Planning your Christmas lunch menu in advance is critical when the budget is tight, it allows you to find bargains from the supermarket as and when you see them in the build up to the big day.
Next ask everyone attending the lunch to bring a prepared dish with them to add to the spread and save on the cost.
Prepare some cheap snacks for the table, this way people aren't going to eat as much for the main meal. Some good ideas are biscuits, home-made dips, muffins, cakes and fruit.
A frozen turkey is always cheaper but remember to thaw it out the day before and get all your vegetables from your local market, they are much cheaper. A top tip is to go at the end of the day when everything is at least half price and sometimes totally free.
Remember to look around to get the best deals, allowing time to plan and search for the bargains will really help to prepare a traditional Christmas lunch without breaking the budget.
Make your own table centrepiece with nuts, edible cherries and a candle so that nothing goes to waste. Excite all the dinner guests around the table by placing name tags to where everyone is to sit, this will save any fighting between the kids when it is time to eat. The tags can be made by you, use a little glitter to pretty them up so that the guests can keep them as a memento.
