A former Morrisons employee has shared his top five picks for the Christmas sales – it’s not just about the food.
Alasdair Baker, known for his savvy shopping advice ranging from yellow sticker finds to smart budgeting, is a dad-of-two hailing from Aldershot, Hampshire.
The ex-Morrisons staffer is gearing up to snag some festive bargains, having pocketed an impressive £750 in savings this year, with plans to replicate that success in 2024.
He’s eager to share his cost-cutting strategies, including what to snap up now, what to skip, and his preferred supermarket choice.
Top Five Festive Finds
1. Christmas Essentials
Contrary to those dodging further Yuletide spending, Alasdair advises that post-Christmas is prime time for planning ahead for Christmas 2025. He suggests: “Take advantage of any Christmas-themed reductions, first and foremost. Look for discounted decorations, wrapping paper, Christmas crackers, Christmas cards and anything else you might normally spend money on in December.
“These types of things don’t have a shelf life and will be perfect for next Christmas. My Christmas Crackers this year were bought for under a quid, just after Christmas in 2023 and were perfect!”
The father-of-two from Aldershot, Hampshire, previously worked at Morrisons
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Jam Press/@thepennypincher)
Alasdair estimates he’s saved around £750 this year
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Jam Press/@thepennypincher)
To make the most of post-holiday sales, consider the following shopping strategies: look for significantly reduced prices on items like Christmas cards, wrapping paper, and seasonal food. Alasdair suggests: “I’ve already seen Christmas cards priced between 10p and 50p in a supermarket convenience store, wrapping paper for 20p a roll. Set a budget for this type of thing, as it is, after all, an ‘unnecessary expense’ as you don’t need these things now.
“I’ve bought a load of cheap Santa pasta, reduced from £2 to 20p, and that’ll be used for my kid’s dinners; he doesn’t care if he’s eating Santa pasta in March.”
2. Supermarket own-brand clothes
“There are loads of reductions on clothing in supermarkets at the moment and so now is the time to grab some great deals, especially on kids clothes,” Alasdair claims.
He plans to buy a size up on a Christmas jumper for his son, ready for Christmas 2025, and stock up on items like socks and pyjamas, which can be worn throughout the year regardless of their festive theme.
3. Gift sets
Alasdair continued: “Think about deodorant sets, beauty and toiletry gift sets, cookware sets, food sets.”
He shares his experience of buying coffee sets last year, which contained coffee, travel cups, and chocolates, and worked out cheaper than buying the coffee separately due to the heavy discount. Other products like barbecue sauce sets, spice sets, and even alcohol sets can also be purchased at a lower cost than buying individual items, making them a smart choice if they’re products you want to buy anyway.
He added: “If buying with the intention of gifting, again, if you are on a strict budget, buying gift sets now for next year might not be financially viable, as they are ‘unnecessary expenses’ but if you can afford that extra expenditure, then it will save you money next year.”
Alasdair recommends looking for loyalty card discounts for items that can be frozen
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4. Food
Alasdair stated: “So many people grabbed bargain yellow sticker food just as the shops closed for Christmas; 10p turkeys, 75% off perishables such as meat, cheap or even free veg (supermarkets have been giving Christmas food away free to get rid of the excess stock).”
“Although a lot of these deals have now gone, there are still deals to be had in the lead up to New Year and also just after. You’re going to find supermarkets clearing out Christmas-specific food for the coming week or so.”
During this period of hunting for cheap food, Alasdair pointed out one thing to look out for. “Look out for yellow sticker discounts on things such as ready meals,” he said.
“As someone who worked as the yellow sticker man for a supermarket, from my experience, there is normally much less of these sold in the lead-up to Christmas, as many people who might normally be buying these have switched for festive food choices or are meeting up with others for meals and not cooking for themselves, and so the sales of the convenience ready meals drop down.
“But as the supermarkets still need to have them on the shelf, it means that there is excess stock, which is heavily reduced in price, and most are freezable so throw them in the freezer for the lean month of January.
“Speaking of lean, keep your eye out for discounted ‘healthier foods’ as these types of products sell less well at Christmas as people tend to ignore the diet for a few days, leading to those weight management/healthy eating type products often being found in the yellow sticker aisle!
“In the New Year, expect to find reduced-price NYE-themed items such as party food; this can be frozen and makes ‘interesting meals’ later on.”
Alasdair favours Morrisons for their reductions this year
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5. Freezer foods
He also advised seeking out fantastic loyalty card discounts on items perfect for freezing for future use even if those dishes aren’t appealing right now.
He recommended: “Think about things like seasonal veg and meats (often at great prices that won’t be about in January when actually we all need those prices). Cut up larger pieces of meat or fish into smaller bits and freeze for use at a later date.”
“If you find cheap veg, and it’s still around, par-cook it and freeze it, or make soup with it for cheap lunches.”
Alasdair also recommends looking away from the big giants
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Jam Press/@thepennypincher)
What you should avoid in the sales
Alasdair warned about buying party food, as it is an “expensive time” to purchase them.
“Yes, there may be buy-two-get-one-free type deals, but when you look at what you’re buying, and what it’s costing you per kilo, then it’s pretty eye-watering,” he explained.
“If you want to buy convenience foods, look for similar items in the everyday product ranges, over the dedicated party food ranges, both fresh and frozen.
“You’ll often find it cheaper, and if you have a bit of time on your hands, make your own party food.
“I made a pizza using pesto and cheese, rolled it like a Swiss roll and cut it in rounds, then baked them and they turned into amazing pesto doughy pesto, cheesy treats and they were great and so cheap to make, and it made loads of them, at a fraction of the cost of buying pre-made.”
So which supermarket comes out on top?
Alasdair gives his vote to Morrisons for their discounts this year dubbing it his “first place to check”. But he also suggests looking beyond the big players and checking out “smaller convenience stores”, which are often overlooked.
He even claimed to have found two frozen turkeys for just £5 each on Amazon Fresh on Christmas Eve.
“They are coming today (27 Dec) and they’ll be sat in the freezer waiting for either Christmas or maybe Easter,” he added.