Advertisement

Cost of Christmas dinner hits £31 as households buy fewer mince pies

Christmas turkey dinner - AlexRaths/iStockphoto
Christmas turkey dinner - AlexRaths/iStockphoto

A traditional Christmas dinner will cost nearly 10pc more this year despite grocery price rises starting to ease for the first time in almost two years.

A festive lunch for four will cost £31 as parsnips are up 30pc, potatoes up 20pc and frozen turkey up 15pc this year. However, carrots are 7pc cheaper and brussels sprouts down 3pc.

Sales of mince pies and Christmas puddings are down year-on-year as customers leave shopping until later to try and manage costs in the run up to Christmas Day.

However, there are signs that Britain could be turning a corner in the cost-of-living crisis as grocery inflation fell for the first time in 21 months.

Supermarket price rises are starting to slow with items costing 14.6pc more in November compared to last year, a dip from 14.7pc in October.

The wholesale costs of items such as sunflower oil are beginning to come down, following a deal to get shipments out of Ukraine.

Ukraine is one of the world's biggest producers of sunflower oil, and is also a key supplier of other grains. The Russian invasion of the country earlier this year sparked global shortages and sent prices rocketing.

Fraser McKevitt, from Kantar, said that, while price rises were beginning to ease, inflation still had "a long way to come down".

Shoppers are forecast to spend another £60 on their groceries this month compared to last year, meaning that this December households will spend a record amount in supermarkets. The cost of a Christmas dinner for four people has increased 9.3pc to £31 each. Sales are on course to top £12bn for the first time ever this month, Kantar said.

This is despite more people swapping out branded products for cheaper own-label versions.

Own-label sales are up 12pc on last year, while discounters such as Lidl and Aldi have seen their market share balloon.

In the last 12-week-period, Kantar said Lidl's sales were up 22pc on last year, meaning it now holds 7.4pc of the market, whilst Aldi sales are up 24.4pc to take it to 9.3pc of the total market.

Ocado, meanwhile, took a slip in the latest period, with the online grocery retailer losing share in the south east and London as more people are going back into stores following the end of Covid restrictions.

Last week, Ocado said it was pausing the roll-out of new distribution centres for the online grocery business which had been due to be built in 2024 and 2025 after sales took a tumble.