Now more than ever, many Nigerians find themselves constrained in their celebrations.
Not necessarily because of the pressure to overspend, but because everything is already so expensive and a little shopping list takes more than a little out of your wallet.
The average food inflation for November 2024 was 39.93%, with many states already above 40%. This means that year on year, one could be spending at least 40% more on the Christmas menu than last year.
This is where your Christmas budget comes in. You can still enjoy the magic of the season without sacrificing out the fun and special moments.
Working with a small budget can sometimes feel constraining, especially with an expanding family.
TimesNow.com.ng chatted with a chef, Emmanuella Chukwu, to see what options a family of five can have for their Christmas menu, given the current food prices.
Ms Chukwu, who runs Ellawellz Food Services and Confectioneries in Lagos, explained that this budget is drawn on the assumption that this family already has basic needs like cooking gas, rice, and other basic cooking ingredients at home.
Breakfast is a pretty simple meal, even during festivities. She explained;
One option is toast bread and tea. A family of five can get two loaves of bread and whatever beverages they need for breakfast between N3,000 and N5,000.
If bread is something they have every other day, they could switch things up a bit and go for pancakes and tea, she said. There are easy pancake recipes that a family of five can make under N5,000.
Now, this is where things get more exciting and ‘Christmasy’.
The most commonly eaten foods during Christmas are fried rice, jollof rice, and some protein like chicken or turkey. Ms Chukwu noted that a family of five working on a budget of N30,000 would not have enough live chicken.
She explained;
Given that rice is already available, the ingredients to make jollof rice and/or fried rice, depending on their preference, can be purchased between N5,000 and N8,000. She added they could rule out vegetable salad and get soft drinks instead.
According to Ms Chukwu, another option is to consider a native soup of choice with pounded yam.
Ms Emmanuella said that dinner can be pegged between N10,000 and N12,000.
The family can get three medium-sized catfish and other ingredients for fresh fish pepper soup for between N7,500 and N9,000. Goat meat worth the same amount can also be used for the pepper soup if they desire. A medium-sized tuber of yam selling at about N4,000 can accompany the pepper soup.
Ms Chukwu added that the menu can be tweaked according to preferences and priorities. What matters is for the family to eat something special and cooked with love.
In related news, TimesNow.com.ng has compiled a list of the top seven most expensive states to spend on Christmas in 2024.
