It's that time of year where it's socially acceptable to eat your body weight in cheese and tuck into as much chocolate as possible.
Unfortunately, many of these indulgent treats can often come at a hefty fee, which is why I'm always looking to find out which store does the best deals. I, like many other shoppers, am a big fan of B&M and Home Bargains, a trip to both stores can result in me walking out with way more than a bargained for - and I love it.
I truly believe that stores like B&M and Home Bargains offer just as good quality items as any other, and all for a fair price too. Since both stores are so incredibly popular, I thought it was only right to find out which one offers the best deals in terms of Christmas items.
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Festive essentials such as biscuits, crisps and Christmas stockings can soon all add up in price, and I wanted to see if one store offered better deals than the other. I traipsed into a rather heaving town centre to B&M and Home Bargains to see what actual bargains I could find.
Christmas Family Circle Biscuits
Christmas isn't Christmas without several packs of biscuits, but it's really all down to how much you want to spend. Retailers such as Marks and Spencer is offering a pack of £24 biscuits for £5, or you could opt for something like a pack of Family Circle biscuits which gives you 10 different varieties of biscuits.
In this case, both B&M and Home Bargains is offering a pack of Family Circle biscuits for a reasonably similar price. Home Bargains is just 1p cheaper for a pack.
B&M - £1.50
Home Bargains - £1.49
Score - Home Bargains wins
Christmas Crisps
Everyone's different when it comes to Christmas crisps. I personally, can polish off a whole tub of Pringles no problem. Other's may enjoy Twiglets and Mini Cheddars to name a few.
B&M is offering a tub of Pringles for £1.65, which seems like a pretty common price across supermarkets such as Morrisons and Waitrose. I couldn't actually find any Pringles at my local Home Bargains, but I did come across a multipack of 6 Mini Cheddars for £1.19. Of course, it all depends on what you fancy on the day, but its good to know a rough price range.
B&M - £1.65
Home Bargains - £1.19
Score - Home Bargains wins
Festive Candle
I'm a huge fan of a festive candle, but brands such as Yankee Candle can often come at a hefty fee. I always visit retailers like B&M and Home Bargains to grab a Christmas candle, purely because they're so much more affordable.
I found a gorgeous gingerbread candle from B&M for £4 and a similar Wickford & Co gingerbread candle for £3.49 at Home Bargains. The Wickford & Co candle was actually bigger than the B&M one, so that's definitely something worth noting.
B&M - £4
Home Bargains - £3.49
Score - Home Bargains wins
Selection Box
B&M - £1.50
Home Bargains - £1.50
Score - a draw
Christmas Stocking
Home Bargains has won this round once again, giving shoppers a Christmas stocking with a chosen letter on front for £1.99. Alternatively, B&M is offering more of a fun Christmas stocking design with either the choice of Santa Claus or a Reindeer on the front. Both look lovely and festive, but interestingly there's a significant difference in price.
B&M - £4
Home Bargains -£1.99
Score - Home Bargains wins
Christmas PJs
Cosy Christmas PJs are a staple item for many, especially on Christmas eve! There are so many different clothing retailers out there such as ASOS who offer pyjamas from anything up to £22 and more.
B&M and Home Bargains have more affordable alternatives, all depending on what you like to wear. It was a close call, but B&M won this round just about with its grey reindeer 'Merry Christmas' pyjamas.
B&M - £9
Home Bargains - £10.99
Score - B&M wins
Christmas Hot Choc Set
A lovely little hot chocolate set can be perfect as a stocking filler. This year, B&M is selling a hot chocolate set with peppermint flavour sprinkles, mini marshmallows and chocolate flavour sprinkles.
Shoppers can choose between milk hot chocolate, white hot chocolate and orange hot chocolate. Home Bargains is offering a 'milk chocolate spoons' set which includes peppermint, orange and caramel flavoured spoons that you can add to hot milk.
B&M - £4
Home Bargains - £2.25
Score - Home Bargains wins
Christmas Snowglobe
B&M - £3
Home Bargains - £5.99
Score - B&M wins
Christmas Crackers
There were a fair few boxes of crackers left in Home Bargains, and although they described their crackers as 'luxury' they were still cheaper than B&M's version. Both were similar in design and style, so again, it's all really down to personal preference.
B&M - £8
Home Bargains - £6.49
Score - Home Bargains wins
Mince Pies
Christmas isn't Christmas without a mince pie (or two!) after recently blind taste testing M&S and Aldi mine pies, it's clear to see they all differ in price. Aldi Mince Pies cost £1.49, with M&S costing a little more at £3 for a pack of six.
To me, a mince pie is a mince pie, and although some might be more luxurious than others, there's no harm in purchasing a more affordable box. B&M wins this round with its pack of six for £1.25, with Home Bargains costing £1.50 for a pack of six.
B&M - £1.25
Home Bargains - £1.50
Score - B&M wins
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