Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS0 have suggested that Christmas dinner this year will have cost 7.5% more than it did last year for most families.
The ONS looked into the prices of 22 items which typically appear in a Christmas dinner and how they had changed over the last year. The prices were derived from the prices that are used to calculate inflation every month.
Only three items on the list actually fell in price over the year: potatoes, carrots and double cream. The rest either rose or stayed at the same price, with the costs of red wine and cakes particularly impacting on the overall cost of a Christmas dinner.
The price of turkey had risen by 3.8% to £8.15 per kilogram, although this is based on the costs of turkey steaks, rather than the cost of a whole turkey. The costs of bacon and pork sausages also rose, adding approximately 6% to the costs of making ‘pigs in blankets’.
Wine has also gone up in price since last year. A bottle of new world white wine went up by 8.1%, whilst Champagne rose in price by 8.6%. Old world red wine went up in price by a hefty 14.2% per bottle when compared to last year. The cost of ground filter coffee went up by over 20%.
The biggest price rises were in cream crackers to accompany a cheeseboard. They rose in price by 50.9%.
The vegetables in your Christmas dinner fared better this year. Carrots fell in price by 20.5% and potatoes fell by 10.4%. Other vegetables rose in price, but only by relatively small amounts.
Broccoli went up in price by 4.4%, cauliflower rose by 6.3% and frozen peas by 4.6%.
Last year, the average cost of a Christmas dinner came to £99.82. The impact of a high rate of inflation over the last year has seen this rise by £7.50 to an average of £107.32.