Over half of Brits would prefer a takeaway over a traditional Christmas dinner!

• Mecca Bingo has conducted a survey ^[1] to reveal the rankings of Brit’s favourite trimmings for their Christmas dinner, in addition to the cuisines people would prefer over a traditional Christmas meal
• ‘Christmas dinner’ has shown an 18% upward trend compared to the previous year ^[2] and search volume for ‘Christmas dinner bookings 2023’ has seen a +120,900% increase ^[3], showing that people are already preparing what they’d like to eat and a shift towards going to a restaurant for food, instead of cooking at home
• Roast potatoes have been found as the top must-have trimming, Brussels Sprouts (34%) were the top choice of vegetable, and whilst 41% of Brits are committed to having a traditional Christmas dinner, others would prefer to have a different cuisine, with Chinese (18%) being the favoured choice

With it being less than two weeks until Christmas Day, food retailer’s are airing TV adverts showing their Christmas food offerings, and many will be beginning to buy the trimmings for their Christmas meal. From cooking at home, to visiting a relative or friend’s house, or even dining out, there are many options on where to tuck into a festive food feast.

To uncover what Brits consider must-have food items for their Christmas dinner, Mecca Bingo has conducted a survey to find out which trimmings are ranked as the most important. However, not everyone will be looking forward to traditional fare such as turkey, stuffing and sprouts, and with food delivery services open on the big day, Mecca Bingo has also looked into which alternative cuisines are preferred to the traditional British Christmas dinner.

Top Christmas dinner must-haves:

1. Roast Potatoes – 59%
2. Turkey – 50%
3. Gravy – 41%
4. Pigs in Blankets – 37%
5. Stuffing – 34%
6. Brussels Sprouts – 34%
7. Yorkshire Puddings – 24%
8. Parsnips – 21%
9. Carrots – 15%
10. Mashed Potatoes – 15%
11. Cranberry Sauce – 15%
12. Chicken – 12%
13. Beef – 12%
14. Cauliflower Cheese – 8%
15. Cabbage – 5%
16. Gammon – 7%
17. Bread Sauce – 6%
18. Meat alternative – 5%
19. Apple Sauce – 5%
20. Mint Sauce – 4%

Over half of the UK population chose roast potatoes (59%) as their must-have Christmas dinner item, crowning this as the number one trimming; mashed potatoes (15%) came in 10^th, so it’s time to practice perfecting roasties that are fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside.

Turkey came in as the second must-have, with 50% choosing this as an essential item. However, other meat options were considerably less favourable including chicken (12%), beef (12%), gammon (7%). As for meat alternatives, only 5% considered this as an essential for their Christmas meal, showing that vegetarian/vegan meat options may be on the decline in popularity.

Considered a traditional Christmas dinner trimming, it’s no surprise that pigs in blankets (37%) and stuffing (34%) made it into the top 5 trimmings.

As a nation, it seems that savoury is the way forward for Christmas dinner, with gravy (41%) coming in at third place; the gravy-loving generation was found to be the 55+ age group, with 46% choosing gravy as a staple, compared to only 31% of 25–34-year-olds opting for the sauce on their dinner.

As for other condiments, cranberry sauce (15%) was the favourite compared to bread sauce (6%), apple sauce (5%) and mint sauce (4%). Surprisingly, mayonnaise (3%), mustard (3%) and ketchup (3%) also made it on the list, but only a small percentage thought these sauces belonged on their Christmas dinner.

Brussels Sprouts (34%) were the top choice of vegetable, followed by parsnips (21%), however other vegetables were not seen as essential with carrots (15%), cauliflower cheese (8%) and cabbage (5%) coming lower down on the Christmas dinner essentials rankings.

Yorkshire Puddings (24%) were relatively high up on the rankings, with the residents of Leeds (37%) loving this trimming the most out of all UK cities, which comes as no surprise being the largest city in Yorkshire.

Cuisines preferred over a traditional Christmas dinner

1. Chinese – 18%
2. Indian – 15%
3. Fish & Chips – 15%
4. Pizza – 12%
5. Fried Chicken – 11%
6. Burger – 6%
7. Kebab – 5%
8. Thai – 3%
9. Sushi – 3%

Whilst 41% of Brits would prefer to have a traditional Christmas cooked dinner over a takeaway, Chinese cuisine (18%) was the top alternative, followed by Indian (15%) and Fish & Chips (15%). Showing that not everyone is ready to tuck into roast potatoes and turkey this Christmas.

For more information, please visit the Mecca Bingo blog here: https://blog.meccabingo.com/which-christmas-dinner-trimmer-is-a-must-have/