buys" are from Aldi but I will be buying most of our food from Tesco I should think as I have two small children and being able to have it delivered is a real plus during the Christmas rush. We have the Delivery Saver there too so I'll get first dibs on delivery slots which will help.

For Christmas bargains - I always start shopping in November and use sites like HotUKDeals and CamelCamel to keep track of prices and find the best prices for the things I need to buy. A list is very helpful to keep track of what's been bought so you don't go over the top and I always try to stick to a budget.

Are you an Aldi shopper already?
No, I have never been into an Aldi

If you've never shopped at Aldi before, why? Is there anything on the website that has convinced you to give it a go?
It is quite a way away from us so I wouldn't travel there to do a normal weekly shop. I didn't know they did all sorts of things so I may keep an eye on the website in case something comes up to tempt me across. I will also make a list on what to buy there based on the comments here.

Also, Aldi would love to hear your top tips on how to bag a Christmas bargain, or any other genius money-saving tips you have, so please do share here.
I shop online for most things to save money. Why buy it on the high street when you can get it half price if you search online.

i have shopped at an aldi once and it was ok good deals on fruit and veg, but there are none particularly close to me and as far as i know they do not have and on line facility so they are not overly convenient.

I'm a very rare aldi shopper. I usually go in to stock up on lasagne sauce. We have to pay for parking at our store, it is refunded but it's a bit of a hassle so it's easyer to go to other stores. The biscuit tins, chocolate coins and meat all look good on your website and at a good price!
My only advice is to not buy chocolate and treats too early in December as they will get eaten!

do my main shop at Aldi

xmas treats will be the aldi version of asti spumante and baileys........yummy

Are you an Aldi shopper already? If so, are you planning to do your full Xmas shop there, or will you pick up specific bits and pieces from there? What's the best bargain you've ever picked up from Aldi?

I live in the town beginning with "A" where Aldi have their HQ and a shiny new store, so Aldi is part of everyday life round here! I shop there most weeks but not for my main shop because I need to do that in one hit and get it delivered, and normally need products not in Aldi's core range. When I was on maternity leave and had more time, I did my main shop in Aldi and adjusted the menu to suit. I'll buy almost anything from Aldi, meat, fruit, veg, dairy, nearly all our cereals, it's all great. "Digger" bars are universal in school lunchboxes in this area. I also go there specially to get face cream, non foods like bin bags and dishwasher tabs, make up, the Super 6, flowers and occasionally special buys.

Money is a bit tight this Christmas so yes I might see if I can split my shop and get things from Aldi first and top up at another supermarket.

Best bargain - hard to say, I've had some NOT bargains, the dubious Tevion electrical equipment for example!. Probably the Lacura day cream at £1.99 - as good as OLAY if only it had a SPF15 sunscreen (are you listening?)

If you've never shopped at Aldi before, why? Is there anything on the website that has convinced you to give it a go? .. N/A

Also, Aldi would love to hear your top tips on how to bag a Christmas bargain, or any other genius money-saving tips you have, so please do share here.

Christmas bargain - be focussed and buy only what you need, don't over cater but what you do get, get the best you can. Don't worry too much about the commercial side and remember to appreciate your nearest and dearest. Having said that I've just looked at the price of the Aldi Christmas turkeys and maybe will go there instead of the rather expensive local butcher!

Everyone who posts their comments on this thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 voucher to spend in store.

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw

Best bargains from Aldi, apart from the booze (main reason we shop there),

would be the household goods: loo roll, laundry detergent, cat food (which

they love, btw) etc.

But, ah, it's all good. I go in with a list of ten items, and I

come out with a trolley full of lovelies. I also, usually, come out smiling.

We do the majority of our shopping at Aldi. We'll buy the gammon joint and cook it ourselves, with cloves and honey. I find the quality of the stock to be excellent. If we do shop there, it's aroun £30 less than other supermarkets. I'm particularly pleased to find that they now do Quorn mince.

That website has made me hungry. Unfortunately the nearest Aldi here is 15 miles away so only really go there when I am that way for work.

I love Aldi though and would love to shop there regularly. I really like the nappies, deli style meats, cat food and various random items. I love the sound of that gammon joint from madlizzy.

My best christmas tip is to pick things up when you see them, and the christmas threads on here!

I have recently started shopping at Aldi after realising how much cheaper the fruit and veg are compared to Tesco or Sainsburys. I try to get most of my weekly shop there now but I don't like the bread there (prefer some fresh bread from the in store bakery at Sainsbury/Tesco).

have a look at lidl if you're into bread. they've recently installed bakers' ovens in a lot of the shops. a german pal of mine is in there every day for pumpkinseed rolls, says it's like being back at home.

deffo interested in aldi gammon, it always looks a bit yucky in lidl and i'm an inveterate gammon buyer, such good value for lentil soup, pasta dishes and sandwiches.

I shop at ALdi most weeks. Bt also at Tesco's/Sainsbury's - there's some things I can't get at Aldi, and other's I refuse to get from Tesco's. IT will be the same for XMas shopping: Aldi for basics and some other things (saw Pannetone the other day and was very tempted ... but knew it wouldn't last till Xmas!). Will be getting meat from local butcher.

Aldi crisps are best bargain - we eat far too many, and Aldi versions are identical to brands, so I don't wince every time I see how many packets we get through.

I am an Aldi regular. Love the place!

We're away for Christmas, so our Christmas shop will be an online delivery.

For bagging a Christmas bargain for presents I buy them online or in sales earlier in the year. For food it's the same as any other time, I go to the big supermarkets for meat and fish at reductions time.

You can often get half price meat joints like gammon at sainsburys at Christmas and Easter so I buy a couple and either slow cook, portion up and freeze for family meals; or just freeze raw for the next time we have guests or family. There are often other good deals worth freezing in the run up to the new year parties too.

Oh yeah, best bargain is the red wine or whole free range chicken.