Less than 1 month until the big day! That’s right, Christmas is right around the corner and Brits are busy preparing for a day of feasting and festive fun.
With this in mind, we surveyed 1,000 UK Adults who celebrate Christmas to share with us their plans for the upcoming big day, what will be on their plates and most importantly what will we be cutting back on since the cost-of-living crisis.
So, what’s on Brit’s plates this year?
Top 10 Festive Dinner Favourites
We asked survey respondents to share what popular roast favourites they’ll be having on their plates this Christmas…
1. Roast potatoes - 86%
Coming in top spot is the roast potato - 86% of can guarantee that a mixture of crispy and fluffy potatoes will be on our plates this year.
2. Gravy - 81%
Interestingly, 81% of Brits ranked gravy as one of their favourites. Looks like a dry dinner isn’t going to be common this year.
3. Stuffing - 78%
78% of Brits don’t seem to think that a Christmas dinner is complete without stuffing.
4. Carrots - 77%
As voted for by the UK, it seems that carrots are the most sought-after vegetable at Christmas with 77% of us having them for dinner on the big day.
5. Sprouts - 68%
Following carrots are sprouts collecting 68% of votes from Brits this year.
6. Parsnips - 65%
With 65% of votes and joining carrots and sprouts are parsnips.
7. Turkey - 64%
Of course, Christmas dinner wouldn’t be complete without turkey, which got 64% of votes from Brits, which poses the question, what meat is the other third eating? Our survey revealed that 10% of us will be opting for chicken, 12% of us will have lamb and another 12% of us will be tucking into pork.
8. Pigs in blankets - 54%
It seems that well over half of us are looking forward to tucking into some pigs in blankets.
9. Yorkshire pudding - 54%
Also gathering 54% of votes are Yorkshire puddings a roast staple as well as a Christmas one too.
10. Broccoli - 51%
Finally, coming in tenth place with over half of Brit’s votes is broccoli!
You’re Having What With Your Christmas Dinner?
We asked survey respondents if they planned on having anything unusual with their turkey and stuffing this year.
Our survey results revealed that over a third of Brits are planning on having sausages!
Coming in with some strange condiments, it seems that 17% of Brits will be enjoying mustard, 13% will be squirting ketchup on their roast and 7% will be enjoying a dollop of mayonnaise, it seems that cranberry sauce is no longer the preferred accompaniment to turkey.
Interestingly 11% revealed that they plan on tucking into some macaroni cheese with another 11% sharing that mushy peas are a must on their roast this year.
For the fussier eaters, it seems that chips and beans are on the menu with 11% of Brits chowing down on chips and 4% enjoying baked beans.
Respondents also revealed that they will be enjoying hot sauce, chicken nuggets, eggs, ham, salade vert, caviar, salmon, goat's cheese, haggis, chestnuts, chimichurri, plantain and chicken wings.
Champagne and Salamon for Breakfast
We asked our survey respondents to share what other festive treats they’ll be sampling on Christmas day.
To start the festivities, a third of us are certain to be popping the cork with a glass of Buck’s Fizz with 30% enjoying a glass of champagne alongside 30%of Brits who will be enjoying some salmon.
Unsurprisingly over half of us are planning on enjoying some after-dinner crackers with a festive cheese board.
For dessert 42% of us plan on indulging in Christmas pudding, 40% of Brits will be opting for Christmas cake, and 28% will be having a slice of yule log. Keeping with the sweet tooth, 23% of respondents plan on having a bowl of trifle while 23% will be savouring some profiteroles. Enjoy a little after-dinner aperitif, over 27% of Brits plan on enjoying a tipple of Baileys.
On their way out of tradition, it seems that only 1% of us will be buying and drinking a Babycham. Closely followed by 3% who will be having Kir Royale and a minute 4% who plan on sampling and Advocaat. Only 6% of Brits are planning on enjoying a seasonal sherry.
Please, Can I Have Some More?
We asked Brits to rank what they most look forward to eating on their plate.
It turns out that 33% of us would be happy with anything and are really not that fussed.
However, almost one in five Brits placed priority on their meat. Whether that’s succulent turkey or a leg of lamb, 19% look most forward to tucking into the meat on our plates.
13% of us enjoy a nice plate of hearty winter vegetables and 9% of us will be looking forward to some delicious pigs in blankets.
6% of Brits are stuffing fanatics whereas 5% are interested in potatoes and gravy. In last place, with the least priority on the plate is the sauce. Sorry cranberry.
Cost-of-Living Crisis to Impact the Christmas Shop?
We asked survey respondents if they feel that the Christmas dinner shop will be more expensive this year compared to previous years.
