An estimated 7.9 million slices of turkey are leftover by Christmas Day evening – that’s a heck of a lot of Boxing Day sandwiches.

Or, maybe a gobble-worthy batch of pie, curry or casserole fillings...

Whether you break the wishbone at the Christmas table or take turns to have a ceremonial carve, it’s likely that a roasted turkey will be the jewel in your Christmas dinner crown.

And with reports indicating that the average cost of the festive lunchtime feast is down 5% this year, there’s even more reason to peel your parsnips and get stuffed – with all the juicy trimmings, that is – to celebrate the fact our favourite meal can now boast being great value for money, too. Or, at least it would be value for money – if we didn’t waste so much of it.

Research by Unilever’s #ClearAPlate campaign, which hopes to raise awareness of the paradox between food waste and food poverty in the UK, shows that we Brits will chuck out the equivalent of 263,000 turkeys, 17.2 million Brussels sprouts and 740,000 Christmas puds during the festive season.

Then there’s the 11.9 million carrots, 11.3 million roast potatoes and 10.9 million parsnips, which add up to the equivalent of an estimated 4.2 million Christmas dinners going to waste.

And when you take into account that we spend a whopping average of £112 on food for the big day, between us, that’s a colossal £64m in waste. Enough to keep us all in Quality Street until the New Year.

While it sounds logical to buy less and use up any leftovers, the unappetising reality for many of us is another round of turkey and stuffing sandwiches on Boxing Day.

But before you start buttering that bread, help and inspiration is at hand.

If you’ve had your fill of stuffing to last you until Christmas 2015, you can chop up your roast dinner and freeze it to use as a delicious pie or soup filling at a later date.