It’s the question we find ourselves asking every year, every Christmas, every dinner party, and now every time we make meals, whether it’s for one person or a family.
Food shopping has become a battle between supermarkets offering the best prices and the best quality, which is essential for making the perfect Christmas dinner.
As a student myself, I find my weekly food shopping a game of running around the supermarket to find the best deals. Finding the deals is not just a weekly triumph; it’s about tailoring to my personal preferences and finding the essentials to make meals that last through the week.
First of all, shop around and use budget supermarkets for your Christmas vegetables, as all supermarkets lower their prices of vegetables as Christmas Day nears, but as The Grocer headlines tell us, from 19 to 24 December, ‘Lidl and Asda join the 15p veg club’.
Secondly, avoid Christmas marketing when choosing your perfected meats, for example, currently at Morrisons, their own-brand 1kg stuffed chicken crown with a bacon topping is priced at £10.00.
But if you find Morrisons Market Street Chicken Breast Crown 700g, priced at £4.25 or until 31 March 2026, it is currently part of a 3 for £10.00 deal.
Stores like Tesco even offer their Medium Whole Chicken, weighing 1.3-1.7kg, for the more affordable price of £3.95.
Luscious leftovers
Making your Christmas Chickens last is essential to getting your money’s worth on Christmas dinners. Students and leftovers go hand in hand, and let me tell you: chicken can be used to make the perfect curry, pasta, or soup. In fact, the options are endless.
Not sure what to try, then head to social media. There are a plethora of videos with ideas and suggestions to help you make meals from leftovers.
If you struggle to cook, apps like Too Good To Go are essential in limiting food waste and adding to a campaign of affordable dinners offering prices that are half price or less than what you may usually pay.
If there’s anything that the majority of us have become obsessed with, it’s being more sustainable and affordable at the same time., but that doesn’t end with food.
Shopping in charity shops and using online apps such as Vinted or eBay has become the norm for many when shopping for themselves, but they’re often overlooked when it comes to presents.
But these options are a perfect way to buy (sometimes high-end) presents for all your family members and stay within your budget, or to raise extra money by selling last year’s unwanted gifts.
And let’s face it, selling some clutter is a great way to keep your house tidy during the long Christmas season.
Make it fun
Gift-giving is one of the hardest areas to save money. So, for this festive season, you could do a budget secret Santa with your family/friends.
If you’re on a really tight budget, then the gift of time is priceless.
If you’re a musician, you could give lessons to family and friends as presents, or maybe vouchers for gardening or housework for older relatives.
And the foundation for a budget-busting Christmas… reuse.
One thing we find ourselves endlessly paying for is rolls of wrapping paper that end up in plastic bags while you and your family enjoy those much-deserved presents.
A brown packing roll can be quickly personalised and made Pinterest-worthy-chic with marker pens, or a cheap white calligraphy pen.
My personal favourite from earlier this year for a friend’s birthday was reusing a paper Waterstones bag to wrap a book when I ran out of wrapping paper. Also, for a more rustic look, newspaper is a perfect reusable wrapping alternative.
Reusing and recycling are also essential when making your own Christmas decorations.
Budget boredom-busters
Feeling bored or stuck in the house? Bedford Priory Country Park is perfect for bracing winter walks, offering beautiful scenery and costing nothing, or St Andrews church offers a multitude of events over the festive season, which are free and lovely company.
If you’re feeling like you want to spend time with your family but aren’t sure what to do? Try baking your own Christmas treats.
Stores like Asda, which are offering rollbacks on baking products at the moment, with cake batter mix from 45p and even no-bake cheesecake kits at £1.74. All perfect if you’re looking to impress your family with the ideal Christmas day dessert.
Other Christmas activities on a budget could include organising a Christmas-themed scavenger hunt with your friends and family, with Christmas chocolates hidden around; stores such as Lidl offer multipack Christmas chocolates from 1.99, or you could use candy canes, which are priced at 99p.
However you decide to save some cash this Christmas, we hope you all have a wonderful time.
Issy Holliman has lived in Sharnbrook all her life and
attended Sharnbrook Academy and Sixth Form.
She is currently a first-year student at the University of Lincoln,
studying English literature and creative writing.
