COOKING Christmas dinner is stressful as you try and work out all the timings but that’s why I was excited to try Iceland’s festive feast in a box.
For £25 the frozen food supermarket is selling a turkey dinner with all the trimmings.
Consumer reporter Sam Walker tried Iceland’s new “luxury” Christmas dinner for four[/caption]
The box, which works out at £6.25 per head, has a stuffed turkey joint wrapped in bacon, honey roast parsnips, carrots, gravy, 12 pigs in blankets and Brussels sprouts with bacon.
It was amazingly easy to cook as you can whack it all in the microwave or oven.
Some items, including the Brussels sprouts, can be cooked in a pan.
I was impressed with the turkey joint wrapped in bacon. I was worried that cooking from frozen would mean I ended up with a dry bird – but it was moist and succulent.
The pigs in blankets were super herby and you really can’t go wrong with crispy bacon.
I did find the vegetables a bit of a disappointment.
Despite pan frying the sprouts they ended up a bit mushy.
The carrots were described as “carrot baubles in a parsley and chive butter”, which sounds super fancy – but they didn’t crisp up how I like them.
And the spuds – usually the star of the show on my plate – were a real let down.
I did like the parsnips, they had a great crunch.
Iceland says the box is a “luxury” dinner for four – but I found the portion sizes quite small.
You might get away with it if you’re feeding two children, but I’d say it wasn’t quite big enough for a group of four adults.
THE VERDICT
The box is sold out online at the moment, which means it must’ve been popular with shoppers. It is available in some stores though.
I did like the ease of everything being simple to cook – but for me, Christmas is all about treating yourself with what you want.
I think with price cuts galore at supermarkets at the moment you could save money and buy your dinner for cheaper elsewhere.
What do other retailers sell?
Aldi is selling a Christmas dinner for six people for just £11.45 – less than £2 per head – from December 19.
It includes roast turkey, potatoes, brussels sprouts, carrots, broccoli, parsnips, stuffing, Yorkshire puds and gravy.
Fellow discounter Lidl is selling a Christmas dinner for just £1.87 a head for six people from December 19 to 24 too – £11.26 in total.
It comes with a small whole turkey, brussels sprouts, parsnips, carrots, potatoes, gravy, stuffing and Yorkshire puddings.
Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Lidl are all slashing the cost of essential Christmas veggies to 15p between December 18 and 24 too.
Shoppers can pick up parsnips, carrots, shallots, broccoli and more.
The cost of Christmas dinner has gone up this year.
Figures from Kantar reveal the price of an average festive lunch for four has increased to £32.57, up 6.5% compared to 2023.
Separate figures from Finder have found households are expected to spend an average of £923 on gifts, food, travel and socialising this festive season.
Put simply, the costs of Christmas rack up fast, all the while families are battling with higher mortgage rates and energy bills.
How to save money on Christmas shopping
Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how you can save money on your Christmas shopping.
Limit the amount of presents – buying presents for all your family and friends can cost a bomb.
Instead, why not organise a Secret Santa between your inner circles so you’re not having to buy multiple presents.
Plan ahead – if you’ve got the stamina and budget, it’s worth buying your Christmas presents for the following year in the January sales.
Make sure you shop around for the best deals by using price comparison sites so you’re not forking out more than you should though.
Buy in Boxing Day sales – some retailers start their main Christmas sales early so you can actually snap up a bargain before December 25.
Delivery may cost you a bit more, but it can be worth it if the savings are decent.
Shop via outlet stores – you can save loads of money shopping via outlet stores like Amazon Warehouse or Office Offcuts.
They work by selling returned or slightly damaged products at a discounted rate, but usually any wear and tear is minor.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
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