Aldi has announced its Christmas dinner prices for this year, saying shoppers can put together a turkey dinner with all the trimmings for £1.36 per person. The figure is based on a meal for eight costing £10.85 in total, and includes a small British turkey, four kinds of vegetables, Yorkshire puddings, stuffing, and gravy. Its Festive Super Six vegetables will be 8p each in the days before Christmas.
Aldi says its Christmas dinner for eight will cost £10.85, which works out at £1.36 a head. The meal is built around its British Small Whole Fresh Turkey, which weighs about 3 kg and costs £8.85, or £2.95 per kg, and which Aldi says will serve eight people.
The budget supermarket claims this makes its fresh turkey the cheapest of any major supermarket this Christmas, and describes the whole meal as cheaper than at any other supermarket. These are Aldi’s own claims, based on its own price comparisons, so it’s worth checking prices at the shops you use before deciding where to buy.
As part of its Festive Super Six promotion, six Christmas vegetables will cost 8p each. They are a 2 kg bag of white potatoes, 500g of Brussels sprouts, 1 kg of carrots, 500g of parsnips, a swede, and a red or white cabbage. Aldi says it pays for the price cut itself, so the money paid to British growers and suppliers isn’t affected. The 8p prices run from 19 December to 24 December only, so you’ll need to buy your veg during that week to get them at that price.
What’s in the £10.85 dinner & when the prices apply
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The full list behind Aldi’s figure is the 3 kg turkey at £8.85, gravy granules at 89p for 300g, a pack of 15 Yorkshire puddings at 40p, and a 170g pack of sage and onion stuffing mix at 39p. Four of the Super Six vegetables make up the rest, with potatoes, sprouts, carrots, and parsnips at 8p each. Added together, that comes to £10.85, and divided between eight people it’s just under £1.36 each. The swede and cabbage aren’t included in the total, so adding both would put the meal up by another 16p.
The dates matter if you want to pay these prices. The cheaper Yorkshire puddings and stuffing are available from 25 November, so you can buy those well ahead of Christmas, as they keep for some time. The fresh turkeys and the 8p vegetables are only available at these prices from 19 December to 24 December. Aldi notes that the turkey is sold by weight, so the price you pay will depend on the size of the bird, and the £8.85 figure is based on one weighing 3 kg.
Before you buy, work out how many people you’re feeding and whether you want leftovers. Aldi says a 3 kg turkey will serve eight, but if you’ve got big eaters or want cold turkey for sandwiches on Boxing Day, you may want a larger bird.
Since the turkey is priced at £2.95 per kg, you can easily work out the cost of a bigger one. A 4 kg bird at that rate would be about £11.80, and a 5 kg one about £14.75. Remember that a larger turkey takes longer to cook, so check the cooking guidance on the label.
How to keep the rest of Christmas dinner affordable
The prices in Aldi’s dinner don’t include extras like pigs in blankets, cranberry sauce, roast potato fat, desserts or drinks, which can add a lot to the bill. Writing a full list of everything you need before you shop makes it easier to see the real cost and avoid buying more than you’ll eat.
Comparing the price per kilogram, rather than the price per pack, is the fairest way to compare turkeys and vegetables between shops. Most supermarkets show this on the shelf label, and many run their own cut-price vegetable offers in the week before Christmas, so it’s worth looking around if Aldi isn’t your nearest store.
Ensuring you’re buying fresh food at the right time
One advantage of the 8p vegetables landing from 19 December is that you’ll be buying them close to Christmas Day, so they should still be fresh when you cook them. Root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and parsnips usually keep well in a cool, dark place for a few days.
Fresh turkeys need to be kept in the fridge and cooked by the use-by date on the packaging. If you’re short of fridge space, plan where it will go before you buy, and check the date on the label in store so it lasts until the day you need it.
Buying a lot of cheap food only saves money if it gets eaten. Think about how much of each vegetable your household actually gets through, as a 2 kg bag of potatoes and 1 kg of carrots will go a long way for a smaller family. Leftover turkey and vegetables can be turned into soups, curries, pies, or bubble and squeak in the days after Christmas. Cooked turkey can also be frozen in portions, so it doesn’t all have to be eaten in the first few days.
Other ways to save on Christmas food
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If you’re cooking for a crowd, sharing the cost with family or asking guests to bring a dish or dessert can take the pressure off one household. Setting a budget for the whole of Christmas food, including drinks and snacks, makes it easier to see where the money goes.
Loyalty schemes and price-match offers at other supermarkets can also bring costs down, so check the deals at the shops you use regularly. Buying store cupboard items like gravy, stuffing, and Yorkshire puddings early, when they’re on offer, spreads the cost across a few weeks rather than one big shop.
Aldi’s figures show it’s possible to make a basic Christmas dinner for eight for about £10.85, using its 8p vegetables and £2.95 per kg turkey between 19 and 24 December. Pick up the stuffing and Yorkshire puddings from 25 November, then plan your fresh food shop for the week before Christmas.
Wherever you shop, write a list, compare prices per kilogram, buy only what you’ll use and plan for leftovers. That way, you can enjoy a full Christmas dinner without the bill getting out of hand.
