CHRISTMAS isn’t complete without everyone’s favourite treats including chocolate tubs under the tree and Irish cream in your glass.
But prices for the big-name favourites can vary hugely depending on where you shop.
To help save your budget, The Sun has compared the prices of top festive delights to find the cheapest supermarket.
Rising prices of food and drink are placing extra pressure on family budgets this year with chocolate prices alone up by 4.3%, according to the Office for National Statistics.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. We compared prices to the same period last year and found three items have actually fallen in price or stayed the same.
We checked Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Ocado, Iceland, Lidl and Aldi to find the cheapest price for eight items including Quality Street (550g), Celebrations (500g), Baileys (one litre), Cadbury Heroes (550g), Cadbury Roses (550g), Terry’s Chocolate Orange, mulled wine (75cl), Toblerone.
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We compared online prices or in-store prices where delivery isn’t an option.
The research shows the overall winning choice for bargain-hungry families is Sainsbury’s.
The supermarket comes out on top for four out of eight products.
It’s always worth checking prices before you buy, use a comparison site such as google or pricerunner.com.
Here are the results…
Baileys 1L
Nothing beats a cool glass of Baileys Irish Cream over ice. Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury’s have the best offers.
Asda and Sainsbury’s are selling the sweet liqueur for £10, with a Nectar card needed at Sainsbury’s.
Quality Street 550g
Cracking open a tub of Quality Street is a longstanding festive tradition for many families.
Sainsbury’s’ £3.95 offer, with a Nectar card, was almost 50p cheaper than Aldi’s, priced at £4.39.
Celebrations 500g
Sainsbury’s has laid down the gauntlet this year with offers on shareable chocolates.
Celebrations tubs also cost just £3.95 with a Nectar card, while Lidl’s is the next cheapest at £4.39.
Cadbury Heroes 550g
Everyone needs a hero and it’s Sainsbury’s Nectar to the rescue once again.
With one of their loyalty cards, a tub of Cadbury Heroes costs just £4.50, down from £7.
Holly’s top tips for slashing the seasonal bill
Holly Jay-Smith, frugal blogger at couponqueen.co.uk, shares her three top tips for saving money this Christmas.
CASHBACK APPS
These apps give you money back on specific items you buy during your normal food shop. Some offers are for discounted items like 50p or £1 off, and some are completely free.
Shopmium is the easiest one to get started with. You just open the app, choose your supermarket, and browse the offers.
Once you buy the product in store, you upload a photo of your receipt and the cashback is sent to your bank or PayPal.
GreenJinn works in a very similar way but often includes more offers on fresh food and healthier options. It also lets you filter by supermarket or category so you can see what’s available quickly.
CheckoutSmart is another good one to have, especially around Christmas as they often have seasonal products featured.
LOYALTY CARDS
Cashback apps can be used alongside supermarket loyalty schemes too.
For example, you can scan your ASDA Rewards app at the till and still upload your receipt to Shopmium after to get both the cashback and the rewards.
The savings add up fast. I usually save around £50 a month just from using these apps on my regular shop.
SHOPPING LIST
At this time of year, I always recommend checking the cashback apps before you write your shopping list so you can plan around the offers.
That way you’re only buying things you’ll actually use but still getting the benefit of the cashback.
Aldi is the best of the rest. Tubs cost £4.89 at the discount supermarket.
Supermarkets have kept prices the same for Cadbury Heroes compared to last year with the cheapest option, £4.50 – this time last year.
Cadbury Roses 550g
With a Sainsbury’s Nectar card, Cadbury Roses tubs cost just £4.50, down from £7.
That’s 42p cheaper than its next closest rival Asda, which has put a £4.92 price tag on the popular chocolates.
Terry’s Chocolate Orange 145g
Good as a stocking filler or last minute gift, Terry’s Chocolate Orange is a Christmas essential.
Lidl stocks them, selling them for £1.79. That’s a penny cheaper than Tesco, where it costs £1.80 with a Clubcard – down from £2.
Sadly, the cheapest Chocolate Orange is around 20% more expensive than this time last year.
Ocado, Iceland, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s all came in level at £2.
Mulled wine 75cl
We looked at each supermarket’s cheapest offering.
Aldi stormed to top spot, with its Grove Manor bottle of red coming in at just £2.39.
In joint second were Asda’s Mulled Wine and Morrisons’ Winter Warmer, both £2.50.
Aldi’s Grove Manor bottle shows the retailer has managed to keep prices low compared to Christmas 2024 when its cheapest bottle was exactly the same price.
Toblerone 340g
Even when covered in wrapping paper, Toblerone chocolate bars are a dead giveaway under the Christmas tree.
But that shouldn’t stop bargain-hunters from heading to Asda, where they can grab the Swiss-made confectionary for just £4.48.
Toblerone’s were much cheaper last Christmas, when you could buy them for just £4.