The Christmas dinner feeds a family for just $15 per person
A Hamilton mother-of-three Kathrine Lynch is making Christmas dinner for her family of eight adults for just $120 - or $15 per person. She says the secret is planning ahead and cooking what you can before hand so you can actually enjoy Christmas day.

"This will be our first year that we do salads because it was just getting to the point where me and my Mum would spend all day trying to cook this hot meal, but I know a lot of families, especially in New Zealand with Christmas being in the summer time, a lot of families are doing salads and then meat to go with it," she said.
Pairing basic salads with other food can make things a lot simpler to put together and still provide plenty of colour on your plate.

"People spend far too long trying to get these huge big meals and big portion sizes and every single option you can think of but it's actually a lot nicer if you can make it simpler and write yourself up a menu of what you're going to cook, with things you can make in advance.
Check out her blog Busy Happy Kids for more of her tips and see the full menu below.
THE MENU
Bruschetta with fresh tomatoes and balsamic vinegar served on crispy bread
Glazed ham
New potatoes with mint and butter
Raw beetroot and carrot salad
Seasonal greens (courgettes, beans, asparagus) with citrus butter
Penne pasta pesto salad
Trifle with strawberries and icecream for dessert.
SHOPPING LIST
Spiced apricot mango sauce
Balsamic vinegarette
Basil pesto
Sliced almonds
Whole grain mustard
Pumpkin kernels
Penne pasta, 1kg
Fruit salad, two tins
Asparagus, one bunch
Green beans, 270 grams
Beetroot, 570 grams
Carrots, 960 grams
Courgettes, 400 grams
Fresh lemon balm
Fresh mint
Lemons, 100 grams
Cherry tomatoes, one punnet
Red onions, 200 grams
Oranges, 620 grams
Strawberries, two punnets
Tomatoes, 630 grams
New potatoes, 1.5kg
Vanilla ice cream, 2 litres
Vanilla custard, 600 grams
Cream, 300ml
Half a leg of ham
Baguette
Trifle sponge