Mum Charlene Woracker first trialled the ‘budget’ Christmas dinner in 2022 after becoming a single mum and was able to make five portions and leftovers for a jaw-dropping £10.60
A mum claims this hack stops her blowing £200 on a ‘stressful’ Christmas dinner with all the trimmings – feeding her family-of-five on the big day for just a TENNER. Charlene Woracker used to splash hundreds on her festive meal by getting a pre-prepped turkey and all the trimmings from M&S.
However the 34-year-old mum first trialled the ‘budget’ Christmas dinner in 2022 after becoming a single mum and was able to make five portions and leftovers for a jaw-dropping £10.60.
And after the success of the first year, the student accountant has continued to make the £10 meal for her family on December 25th and says her children love it.
Mouthwatering photos show metal trays piled high with roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, a pork loin joint, and all the trimmings.
To build her money-saving dinner, the mum-of-four goes food shopping the week before the big day to find the best bargains and reductions.
Last year, by using her Morrisons More Card, she claims she was able to bag most of the vegetables for 10p and got a deal on her pork loin joint costing only £5.85.
She then whipped up her own 40p mixture to make Yorkshire puddings rather than buying store bought frozen ones.
The content creator says the celebratory meal takes less than two hours to make and cooks the meat in the air fryer meaning she no longer has to wake up at 5am to prep her turkey.
And with the money saved not splashing out on an expensive turkey and all the trimmings, she is able to take her children away on a UK holiday in December.
Charlene is now sharing her holiday feast hack to help other struggling families save some cash this Christmas.
Charlene, from Sheffield in South Yorkshire, said: “I used to get up at 5am just to prepare for Christmas dinner but this [hack] has taken the stress away and I can spend more time with my children.
“After my relationship breakdown I realised this wasn’t feasible and I had to find a way to make Christmas dinner more affordable. [Last year’s] Christmas dinner shop I did at Morrisons as they had a special offer around Christmas time.
“They usually reduce all the vegetables which really helps. This cuts down a lot of the cost. It was also a really good offer for such a big joint of meat and I chose pork to cut down the cost too.
“For me it works better for my family as in the past I have cooked an expensive turkey and everyone has complained about it as they don’t really like it. I found an alternative and we all find it tastier and it works better.
“I usually go to the shop a week before Christmas to wait for the reduction on the vegetables. For me it is best to do it last minute to get the best deals.
“I cooked the whole pork joint in the air fryer which took around an hour and a half and then you can do an extra 10 minutes for the crackling. By simplifying it and keeping it on a budget it saves time and is less stressful to make on Christmas morning.”
She now claims her £10 roast tastes better than an expensive one despite opting for a less ‘traditional’ meat.
Charlene said: “I would buy the pre-made M&S one and it would amount to around £200. It would be the big turkey for £50 and all the trimmings. I would say there is no difference really between our Christmas dinner and a more expensive one.
“If anything, because it is all home cooked, it tastes even better than a pre-done M&S one that you get. I think some people have critiqued the main meat as it is tradition to have a turkey. My kids and I are really not bothered about this though.
“Instead of forking out all this money on Christmas dinner, I now do a little holiday for the kids with the access money. We usually do a UK beach holiday like Haven as they do a Christmas themed one. The little ones get to meet Santa and they have a Christmas tree up in the caravan. It’s just been lovely to have people’s support and I really hope this can help other families if they’re struggling.”
After sharing the festive budget hack online, her post received more than 978,000 views and 50,000 likes.
Charlene’s £10.60 Christmas dinner:
- Pork loin joint: £5.85
- Potatoes: £1.15
- Carrots: 10p
- Parsnips: 10p
- Red cabbage: 75p
- Sprouts and pigs in blankets: £2.25
- Yorkshire puddings: 40p
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