The true cost of tasty festive fare

Sausages, chocolate and beer all went up but the price of a cooked chicken and a bottle of bubbly remained about the same. Photo / Thinkstock

Edibles essential for a Kiwi Christmas have risen by up to $6 an item in the past decade, an informal Herald comparison has shown.

Advertising for festive foods that are regulars on many New Zealanders' menus - including lamb, scorched almonds, Lindauer and sausages - showed the changing prices since 2004 and 2009 compared to what the items were selling for in stores yesterday.

The comparison, when adjusted for inflation, showed that a leg of lamb has increased by nearly $6 per kg in the past 10 years.

In 2004, the Christmas staple was priced at $12.62/kg in today's dollars from Woolworths and Foodtown.

Now, it is $18.49/kg at Countdown, the new name for the brands owned by Progressive Enterprises.

Sausages, chocolate and beer all went up but the price of a cooked chicken and a bottle of bubbly remained about the same.

A Countdown spokeswoman said prices had dropped at the nationwide chain by 2 per cent this year, but supply and demand, export prices and competition made big differences.

NZ Guild of Food Writers' president Trudi Nelson said lifestyle changes and trends in the past decade also affected what ingredients people spent money on at Christmas time.

"Kiwi Christmas cuisine has definitely morphed over the last few decades," she said.

"The research we have seen is that price is definitely considered but not overly worried about at a festive time of year. People are willing to treat themselves and their loved ones on the big day."

Healthy Food Guide editor Niki Bezzant said people tended to stick to the traditional family favourites, although seafood was also becoming more popular for Christmas, with families opting for salmon as their protein, and other seafood, especially done on the barbecue.

Within limits, the cost of this main protein component didn't usually have too much of an impact on what people chose, she said.