I saved £86 on Christmas dinner by ‘downshifting’ – I bought just as much as usual, with Champagne & all the trimmings
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SUN writer Clare joined the canny shoppers who reduce festive grocery bills by dropping to cheaper brands. “The big Christmas shop” – four words that strike fear into households across the UK. Whether you are trying to book a delivery slot when they open up as early as October, or you are facing one of the 488million supermarket trips made nationwide in December, you cannot escape the festive rush.
![[Sun writer Clare O'Reilly joined the canny shoppers who reduce festive grocery bills by dropping to cheaper brands]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/features-sun-reporter-clare-oreilly-953121800.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
The average family forks out £267.70 on food and drink for Christmas and, in the four weeks to December 25 last year, shoppers spent £13.7billion on groceries — seven per cent more than the previous year. With 2025 set to be even tougher economically than 2024, canny customers are taking on a “downshift challenge” to reduce their grocery bills.
![[The average family forks out £267.70 on food and drink for Christmas]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/close-womans-hand-supermarket-trolley-957236509.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Downshifting means dropping a brand level in the weekly shop — so if you usually buy “premium”, such as Tesco Finest or Sainsbury’s Taste The Difference, you drop a step to branded, say Kellogg’s or Heinz. If you pick up those labels already, you slip down to “own brand” supermarket items.
![[In the run-up to Christmas, 488million supermarket trips are made nationwide]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/family-sitting-dinner-table-father-957236613.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
And if those are your regular buys, you are urged to shop “value”, which is the basic or savers ranges. Every saving counts and, as a mum of three hungry humans aged 20, 16 and 13, I am willing to try anything to cut costs. Like most people, I try to get the nice things for Christmas dinner, so I’m interested to see if there’s a big taste and price difference with the downshift challenge.
![[Sometimes downsizing means moving to a different supermarket]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/female-trainee-healthcare-worker-shopping-957236520.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
