Christmas is the one time of year when you can guarantee there will be leftovers from dinner. Whether it’s just the two of you eating Christmas dinner or you are entertaining a large group. It can be impossible to know exactly how much food you need, and can add to Christmas stress. But it is better to have some Christmas leftovers, as you don’t want anyone to go hungry. But you don't want heaps of wasted food in the bin either, so what do you do?

Usually, it’s best to err on the side of caution and ensure you have more than enough food to go round. Luckily when you do find yourself with leftovers from Christmas dinner, there is plenty you can do with them to ensure that your money is not wasted.

5 things to do with leftover Christmas food

1. Create delicious meals on Boxing Day

There are endless ways to use up leftover foods on Boxing Day to make sure that nothing gets thrown away. From the all-important turkey sandwich to a more unusual roasted vegetable lasagne. Every leftover from your Christmas dinner can be used on Boxing Day.

Why not try a casserole with leftover sausages from those pigs-in-blankets that you made? Or how about a turkey curry? Plenty of hearty meals can be created from leftovers from both the meat and the vegetables. A simple vegetable soup will also make the perfect light lunch on Boxing Day after a long day of eating the previous day.

2. Take anything unused and unopened to a food bank

If you have any nibbles or cans of food that never got used on Christmas Day, why not take them down to your local food bank? This is incredibly helpful to those in need at this difficult time of year. The food bank is the best place for all of your leftover unused food. Those living in poverty or living on the streets will be suffering more than ever during the Christmas period.

3. Make a birdfeeder

Winter is an especially tough time for birds. Their usual food supply of insects becomes scarcer, and they need a lot of nourishment to survive the colder months. Birds are big fans of Christmas treats, so leave out crumbled mince pies or Christmas cake on the bird table for them. Who knows, maybe a Christmas robin will even drop by?

You could make your own birdfeeder using a plastic drinks bottle and some string. The process is so easy! Just cut a window near the bottom of the bottle, put the food inside, and tie string around the top. Then hang it from a tree, super simple and you'll be doing a great thing for the environment. 

4. Use the freezer

The freezer is your friend when it comes to using up leftover Christmas food- anything from gravy to cranberry sauce can be frozen and used on another occasion. If you decide you want to create some of the delicious meals mentioned in point 1 but you’re not at home on Boxing Day? You can still make one or more of those meals and then put it in your trusty freezer for another day.

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5. Recycle your Christmas leftovers 

Depending on where in the country you live, your fruit and vegetable peelings might be collected at the roadside on your weekly bin night. If so, put your peelings in here for collection. You may even be lucky enough to have food waste collected for recycling in a separate bin- if this is the case, any leftover food at all can be put in here to be collected at the curb for repurposing.

If you don’t have this option with your bin collection, this might be the perfect time to start a compost heap in the garden with your fresh fruit and vegetable peelings to repurpose them and ensure they are not going to waste.

Hope this gave you some ideas to bare in mind for Christmas time!

I also have another great post here on tips for saving money on your weekly food shops.

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