Consumer Watchdog: Shop 'til your cost drops

A whole turkey is $49.99 for 5kg. Photo / Babiche Martens

As shoppers prepare for the biggest feast of the year, one of the major decisions is whether to go with a traditional or contemporary Kiwi Christmas. And a big part of that decision is: How much do they cost?

The big players usually keep pricing plans under tight wraps, but the Herald on Sunday has an exclusive glimpse at where to get the best bargains from now into next week.

Those prepared to chase bargains will be rewarded. By shopping around, the classic Kiwi Christmas of ham, salad, new potatoes and pavlova dessert costs as little as $8.64 a head. The traditional feast with turkey, kumara, plum pudding, custard and fruit tarts comes out at $8.24 a head.

The prices are guidelines set by retail head offices and given to store managers.

Insiders say areas with food stores close together are likely to get even better deals, as each outlet drives its prices lower than next door.

Meat offers the biggest opportunity to save. A Canter Valley 5kg turkey at Countdown for $60 is the cheapest free-range product among the retailers surveyed and Pak'n Save's non free-range version is $50 - allow three days for defrosting.

For a cheaper bird, a banquet-size 2.6kg chicken is just $11 at Pak'n Save.

The Mad Butcher's ham on the bone is the cheapest at $8.99 a kilo (or $45 for 5kg). Pak'n Save is next best at $9.29.

Celebrity chef Allyson Gofton advises buying seasonal vegetables, 150g of meat and one large potato for each person.

"People rush out and buy lots and they don't need to do it," she says. "Write a list of how many people are coming and how much food you really need. Don't buy more. So often we get a kilogram of potatoes when half could have done."

This year, Gofton is off the hook on cooking responsibilities while visiting her family in Tasmania, where she is looking forward to ham on the bone and trifle made the Australian way - with "sloshings of sherry".

Back in New Zealand, Pak'n Save is the place to go for kumara ($2/kg) and tomatoes ($2.80/kg). New World's iceberg lettuce is just $1 a head, although heavy rain across the North Island may push up the price to $1.50. Jersey benne potatoes, ideal for potato salad, are $4 for a 1kg box at Pak'n Save and New World.

But head to Countdown for the cheapest strawberries, varying between $3 and $4 for a 300g punnet.

For plum pudding, The Warehouse's Aunt Betty's is the cheapest at $7 and it has the best deal on fruit tarts - two six-packs for $5.

Edmunds Custard powder is just $2 a box at New World and Pak'n Save and 20c more at Countdown. A 500g pavlova is $11 at Pak'n Save and $11.50 at The Warehouse - several dollars cheaper than the equivalent product at other retailers.

Top it with Pak'n Save cream at $2.50 for 500ml.