£29 Christmas dinner among cheapest in 50 years... but enjoy it while it lasts

Family of four can tuck into turkey and all the trimmings for just £29

In 2018 Christmas dinner cost £25.35, for example, whereas the Yuletide meal would have set you back £57.92 in 1975

Claire McNeilly Twitter Email

December 09 2020 06:59 AM

Enjoy it while it lasts with Brexit hurtling towards us, but this year's Christmas dinner will be the second cheapest in 50 years.

The 2020 bill for a family of four is coming in at £29.03, compared to £26.87 in 2018, which was the cheapest year on record.

It follows an investigation into the price of several festive items, including ingredients for a Christmas dinner, a 6ft Christmas tree and the best-selling present over the last half decade - taking inflation into account.

New data has also revealed that the price of a tree has fallen dramatically from £233 in 1977 to less than £30 in recent years.

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A team at home interiors specialist Hillarys has created a device that allows users to take a trip down memory lane by comparing today's festive costs with those from over the last 50 years.

The Cost of Christmas Past tool also reveals the price of the most popular toy of each year.

Lucy Askew, spokesperson for the company behind the online comparison device, said the results were eye-opening.

"This year more than ever, people in Northern Ireland are watching their spending and with this tool consumers can see just how drastically prices have changed over the years, taking into account inflation," she said.

"With the pandemic having such huge ramifications for the economy, it will be interesting to see how much prices will change in the near future."

The tool reveals that the cost of Christmas dinner in 2018 for a family of four was the cheapest on record, costing just £25.35.

In comparison, the most expensive year was 1975, which works out at an eye-watering £57.92 in today's money, including inflation.

Cost of Christmas Past also allows users to view which years have been the most and least expensive for buying presents.

For example, taking inflation into account, the best-selling toy in 1995 was POGs at just 98p each, while in 2005 it was an Xbox 360 priced at £463.45.

The cost of the Christmas tree has changed drastically too; in 1977 a tree would've set families back £233 in today's money, but now we can purchase a 6ft tree for £30 or less, making the 1977 tree 675% more expensive than today's Christmas trees.

Products in the food shopping basket include cooked ham, chicken, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower and carrots.

The best selling Christmas present this year is Star Wars 'Baby Yoda' at £30, while a Christmas tree is coming in at £30, according to the research.

Consumers can also use the online tool to discover the best and worst years to buy at Christmas in today's money.

In 2018 Christmas dinner cost £25.35, for example, whereas the Yuletide meal would have set you back £57.92 in 1975.

A 6ft Christmas tree was priced at £20 in 2018 - the best year to buy - compared to a whopping £219.52 in 1977, which was found to be the most expensive year to buy. Meanwhile, the best year to buy a pint of lager was in 1968, when it would have set you back just £2.16 while it rose to a much less palatable £3.72 in 2017. The tool is: https://www.hillarys.co.uk/static/cost-of-christmas-past-2020/

£29 Christmas dinner among cheapest in 50 years... but enjoy it while it lasts

Family of four can tuck into turkey and all the trimmings for just £29

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