Waste not, want not: Two thirds of households buy too much food for Christmas

• One in 20 throw away excess food rather than turning it into other meals at Christmas
• 12% of Brits splashed out more than £100 per person for Christmas dinner last year
• Roasties, turkey and pigs in blankets are voted Christmas dinner favourites
• Ferrero Rocher, Quality Street, and After Eights are voted nation’s favourite Christmas chocolates
• One in five have first alcoholic drink before 11am on Christmas Day
• 53% of claims involving food and drink in December relate to red wine spillages

A new investigation by Admiral home insurance has revealed that two thirds (65%) of households in the UK end up with more food than they need at Christmas, and one in 20 people throw excess ingredients in the bin, rather than turning them into other meals. 

Admiral has worked with a professional home economist to create an online tool and help families plan ahead to make the perfect Christmas dinner, prevent overbuying, save money, and avoid unnecessary food waste this Christmas.

The tool helps people work out how much of each key ingredient they’ll need to cook the perfect Christmas dinner for their guests, and guides them on how many sweet treats and desserts to buy to make sure they’re properly stocked up for guests this festive season.  

The investigation found that two fifths of Brits (42%) buy their ingredients for Christmas dinner a week before the big day. But while some are more organised, buying at the start of December (25%) or two weeks before Christmas Day (25%),  others are less organised, opting to buy their food on 23rd December (17%) and even as last-minute as Christmas Eve (5%).

With many people yet to buy their ingredients, Admiral is encouraging people to plan ahead to make their Christmas feasts memorable for all the right reasons this year.