NK AND BE MERRY FOR LESS CASH ome all ye plateful

This Christmas may look a little different, with eight in 10 of us planning to slash our festive spending. Shoppers are expected to spend £4.4billion less on non-essentials in the runup to the big day, retail forecasters say.

But there are plenty of ways to stretch your pounds in December. Here, in the first of a three-part Cost of Living Christmas savings special, we reveal how to chop your food bill – potentially by hundreds of pounds.

As supermarket prices surge, Oli Townsend, of Moneysavingexpert, says it’s about making careful choices before you get to the checkout. He said: “You may be tempted to buy the ‘finest’ foods for Christmas, but often that’s just marketing. Try ‘downshifting’ from branded to supermarket own-brand.

“Online tools like Trolley.co.uk help you to compare prices before you leave home. Also look out for special offers and discounted yellow-sticker items to pop in the freezer.”

For inflation-busting veg and booze prices, wait until a few days before Christmas. Oli says: “The last few years, supermarkets had a vegetable price war. If you’re a Baileys fan, look for supermarkets to reduce litre bottles down to £10 in the run-up to Christmas.”

Here we take a look at the best Christmas food and drink bargains.