FESTIVE FEAST
I made a delicious Christmas dinner for six for under £25 with all the trimmings
A thrifty cook has revealed his top tips for saving on energy bills – and how to have a budget Christmas dinner for under £25.
Elliot William, 36, from Preston, has been sharing his hacks ever since the energy bill price hike in October and is eager to help Brits save where they can.
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The government introduced the energy price guarantee last month in a bid to limit how much households pay for their bills.
It means the average family will pay around £2,500 each year.
But households were facing much higher bills before the government stepped in after Ofgem announced the price cap would see the average household paying £3,549 a year.
However, in a recent clip, Elliot reveals how he grabbed a Christmas dinner complete with trimmings from Aldi for under £23.93 to help households save on bills.
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It featured Yorkshire puddings, stuffing balls, meat, gravy, veg, and even dessert – which he claims can feed a family of six.
"The meal was delicious, I left out a couple of things like pigs in blankets because I don’t really like them but otherwise it was a really tasty, filling meal and was like any other Christmas dinner I’ve had," Elliot told NeedToKnow.online.
“I could spend nearly double getting all the Christmas trimmings but I’m not too fussy and bought everything I like.
“I would definitely recommend cutting costs where you can as we all can get a little carried away with the spending at Christmas.
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“Christmas can be very expensive, but it doesn’t have to be.
“A bit of cost cutting on food and gifts can go a long way in the cost of living crisis.”
Elliot shared the results on TikTok, where the clip was viewed 80,000 times and racked up thousands of likes.
“Not bad, not bad,” wrote one viewer.
“This is nice to see what is possible. Of course choices like meat, booze, dessert, veg can be swapped in/out,” wrote another user.
One user left a useful tip, saying: “Lidl and Aldi will be reducing all their Christmas Dinner veg to 14p, think I’ve seen on 8th December”
“Aldi for the win, we fed my fussy butcher local gran with an Aldi Xmas dinner and she didn’t know any different,” commented one user
Another user was impressed: “That’s brilliant.”
“That’s pretty decent,” another user agreed.
One user suggested: “Would be good if Aldi put these together as kits and you could buy them for families in need?”
One commenter added: “This account is such a lifesaver. So nice to see people still wanting to help others in this time of hatred.”
Elliot, who much like his viewers struggling during the crisis, revealed he’s had to cut back as much as he can.
He said: “The cost of living crisis has affected me like everyone else where I have to budget more, spend my money more wisely, only buy what I need and make cutbacks in my energy usage.”
Many of his clips also include advice for how to claim government energy payments and important information regarding savings for universal credit recipients.
In one clip, he reveals how those on Universal Credit may be entitled to Social Tariff Discount, available from a variety of providers including BT and SKY.
He said: “I like how on TikTok it gives people a forum to comment and share ideas so the response is largely positive and it’s great because people can share their own tips and knowledge and it’s good to learn useful things to help with the cost of living crisis.
“My page is there for anyone who would like to learn about money saving tips and the latest offers and help from companies, charities and the government.
“There is a sense of community on TikTok and if you have any questions related to the cost of living crisis you can ask myself or any of the followers in the comment section and I’ll do my best to help.”
The complete cost breakdown for Elliot's Christmas dinner was:
- Small British Crown Turkey - £13.99
- Sage and Onion Stuffing Mix - £0.43
- Gravy Granules - £0.95
- Yorkshire Pudding 12 pack - £0.79
- Carrots - £0.45
- Duck Fat Potatoes - £2.39
- Brussels Sprouts - £0.69
- Christmas Pudding - £3.69
- Custard - £0.55
Total: £23.93
How else can you save money on Christmas dinner?
There are other ways to save money this Christmas as the cost of living soars.
One supermarket is selling a £15 Christmas dinner deal which it says will feed a family of four.
But there are other things you can do as well.
Make a list
Heading out shopping unprepared can be a killer for your budget.
Instead, draw up a list of everything you want to buy to keep you focussed.
Taking the time to write down what you want will give you more time to think about how you could make extra savings too.
Go own brand
Consumer champion Martin Lewis has previously told households to take part in the "downshift challenge" which involves going for supermarkets own brand products.
He estimated it could save people 30%.
You can do this by ditching "finest" in favour of "own" or "value" brands.
Here we carried out a Battle of the Brands to tell you exactly how much you could save on 15 products.
Buy wonky products
Sometimes supermarkets sell wonky or misshapen fruit and veg for cheap.
Lidl runs its Waste Not Scheme boxes which contain 5kg of fruit and vegetables that might be slightly damaged or discoloured but are still good to eat.
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Other supermarkets offer similar schemes, including Asda.
You could try using an air fryer to cook your festive feast too - like Sun reporter Lucy Alderson.
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