Christmas dinner plates to be ‘piled high’ as cost of living pressures ease – poll

More than a quarter of consumers are planning to serve multiple meat options for Christmas dinner this year in a sign that cost-of-living pressures are easing, a survey suggests.

While turkey is predicted to remain the most popular meat option, followed by gammon and beef, 23% of consumers plan to buy two meat options for the Christmas meal and 10% are planning to have three meat options, with turkey and gammon or turkey and beef being the most common combinations, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) found.

Some 58% of consumers said that pigs in blankets were an essential part of the big day – just as important as stuffing, Brussel sprouts and Yorkshire puddings – while 38% think that a cheese board is key to festive celebrations.

Emma Wantling, retail and consumer insight manager at the AHDB, said: “In recent years, purse strings were tightened and some shoppers had to choose between perceived ‘non-essential’ options like stuffing and pigs in blankets, instead of getting both.

One in four claim that they will use an air fryer to cook all or part of their Christmas meal, with meat the most likely to end up in the energy-saving device.

Ms Wantling said: “The need for consumer convenience does not just apply to the cooking and we predict online shopping will take a big chunk of the retail spend.

“43% of consumers said they are planning to do their Christmas shopping in one big hit, so we predict that Sunday 22 and Monday 23 December are likely to be the busiest shopping days for the 2024 Christmas food shop.”

The AHDB study follows Mintel research that found 40% of consumers think that this Christmas will be more enjoyable than 2023.

The cost-of-living crisis has dominated Christmas predictions for the past two years and, while the number of consumers concerned about the cost-of-living crisis has fallen this Christmas, 77% of consumers remain concerned, the AHDB survey found.

The AHDB said: “As a result, we see polarised spending ability, with more affluent consumers open to increasing their spending, middle-income households being cautious, and lower-income households feeling squeezed.”

The survey comes as retailers report a surge in demand this year for luxury Christmas meal packs delivered to the door.

Cote restaurants said sales of its home delivery range of “indulgent” Christmas meals – its ‘Festive Chateaubriand Feast’ serves up to six and costs £154.95 – were up by approximately one third on last year.

A Cote spokesman said: “Cote At Home’s popular home delivery service has experienced a significant surge in demand this season for Christmas and New Year deliveries, with sales projected to increase by approximately one-third compared to last year.”

Waitrose said it had already sold 50% of its Michel Roux-created Beef Wellington Christmas set menus costing £150 for four people, or £275 for eight, and was also offering an Italian-style porchetta option by chef Angela Hartnett.

Rachel Dowsett, head of trading at Waitrose, said: “As the home for food lovers at Christmas, we are delighted to offer these low effort, delicious meals to free up more time for merriment this festive season.”