New Year’s table: price dynamics in 2025.

Photo: Trang Pham from Pixabay

Every time, seeing how much food is left after the New Year’s celebration, many people swear to themselves again and again: next year – absolutely no cooking! On the festive table there will be only sparkling wine, tangerines and a small plate of canapés. But a year passes, and we diligently begin to study culinary forums in search of new interesting and, if possible, not very expensive dishes. And to be – from acquaintances products.

In the second half of December Briefly about has been calculating the New Year’s table index for 16 years and comparing it with the official price change.

Wealth or modesty? For the fourth year now, Ukraine is celebrating the New Year in conditions of full-scale war. There is nothing surprising in the fact that many simply do not have the energy or desire to celebrate. There are so many calamities in our country that loud festivities are often perceived by people around as a “banquet in times of calamity.”

On the other hand, Christmas and New Year holidays are still the most amazing days of the year. Therefore, it is probably still worth getting together, organize a holiday for yourself and your relatives and make one cherished wish.

Every year I write about the fact that I do not support big parties on New Year’s Eve. Especially, given that the familiar herring under a fur coat and olivier are by no means classified as light, healthy salads, or those that should be eaten at night. The habit of “torturing” in the kitchen on the eve of New Year’s Eve, and then eating everything prepared for the whole week, seems strange to me. And, fortunately, it is already disappearing in Ukraine.

But not everyone shares such “holiday minimalism”, a large number of people believe that everything is the opposite: if you want the year to be rich, the New Year’s table should be full of food! And considering the fact that Ukrainian wallets are becoming thinner not every day, but every hour, the main condition for the New Year’s table remains the well-known “cheap and good”.

Fortunately, the tradition of cooking Olivier in basins for the New Year is a thing of the past. Photo: pexels.com

We set the table Presumably the readers Briefly about already know that the next year 2026 is the year of the Red Fire Horse. This expressive and energetic symbol represents independence, activity and transformation, so let’s meet the year 2026 with the expectation of peace and faith in Victory!

On New Year’s Eve, culinary websites, using Chinese traditions, recommend giving preference to colorful and rich dishes, especially in red and orange colors. It is very important to have fresh greens, vegetables, fruits, and berries on the table.

Taking into account these color wishes, the usual snacks are suitable for the festive table-2026: canapés with red caviar, red fish. Or, for example, tomatoes stuffed with cheese and garlic.

For the main meat dish, you can choose pork, veal, chicken, turkey, as a side dish – rice, carrots, beets, sweet pepper.

As for the sweet table, given the desire for brightness, trifles are perfect. These are desserts that are easy to make in batches. Sponge dough, custard, jelly, whipped cream, berries are placed in layers in a cream jar or glass – there are many options here. And this dessert looks very nice.

Let’s not forget about citrus fruits. They are considered symbols of prosperity and well-being, so they must be on the table. It can be not only the usual tangerines, but also oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelo.

Drinks will complement the festive mood. We choose red wine, mulled wine, colorful cocktails and, without a doubt, champagne.

The Fire Horse appreciates quality and sophistication, so it will not be superfluous to pay attention to the decoration of the table. It is better to choose a tablecloth from natural materials – cotton or linen. On the table can be fresh flowers, coniferous compositions in small vases. And, of course, don’t forget to put candles – the Fire Horse will definitely appreciate it.

In the year of the Red Fire Horse, the feast should be bright and colorful. Photo: pexels.com

We calculate the New Year price index Annually Briefly about calculates the price of the same set of products and calculates the index of the New Year’s table. This year, a festive feast with caviar and sparkling wine, tangerines and olivier, as well as other different and quite decent snacks for a family of four will cost more than UAH 2,700 (see the table). However, these data are quite approximate due to the difference in prices even in one store. For example, sparkling wine in the capital’s supermarkets is sold from UAH 189 per bottle and more expensive (in our table every year, to avoid confusion, we take the lowest prices for “Artemivske”, which is currently produced in Odesa). Olives are offered for UAH 80-220, canned corn for UAH 48-79, 450-gram cakes for UAH 250-450.

As can be seen from the table, compared to last year, the prices of some products from our list have decreased, which is mainly explained by pre-New Year sales. But despite all these discounts, in general, our “New Year’s basket” added 17.6% for the year. These data are quite comparable to the official ones. According to State Statistics Service, food inflation from November to November is 12.1%, year-on-year – 18.1%.

How will we entertain ourselves and our guests

Products The lowest price, UAH 2023 2024 2025 Artemivske sparkling wine, 1 bottle. 179.00 148.40 229.00 Cognac, 0.5 l 159.90 192.50 192.50 Juice, 2 l 82.00 78.90 121.80 Pork neck, 0.5 kg 111.45 146.45 164.95 Chicken fillet, 0.5 kg 74.50 84.50 122.50 Fish (hake), 0.5 kg 69.50 79.50 94,95 Cheese, 0.3 kg 114.00 117.90 119.70 Red caviar, 80 g 179.00 269.00 309.00 Green peas, 1 tin. 29.90 33.90 39.90 Canned corn, 1 tin. 33.90 34.60 48.90 Carrot 0.5 kg 10.95 13,15 4.60 Fresh cucumbers, 0.5 kg 55.00 49.50 69.75 Fresh greens, 100 g 23.00 24.90 27.90 Mushrooms 0.5 kg 57.00 69.50 63.50 Butter, 73%, 200 g 58.90 85.90 96.90 Eggs, 10 pcs. 53.90 65.70 75.90 Mayonnaise, 400 g 63.73 62,53 61.80 Strela candies, 200 g 139.90 209.30 224.60 Cake “Kyivskyi” BKK, 0.45 kg 189.90 243.90 307.80 Tangerines, 1 kg 58.90 77.90 61.90 Oranges, 1 kg 49.90 55.90 62.90 Apples, 1 kg 19.90 30.50 35.90 Lemon, 250 g 12.50 17,20 24.73 Olives, 280 g 49.90 56.80 80.50 Sliced ​​loaf, 500 g 22.80 26.80 36.90 “Ukrainian” bread, 700 g 33.90 34.20 36,11 EVERYTHING 1933,23 2309.33 2714 ,89 We calculate the “Olivier index” Salads are an indispensable part of every New Year’s table, and this year will be no exception. You can prepare both light salads with a lot of greens, which, as we have already established, will please the Horse, and more hearty ones.

For 16 years, we have been calculating the “Olivier Index” annually. And the thing is not so much about traditions, but about the fact that this salad includes a large list of everyday products – meat, potatoes, fresh and canned vegetables – therefore, to some extent, it shows the change in prices for the most popular products.

We usually cook Olivier with chicken for two reasons. Firstly, in this way this salad, which cannot be called healthy, becomes more “light”. Secondly, we are more interested in the change in prices for chicken meat than the change in prices for sausage, because even a sausage with an identical name can have a very different composition.

How prices for products for Olivier changed

Constituents Prices in December, UAH 2023 2024 2025 Potatoes, 2 pcs. (250 g) 3.88 7.23 2.98 Salted cucumber, 250 g 17.50 24.95 29.50 Fresh cucumber, 1 pc. 27.50 24.75 34.88 Carrot, 250 g 5.47 6.58 2.30 Chicken fillet, 1 pc. 37.25 42.25 61.25 Eggs, 5 pcs. 26.95 32.85 37.95 Green peas, 0.5 cans 14.95 16.95 19.95 Green onion, 0.5 bunch 11.50 12.45 13.95 Mayonnaise, 200 g 31.87 31,27 30.90 EVERYTHING 176.87