CREATING A THANKSGIVING FEAST ON A BUDGET
Hosting Thanksgiving this year?
You can serve a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner without breaking the bank. Follow these tips to create a delicious and affordable holiday meal.
Start earlyThe turkey can be nearly half the cost of the typical Thanksgiving meal. A frozen turkey can be purchased a month or so ahead of time. Avoid waiting until close to the holidays to shop for your turkey because the prices go up and demand increases. Start looking early for a good deal and you’ll be way ahead of the game.
Buy in bulkCheck out B.J.’s or the bulk aisle of the grocery store to find better prices for items you’re going to need in large quantities.
Use coupons Combining coupons with grocery store sales is a great way to save money. Start looking for coupons now so you can take advantage of all the holiday sales.
Skip the appetizersMany appetizers are expensive, and the result is a lot of leftovers. Everyone will be well fed soon enough. Let them focus on the main meal. Appetizers are intended to make up for a smaller main course.
Buy seasonal produceBrussels sprouts are abundantly available in November but asparagus is not. Shop for items that are harvested late in the year.
Be reasonableMost Thanksgiving meals have excessive leftovers. Try to make a realistic prediction of how much food you’ll actually need. You can use online calculators to help you estimate how much food you’ll need for the number of people you’re hosting.
But… if you DO have them, eat the leftovers!If you have overnight guests, they will need to be fed the following day. Feed that leftover turkey to them! Who doesn’t like a turkey sandwich? You already have the food, so put it to good use.
Do it yourselfMaking food from scratch takes a little time and preparation, but you can save a lot of money. Take the day or two before Thanksgiving to bake your pies and rolls, and you’ll see big savings.
Let the guests pitch inTake care of the turkey and let everyone else prepare and bring the other dishes. You can assign responsibilities for the different dishes to make sure you have all the food you’ll need.
Thanksgiving is a time to create and share memories with your loved ones. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to accomplish that. Start planning early and stick to the classic dishes that everyone enjoys. You can host a memorable Thanksgiving and keep your budget intact.