Food price inflation is taking hold with an increasing number of Britons facing a hungry Christmas

The cost of a Christmas dinner for four has hit £27.48, according to researcher Kantar, a rise of 3.4 per cent as food price inflation starts to accelerate, writes James Moore

The average cost of a traditional Christmas dinner has increased (PA)

No word on the cost of partridges and pear trees, if that’s your thing, but those looking at a more conventional Christmas dinner are going to get their wallets burned this year.

In addition to its regular monthly survey of the nation’s shopping basket, researcher Kantar has estimated the cost of dinner for four on the big day. The cost comes to a frothy £27.48, an increase of 3.4 per cent on last year. That number, obviously, includes turkey, a smorgasbord of vegetables, a Christmas pudding and a cheap bottle of pop.

Lurking within that number are some intriguing quirks. You want to save money? Dump your sprouts, the price of which has risen, in favour of carrots, which are considerably cheaper this year. That should be no real hardship given that sprouts are the devil’s vegetable