The Cost of Christmas Dinner

The average cost of a Christmas dinner for four has risen to £31 in the UK, according to data published by Kantar. This is a more than 9 percent increase from 2021, as inflation and the cost-of-living crisis continues to hit consumers.

As our chart shows, parsnips saw the biggest percentage change of the selected Christmas dinner items, rising some 30 percent year-on-year. Potatoes also saw significant hikes, rising some 20 percent, while a frozen turkey will set buyers back an additional 15 percent this season.

According to Kantar, the combination of inflation and festive spending means this December is set to be the biggest ever for take-home grocery sales, with Friday 23 predicted to be the busiest day for pre-Christmas shopping.

As buyers try to offset rising costs, more people are opting for own label commodities, which are now up 11.7 percent since the year before. The cheapest value own label lines have skyrocketed 46.3 percent, while premium own label sales increased by 6.1 percent, hitting £461 million as of November, as some shoppers managed to find some space to treat themselves.

It is worth noting here that the rate of grocery price inflation actually saw a drop for the first time in nearly two years when Kantar’s data was published, with four-week inflation in the run up to November 27 falling 0.1 percentage points to 14.6 percent.