How Much Food Should I Buy For Christmas? | Gousto Christmas (2024)

FAQs

How much per person for Christmas dinner? ›

Using the cheapest possible prices for a set basket of 11 Christmas dinner items, our research shows it will cost £33.08 to feed eight people, £3.27 more than it did in 2022, when the same basket cost £29.36 — a price increase of 13%. The price per head is £4.14.

However, it sadly results in 270,000 tons of Christmas food waste being disposed of despite being edible – that's around seven million bins full of waste food. And it's not the only shocking Christmas food waste statistic.

According to a study by Wren Kitchens, the average person packs away 5,373 calories on Christmas day. That's twice the recommended daily average for men and three times the RDA for women.

However, a common guideline is to allocate around 1-2% of your annual income for gifts. Again, it's super important to set a budget that aligns with your financial health and priorities, which ensures a joyful holiday season with minimal financial stress.

Americans are individually expected to spend about $1,000 across gifts, decorations, food and other holiday spending. Unsurprisingly, gifts typically make up the majority of Christmas spending, at $648 per person.

In fact, 5 billion pounds of gift returns end up in landfills every year. An astonishing number. Even more mind-boggling is that Americans spent $15.2 billion on all those unwanted gifts.

The amount of wrapping paper used increases over the holidays, so it's no surprise that wrapping paper, gift wrap, and shopping bag waste make up a large portion of the waste generated over the holidays.

…and economic repercussions too

According to the nonprofit organization Feeding America, Americans waste more than $408 billion each year on food, with dairy products being the food item we toss out the most. The average American family of four throws out $1,600 a year in produce.

Roast turkey and ham are popular for Christmas dinner throughout the country, but depending on the region, so are tamales, roast goose with red cabbage, crawfish jambalaya, roast pork or “seven fishes” seafood salad.

Traditional Christmas dinner features turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, and vegetables. Other types of poultry, roast beef, or ham, are also used. Pumpkin or apple pie, raisin pudding, Christmas pudding, or fruitcake are staples for dessert.

Is it OK to eat more at Christmas? ›

Our bodies are very good at maintaining control

For example, there's a common misconception that the average person puts on pounds of weight over Christmas, but this is impossible, you can't. On average, overeating for a few days, people only put on 1-2 pounds, and that's if you really go for it.

If you have been dating for less than a year, it is appropriate to spend a maximum of $50. A budget of around $100 is standard for longer relationships. If you're married, $100 is the median amount, and the top 25% of couples spend $300.

Buy cheap Christmas gifts wherever possible . Cheap Christmas gift ideas include baking mixes, homemade soaps and bath salts – and of course, anything edible. I love to buy food and beverage-related gifts because they're often less expensive, I know they'll always get used and they won't add extra clutter.

The rule is to spend no more than 1.5% of your gross annual income on presents, but only if you will not incur debt doing so. A smart way to avoid debt is to automatically sweep a certain amount of dollars from your bank account to a "holiday account” every month.

According to experts from an article on Bankrate, this is how a Christmas gift budget should be broken down; Spouses and Partners – $100. Parents – $75-$100. Siblings – $50.

You'll often see a rule of thumb that suggests spending about $75—$200 per employee.