THE cheapest supermarket to buy Christmas essentials including Bailey’s, Celebrations and Roses has been revealed.
The Sun compared the cost of nine festive favourites at the UK’s ten largest supermarkets to find out which is the cheapest.
Families dashing to the shops to stock up this weekend should head to Asda.
The supermarket came out top for a third of the list, beating budget rivals including Aldi, Iceland and B&M.
A 360g bar of Toblerone milk chocolate can be snapped up for £3 at the supermarket, beating rivals Sainsbury’s and Tesco by £1.
But the same bar of chocolate would set you back £4.25 at Waitrose.
Meanwhile, a 700ml of Bailey’s can be picked up for £10 at the discount chain.
The same bottle is also on offer for £10 at Ocado but at it would set you back £12 at B&M and £13 at Waitrose.
Asda also beat rivals when it came to a 200g box of Lindt Milk Chocolate Truffles.
The family favourite can be picked up for £4.50 at the supermarket, the same price as rivals Sainsbury’s and Tesco.
But not all Sainsbury’s and Tesco shoppers will be able to get the deal as it is only available to Clubcard customers.
Shoppers who are not signed up for the supermarkets’ loyalty programmes will miss out on the offer and will be forced to pay the full price of £6.30.
Asda is also offering the second cheapest price for several family favourites.
This means that if you did a full shop at the supermarket then you would still save the most money overall.
A bottle of mulled wine will set you back £2.50 at the supermarket, just 11p more than rival Aldi.
Meanwhile, a 250g box of Guylian shells costs £5 at the Asda, just 25p more than at the Coop.
Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how you can save money on your Christmas shopping.
Limit the amount of presents – buying presents for all your family and friends can cost a bomb.
Instead, why not organise a Secret Santa between your inner circles so you’re not having to buy multiple presents.
Plan ahead – if you’ve got the stamina and budget, it’s worth buying your Christmas presents for the following year in the January sales.
Make sure you shop around for the best deals by using price comparison sites so you’re not forking out more than you should though.
Buy in Boxing Day sales – some retailers start their main Christmas sales early so you can actually snap up a bargain before December 25.
Delivery may cost you a bit more, but it can be worth it if the savings are decent.
Shop via outlet stores – you can save loads of money shopping via outlet stores like Amazon Warehouse or Office Offcuts.
They work by selling returned or slightly damaged products at a discounted rate, but usually any wear and tear is minor.
Aldi offered the cheapest price on three items on our shopping list.
A 600g tub of Quality Street can be snapped up for £3.95 at the supermarket.
But shoppers will need to act fast as the discount is only on offer until Monday.
In comparison, the same tub of chocolates would set you back £4.50 at Tesco and £6 at Asda and Morrisons.
Meanwhile, Asda shoppers can pick up two boxes of the family favourite for £9.
Aldi also beat rivals with its mulled wine, which costs just £2.39 – 61p cheaper than Sainsbury’s and £1.11 less than Iceland.
Finally, Aldi pipped other supermarkets to the post with its £1.49 deal on Terry’s Chocolate Orange.
The citrus-flavoured treat can be bought for £1.49 at the supermarket.
Tesco has price-matched its Terry’s Chocolate Orange to Aldi and is also selling it for £1.49.
Meanwhile, at Iceland and Asda it is 1p more expensive.
The Coop came out on top with two products.
The grocer is the cheapest place to buy a 550g tub of Celebrations, beating runner-up Aldi by 49p.
The same tub of treats can be picked up at Tesco for £4.50 while all other retailers are selling it for £6.
A box of Guylian Shells costs £4.75 at the Coop, beating rivals Asda and Tesco, who are both selling the treat for £5.
Meanwhile, the same chocolates cost £5.50 at Ocado.
The Coop offer is only available to shoppers who have signed up for Member Prices.
It’s a similar story at Tesco, where you need a Clubcard to unlock the deal.
Tesco beat rivals on just one product.
A 550g tub of Heroes chocolates can be nabbed for £4.50 – £1.50 less than all other supermarkets.
But shoppers need to get their skates on as the deal will disappear on Sunday.
Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how you can save hundreds of pounds a year:
Odd boxes – plenty of retailers offer slightly misshapen fruit and veg or surplus food at a discounted price.
Lidl sells five kilos of fruit and veg for just £1.50 through its Waste Not scheme while Aldi shoppers can get Too Good to Go bags which contain £10 worth of all kinds of products for £3.30.
Sainsbury’s also sells £2 “Taste Me, Don’t Waste Me” fruit and veg boxes to help shoppers reduced food waste and save cash.
Food waste apps – food waste apps work by helping shops, cafes, restaurants and other businesses shift stock that is due to go out of date and passing it on to members of the public.
Some of the most notable ones include Too Good to Go and Olio.
Too Good to Go’s app is free to sign up to and is used by millions of people across the UK, letting users buy food at a discount.
Olio works similarly, except users can collect both food and other household items for free from neighbours and businesses.
Yellow sticker bargains – yellow sticker bargains, sometimes orange and red in certain supermarkets, are a great way of getting food on the cheap.
But what time to head out to get the best deals varies depending on the retailer. You can see the best times for each supermarket here.
Super cheap bargains – sign up to bargain hunter Facebook groups like Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK where shoppers regularly post hauls they’ve found on the cheap, including food finds.
“Downshift” – you will almost always save money going for a supermarket’s own-brand economy lines rather than premium brands.
The move to lower-tier ranges, also known as “downshifting” and hailed by consumer expert Martin Lewis, could save you hundreds of pounds a year on your food shop.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories
