Christmas basket essentials and where to get more bang for your buck

Coles, Woolworths and Aldi are already stocking the shelves with Christmas essentials, but where will you save the most?

To find out, we sent three shoppers undercover at the supermarkets. They were all armed with the same shopping list of twelve Christmas essentials, including a ham, prawns and pudding.

Nicole is a working mother of three, this Christmas she's hosting the extended family for lunch. 

Her shopping basket at Woolies cost her $64.75, and she was pleased with the value for money, "I think I got a relatively good deal, saved a bit of money on the specials this time around".

For those with a sweet tooth, the supermarkets are all putting their best pudding forward.

A classic Chrissy pudding at Coles (700g) will set you back $4. Pay the same price at Woolworths, and at Aldi pay $3.79.

Fruit mince pies are $1.50 at all supermarkets. Steve Donohue is the head of buying at Woolworths, he says the supermarket will sell more than six million fruit mince pies this Christmas.

Woolworths has lowered the price of some Christmas essentials, like their 500 gram pavlova, which has gone from $8 to $6. They also have Christmas decorations for as little as $2.