The Lussebaket has become six percent more expensive compared to 2023. The price of the Aladdin’s Mask has risen by 28 kroner, the Christmas ham by nine kroner and the butter by nearly ten kroner – just in one year. In addition, coffee has become record expensive.
Matpriskollen’s list of one hundred products that are common at Christmas shows that the price of Christmas food has increased by 6 percent in one year. In other words, it looks like it could be an expensive Christmas for many households.
Celebrate Christmas in January
Someone who knows how to spread out your Christmas table and save some money is Sweden’s most thrifty man, Günther Mårder, savings expert and lecturer.
However, he admits that the tips may not be the most fun.
– The first tip is perhaps the most boring. Move the date of your Christmas celebration – celebrate at the beginning of January. Then you will be able to get a 70 percent discount on quantities of Christmas food, because the merchants always buy too much. This may not be an option for everyone, says Günther Mårder.
If you are not prepared to celebrate Christmas Eve on the thirteenth day, there are other ways to reduce the cost of the Christmas celebration, he says. Among other things, by acting with good foresight.
– Then you should start looking at discounts and the lock-in offers many stores have before Christmas. Many stores present next week’s flyers in advance, which allows you to plan both this week’s purchases and next week’s purchases.
– But then you have to be prepared to travel between stores. This is something that takes time, but can save you 30 to 35 percent compared to buying it at regular price. So it’s not a bad saving, he adds.
Eggs and potatoes
There are also measures you can take in the kitchen to reduce the cost of the Christmas table. For example, focusing on the ingredients and dishes that are cheaper to produce.
– If you look at large Christmas tables served by restaurants, we know that what is eaten most are egg halves. Egg halves are also filling, and although the price of eggs has risen considerably, they are still relatively cheap compared to the other delicacies on the Christmas table.
– Have a variety of eggs in combination with the fact that you prepare dishes with a little less of the expensive proteins, such as the different types of salmon, says Günther and points out that potatoes are also an excellent raw material, which you can do so much more with than just cooking with dill.
The last tip is to let the guests prioritize which dish they must have on the Christmas table, if they can only choose one. This also reduces food waste, which according to Günther is the biggest cost on the Christmas table.
– The tough thing is not the cost we have for the food we eat, but the cost of the food we don’t eat. As little waste as possible – then we have made the biggest savings on the Christmas table, he concludes.