British families will enjoy one of the world’s cheapest Christmas dinners this year despite supermarket cost pressures hammering consumers in 2023, according to a study of 12 countries across three continents by trading and investment platform eToro.
eToro looked at local supermarket prices of traditional Christmas cuisine and found that a typical British Christmas meal of turkey and trimmings will set families back around £21.60 – just 30% of the most expensive country on the list, France, where families are set to pay a whopping £71.10 (€81.70).
Ingredients in the Christmas shopping basket which have seen the biggest inflation in price since 2022 include pork in Denmark (+46%), olive oil in Spain (+30%) and chicken in Australia (+40%). Overall in the UK however, the cost of a Christmas dinner has risen just 2% year-on-year.
Roast turkey tends to make up for most of the Christmas dinner cost for the countries that eat it. However, unlike last year, turkey costs in Europe stabilised in 2023, while in the USA, the cost of turkey has actually fallen from 2022 prices, helping to bring down the cost of Christmas dinner for an American family of four by 9%.
Ben Laidler, Global Markets Strategist at eToro, said: “The UK may have lagged behind other countries when it comes to bringing down inflation, but the good news is that British households can still enjoy a relatively cheap Christmas lunch, compared with peers around the world. This is largely down to considerably lower turkey prices in the UK versus the likes of France, where a similar portion of turkey can cost almost triple the price.
“What the price data shows us is that many inflationary pressures are local, with big cost differences between countries, some of which border each other.”
Table shows cost of Christmas dinner ingredients across 12 countries
| Rank | Country | Traditional Christmas dish | Cost (£) | Change YoY (%) |
| 1 | France | Stuffed Turkey | 71.1 | 5% |
| 2 | Spain | Turkey & Trimmings | 65.5 | 24% |
| 3 | Germany | Goose & Trimmings | 58.3 | 0.6% |
| 4 | Italy | Tortellini in Broth | 42 | 1% |
| 5 | Holland | Pork Roulade | 37.4 | -5% |
| 6 | USA | Turkey & Trimmings | 33.4 | -9.0% |
| 7 | Australia | Barbecue | 32.7 | 17% |
| 8 | Denmark | Pork Roast | 32.2 | 25% |
| 9 | Norway | Pork roast | 26 | 12% |
| 10 | Poland | Sauerkraut & Mushroom Pierogi | 28.9 | 9% |
| 11 | UK | Turkey & Trimmings | 21.6 | 2% |
| 12 | Romania | Sarmale with Mamaglia | 15.3 | 0.2% |
Food price inflation has surged globally this year, with the latest EU food inflation figure at 9.1%, whilst the corresponding figure for the UK is 10.1%, and the US far lower at 3.3%.