A whopping 82% of Brits revealed that they expect it to be more expensive. Only 8% don’t expect it to be any more expensive with 10% left uncertain.
Where will Brits be doing their Christmas dinner shopping this year?
• Aldi - 31%
• Sainsbury's - 19%
• Tesco - 13%
• Asda - 13%
• Lidl - 6%
• Morrisons - 5%
• Marks and Spencer - 5%
• Waitrose - 4%
Cost of a Christmas Dinner in 2023
To find out how much money this year’s Christmas dinner will cost, we compared the lowest price items available across eight different leading supermarkets. Our data revealed that the average cost of these top 11 items will set consumers back just £32 in 2023.
| Christmas dinner shopping list | Asda | Aldi | M&S | Morrisons | Sainsbury's | Waitrose | Tesco | Iceland |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roast potatoes | £0.75 | £0.95 | £1.19 | £0.95 | £1.50 | £2.25 | £0.76 | £2.00 |
| Turkey | £15.50 | £14.99 | £25.00 | £17.06 | £18.00 | £26.00 | £14.00 | £17.00 |
| Gravy | £0.45 | £1.15 | £1.10 | £0.60 | £0.40 | £1.15 | £0.50 | £1.25 |
| Sprouts | £1.00 | £0.95 | £0.70 | £1.00 | £1.00 | £1.20 | £0.95 | £2.00 |
| Stuffing | £0.30 | £0.49 | £1.35 | £0.30 | £0.40 | £1.40 | £0.45 | £0.95 |
| Carrots | £0.35 | £0.55 | £0.40 | £0.40 | £0.50 | £0.70 | £0.60 | £0.79 |
| Pigs in blankets | £2.25 | £1.99 | £3.70 | £2.50 | £3.00 | £4.50 | £3.00 | £2.50 |
| Yorkshire puddings | £0.98 | £0.50 | £1.40 | £0.46 | £0.44 | £1.40 | £0.46 | £1.25 |
| Parsnips | £0.65 | £1.75 | £0.90 | £0.55 | £0.60 | £1.28 | £0.65 | £2.50 |
| Cranberry sauce | £1.00 | £0.55 | £1.00 | £0.59 | £0.86 | £2.20 | £0.69 | £1.70 |
| Christmas pudding | £3.00 | £1.85 | £4.00 | £2.00 | £4.50 | £4.00 | £3.00 | £4.50 |
| Total | £29.23 | £25.72 | £40.74 | £26.41 | £31.20 | £46.08 | £25.06 | £36.44 |
| Average cost | £32.61 |
For those on a tighter budget this year, you will be able to pick up all eleven items from the ultimate Christmas dinner list for just £25 at either Aldi or Tesco.
If you’re looking to splash out on your festive food shop this year, then the most expensive retailer on our list was found to be Waitrose (£46.08) – nearly double the price of Aldi and Tesco.
Christmas Dinner Cost-Saving Hacks Revealed by Brits
We also asked survey respondents how they planned on saving money on the cost of their Christmas dinner this year.
A huge 31% shared that they’ll be making their own ingredients instead of buying it prepared. Instead of buying a supermarket's extra special goose fat and rosemary potatoes, brits will be peeling spuds themselves.
30% of us plan on sticking to a very strict shopping list to avoid overspending and over a quarter of Brits are planning to buy and freeze their ingredients in advance before the big day.
23% of us will be planning to make the most of supermarket food vouchers, loyalty schemes and cashpots with another 23% of us planning to shop at a different or cheaper supermarket than usual.
17% of us are planning to buy a smaller joint of meat to lower our bills and reduce waste while 10% of us will only be having one meat instead of a selection of turkey, gammon and beef.
15% of respondents share that they will be asking guests to bring a dish with them and 12% will be keeping their guest size small.
Who Says It Has To Be a Roast?
We asked survey respondents if they could have anything for their Christmas dinner, what would they pick?
Interestingly, only half of Brits are set on having their traditional Christmas dinner.
Almost one in six of us would much rather tuck into an Indian.
6% of us would rather have a Chinese and 5% of us would enjoy Mexican. Also clocking 5% of votes, tapas was a contender.
4% of Brits shared they would enjoy a pizza and another 4% sharing they’d rather tuck into some Greek cuisine.
What are you having on your Christmas Dinner? Planning on spending less this year on your food shop? Let us know your thoughts on social media by using #instantprintuk!
Sources and Methodology
• Survey of 1,000 Brits
• Using a combination of data from Trolley.com and the supermarket's own websites, we compared the lowest price item available for each product that would be suitable for feeding a family of 4. Data correct as of 23.11.2023.
