THE FESTIVE mittens are off, the decorations have started appearing in stores across the country and George Michael is already reminiscing about this time last year when he was happy frolicking in the snow with a woman who would break his heart before the Christmas turkey had gone cold. And it’s still early November.
Halloween may just be over but the annual spend-fest is gathering pace. While Dublin City Council is showing some restraint by not turning on the lights on O’Connell Street until the end of this month, the retailers who control the light switches on Henry Street and Grafton Street are likely to illuminate their shops and streets a whole lot sooner, and Christmas window decorations are already in place across much of the country.
Of course, some were getting their ho ho hos ready in August. Brown Thomas was first out of the blocks and it opened its Christmas shop at the beginning of September. The shop’s decision to start the season to be jolly so early did not please many shoppers, with everyone Pricewatch spoke to at the time describing the move as either ridiculous, bizarre or mad.
Brown Thomas managing director Stephen Sealey defended the move and pointed out that the store was only meeting demand. He said that as soon as the stock appeared people started buying it.
On the continent, the Christmas celebrations are considerably more muted and people don’t know it’s Christmas until it actually is Christmas. In Australia and South America nothing festive happens until the beginning of December at the earliest. And even in the US, where they consume more than most, things are more low-key until after Thanksgiving has passed.
While people may disagree about when the Christmas season should begin, there is broad agreement that it has to cost less now than it might have during the boom years, when the country seemed to be awash with money. Times have changed, people have less cash and are less inclined to spend what they have. In 2010 we spent 10.6 per cent less than a year earlier, and all told the Christmas spending has fallen by nearly a third since the height of the boom, according to the annual Christmas spending survey published by Deloitte.
Deloitte’s 2011 figures are to be published tomorrow and will show spending fall by more than 5 per cent on last year which will take the average spend to less than €1,000. “The problem is one of confidence and it is mirrored across Europe,” according to Richard Howard of Deloitte. He says the latest figures will show the rise of the savvy shopper and points to a growing number of people who are using the web to make price comparisons and to find reviews of before making instore purchases.
This appetite for prudence is not unique to Ireland. Research carried out in the UK and published last week suggests that three-quarters of adults there will cut back on spending this year. Celebrations, party clothes and presents for friends are most likely to face the chop according to the Co-operative Bank annual Christmas spending survey.
The Co-operative found evidence to suggest that people will shop more smartly this year, with one in five planning to use loyalty points and vouchers towards their Christmas shop.
“People are increasingly looking to take more responsibility and control over their money in tough economic times,” said John Hughes, director of retail banking at the Co-operative Bank.
The Co-Operative surveyed 3,000 people, and while spending in many areas is to be cut, the Christmas dinner remains sacred. And so it is here. A lot of people moan about it but most of us will still be eating turkey when Christmas Day rolls round. The fowl will be found on 94 per cent of Irish dinner plates and we will spend close to €15 million on more than two million kilograms of the bird.
With people looking for ways to cut costs, it is likely that more people than ever this year will peer curiously into the freezers of their discount supermarkets and ask if the turkeys lurking within with a tenner price tag hanging round their necks could really become the centrepiece of the most important and/or stressful meal of the year.
Last year Lidl was selling frozen, self-basted 4.4kg French turkeys for €10.99 (€2.50 a kg) while one kilogram of basted, frozen stuffed turkey breast joint from Brazil is €6.99. It also sold 1.8kg fresh Irish turkey crowns, which come with Bord Bia quality assurance, for €19.99 closer to the big day. Its nearest competitor, Aldi, had frozen turkey crowns weighing in at between 1.8kg and 2.4kg for €9.99 and also sold Monaghan-grown turkey crowns for €10.99 a kilogram.
While the prices look good, there are false economies in buying smaller, cheaper birds.
When you buy a smaller turkey, a much higher proportion of what you’re buying is bone – the bone structure of a 6.35kg turkey and an 3.2kg turkey is almost identical – so the cheaper, small turkey is actually bad value compared with the bigger, more expensive one. And while your butcher may struggle to match the prices on the big supermarkets, most people are happier supporting local businesses on this occasion.
When it comes to Christmas food, it is surprisingly easy to knock substantial amounts off the bill, not least because as a nation we eat way too much over Christmas.
After the turkey, ham, biscuits, mince pies, rashers and sausages, melon, plum pudding, trifle, fancy cheeses and chocolates are polished off, the typical Irish adult will consume about 6,000 calories on Christmas Day alone – is it any wonder people put on an average of half a stone over the festive period. The key to spending less is buying less. About 30 per cent of the food that comes into Irish homes this Christmas will go out the same doors days later in rubbish bins – that’s about half a tonne of turkey, not to mention the discarded vegetables, dairy products and the rest.
Even those who are careful food shoppers year round tend to lose the run of themselves in the run up to Christmas and shop as if the shops will close forever once Christmas Eve draws to a close. They won’t. That may have been the case a generation ago when shops closed for what seemed like an age, but the reality now is that virtually all the smaller supermarkets have reopened before Santa has got back to the North Pole, while most of the bigger supermarkets are open for business again on December 27th.
When it comes to the food you buy, make sure you make the right choices. Don’t buy a big ham – a 5lb ham is all a family of five will need, particularly if the Christmas plate is bulked up with home-made stuffing, one of the easiest, cheapest and most filling elements of a Christmas dinner, and root vegetables, which are in season, filling and cheap.
While food and drink is a big cost over Christmas it is not the biggest drain – presents can take credit for that. While Santa Claus obviously looks after many presents, parents in search of top-up gifts have been turning to the internet, where there are bargains to be had, but the key is to shop early.
About half of all consumers buy at least some gifts online to take advantage of lower prices and even lower levels of hassle – and once you shop early, the stress of wondering will the stuff actually make it to you on time vanishes.
Another critical element to managing Christmas costs is to work out how much you have to spend, then work out the total price of all the presents, all the partying and all the food that they are going to need.
TIPS FOR A CHEAPER CHRISTMAS
1 Cut-price turkey
A lot of turkey farms have no choice but to sell the greediest of their gaggle towards the end of this month because they’re growing too fast and, if left to their own devices, will be far too big for the Christmas market. Savvy shoppers can shave a good chunk off their turkey bill by buying now and sticking it in the freezer.
2 Avoid wantoness
Plan your food shopping with military precision, make lists and stick to them. Christmas is a time of excess, so try not to shop like you’re heading into a nuclear winter. If you do, too much of what you buy will end up in the bin.
3 Embargo on presents
Introduce a present freeze – we don’t mean be all Scrooge-like but think who you’re buying for and ask if spending €25 on a bottle of whiskey for someone who’ll spend €25 on a bottle of whiskey for you makes no sense. Suggest a joint embargo until the recession lifts – chances are they’ll be delighted.
4 E-mail Christmas cards
Send fewer Christmas cards – they’re dear, environmentally unfriendly and, with the omnipresent nature of e-mail, a complex way to tell friends you’re thinking of them.
5 Shop online
The bargains to be made by shopping online are immense and, by shopping on the internet, 30 per cent can be shaved off the price of presents. December 6th will be the busiest online shopping day so, to beat the rush and guarantee delivery, do it well before then.
