Cost of ‘Christmas table’ this year is between €73 and €118

The estimated total cost of a Christmas table for four this year is between €73 and €118 depending on how much one is willing to splurge, the Consumers’ Association said, much the same as last year.

After carrying out market research both for those who want to spend as much as absolutely necessary and those who want to splurge, the association said a table for four would cost approximately €73 this year, and €97 for a family of six.

A more extravagant Christmas meal for a four-member family was estimated at €118 and at around €175 for six persons.

The survey, which included 35 food and drink items, processed data to calculate the cost.

The basic menu included only one type of wine, beer, type of bread, soft drink, etc. To calculate costs for the extravagant table, all of the survey items were included in the research.

The cost of the Christmas table also took into account the necessary quantities of any kind needed by a four-member and six-member family.

“An additional cost of five per cent of the total cost was added for the various complementary items needed at the table, such as water, lemons, salt, vinegar oil, napkins etc,” it said, adding that some of the items included in the research were on offer.

The association said that no price rises were recorded on items checked between December 3 and 18 when the market research was carried out.

“Based on Christmas Table prices for 2015, 2016 and 2017, as recorded by the Consumer Protection Service, there is no noticeable difference in the 2018 prices,” it said.

The only prices that are expected to vary by Christmas are those of vegetables, while fruit prices are not expected to vary noticeably, the group said.

To reach these conclusions the association carried out three market surveys where they checked prices of items usually used for Christmas meals sold by the four largest supermarkets in Nicosia, two smaller shops and a neighbourhood one.

The aim of the survey was to estimate the Christmas table cost and not compare prices between supermarkets.