Christmas dinners are cheaper thanks to a fall in the price of turkeys

Christmas dinner will be slightly cheaper this year compared to last, according to new industry data.

The cost of a traditional turkey dinner is £32.46, a few pence cheaper than in 2024 due to lower prices on two items.

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The biggest price drop is in frozen turkeys, costing an average of £13.52, 3.6% less than Christmas 2024, according to consumer insight business Worldpanel by Numerator, which monitors supermarkets’ sales and prices.

Parsnips were the only other item to become cheaper, now going for 71p, a 0.4% reduction.

Last year a classic Christmas dinner – including cranberry sauce, stuffing mix, carrots, parsnips, sparkling wine, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, gravy granules, frozen turkey, Christmas pudding and potatoes – was a slightly more expensive £32.57.

The new data also reveals promotional offers now account for 31.2% of all retail spending, up from 30% last year. And it confirms the continuing popularity of supermarkets’ premium own-brand products which account for £1 in every £20 spent.

Grocery price inflation remained at 4.7% in the month to 30 November, according to the Worldpanel data, significantly higher than the official 3.6% overall rate of inflation.

Retail sales figures from industry body the British Retail Consortium (BRC), were also released on Tuesday. They suggest consumers pulled back on spending ahead of the budget on 26 November.

Analysts at Pantheon Macroeconomics said the data highlighted the “chilling effect” that months of pre-budget tax-hike speculation had on economic activity recently. But it noted that wet weather in November, with the UK seeing 131% of its average rainfall for the month, had also played a role.

This time of year is crucial for retail businesses as they tend to make a large percentage of their money in the run-up to Christmas.

The Treasury was contacted for comment.