Tesco, Aldi and Asda Christmas food: the cheapest revealed
Aldi is the cheapest supermarket to buy your Christmas food this year, with Asda beating Lidl to second place, and Tesco's expensive turkeys pushing it way out of contention.
The study looked at the cost of a basket of festive goodies on 11th December. The basket included turkey, sprouts, carrots, potatoes, stuffing, gravy, Christmas pudding, mince pies, brandy butter and Prosecco. Aldi emerged as the cheapest overall, with a total bill of £32.78. This put it just 45p ahead of its nearest rival - Asda and £1.89 ahead of third placed Lidl.
It's worth pointing out that Aldi and Lidl will only reveal their turkey prices on 19 December. Given that last year they beat the best prices from the big four on turkeys, we have assumed for comparison purposes that they matched the cheapest of the big four on Turkeys: Morrisons.
Lidl is also yet to sell brandy butter - so we assumed it would match Aldi on price. If the turkey prices emerge as competitive as last year's, Aldi will extend its lead, and Lidl could be in contention for second place.
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Cheapest
Aldi's triumphs were across the board - with all of the cheapest vegetables, stuffing, mince pies and Brandy Butter. Asda, meanwhile, was priced a sliver higher than Aldi in almost every category. It also scored particularly well on the Christmas pudding. For the price comparisons we didn't pick the cheapest in any range, but were looking for a mid-range pudding offering a little extra. Asda delivered with a large Extra-Special 6 month matured pudding for just £5.
Lidl, meanwhile, was neck-and-neck with Asda in most of the categories, and would have made second place if its mid-range pudding hadn't come out as one of the poshest (and most expensive). The Snowy Lodge 18 month matured Christmas pudding came in at £8.99.
Expensive
Down the other end of the scale is Tesco - where the same basket costs £41.53. It suffered particularly from more expensive turkeys. The medium bird came out at £20, some £6.15 more expensive than Morrisons. It remains to be seen whether this is priced so that Tesco can advertise a major price cut in the week before Christmas when most people are buying their birds.
Most of its other prices were just a fraction pricier than the competition, and the Prosecco was the second cheapest, at £5.50. The second priciest was Sainsbury's, at £37.80, and third was Morrisons at £36.19.
The study also showed the enormous saving that can be made by shopping around. If you bought each of the items where they were cheapest, you would have to make a few trips. You'd need Morrisons for your turkey; Aldi for sprouts, carrots, potatoes, stuffing, gravy, mince pies and brandy butter; Lidl for Prosecco and Asda for the Christmas pudding. However, you would spend just £29.59. That's £3.19 cheaper than Aldi - and a full £11.94 cheaper than Tesco.
So what do you think? Will you make the effort to shop around, will you pick the cheapest supermarket overall - or will you pay more? Let us know in the comments.
The prices in full (as at 11 December)
Sprouts
Asda - 500g bag £1
Sainsbury's - 500g bag £1
Morrisons - 500g bag £1
Tesco - 500g bag £1
Aldi - 750g 39p (equivalent price 26p)
Lidl - 500g bag 89p
Own brand gravy granules for chicken
Asda - 200g 79p
Sainsbury's - 170g 50p (equivalent price 59p)
Morrisons - 200g 74p
Tesco - 200g 75p
Aldi - 300g 79p (equivalent price 53p)
Lidl - 300g 79p (equivalent price 53p)
Carrots
Asda - 1kg bag 57p
Sainsbury's - 1kg bag 60p
Morrisons - 1kg bag 60p
Tesco - 1kg bag £1
Aldi - 1kg bag 39p
Lidl - 1kg bag 49p
White Potatoes
Asda - 2.5kg £1.69
Sainsbury's - 2.5kg £1.75
Morrisons - 2.5kg £1.75
Tesco - 2.5kg £1.75
Aldi - 2.5kg £1.49
Lidl- 2.5kg £1.49
Cheapest Prosecco
Asda - Prosecco Extra Dry £5.89
Sainsbury's - Sainsbury's Prosecco Frizzante £6
Morrisons - Morrisons Signature Prosecco Spumante £7
Tesco - Bella Cucina Prosecco £5.50
Aldi - Prosecco Spumante DOCG £7.49
Lidl - Allini Prosecco Spumante £5.29
Stuffing - own brand sage and onion
Asda - 170g 40p (340g equivalent 80p)
Sainsbury's - 340g 75p
Morrisons - 340g 75p
Tesco - 340g 75p
Aldi - 170g 37p (340g equivalent 74p)
Lidl - 170g 37p (340g equivalent 74p)
Medium fresh turkey
Asda £16 (4.85kg) (4.5kg equivalent £14.85)
Sainsbury's £16 (4.5kg)
Morrisons £12 (3.9kg) (4.5kg equivalent £13.85)
Tesco £20 (4.5kg)
Aldi - prices revealed 19 December
Lidl - prices revealed 19 December
6 mince pies
Asda - 89p
Sainsbury's - £1.30
Morrisons - £1
Tesco - 89p
Aldi - 79p
Lidl - £1.15
Luxury pudding
Asda - Extra Special 6 Month Matured Luxury Christmas Pudding 907g £5
Sainsbury's - Taste the Difference Cognac Laced Christmas Pudding 900g £8 (equivalent price £8.06)
Morrisons - Signature Jewel Christmas Pudding 907g £7
Tesco - Finest Christmas Pudding with Courvoisier VS Cognac 907g £8
Aldi - Specially Selected 12 Month Matured Christmas Pudding 750g £5.99
Lidl - Snowy Lodge 18 month matured Christmas Pudding 907g £8.99
Brandy butter
Asda - 200g £1.75
Sainsbury's - 200g £1.75
Morrisons - 200g £2.50
Tesco - 200g £1.89
Aldi - 200g £1.25
Lidl n/a
