How to Save Money on Thanksgiving Dinner
Karamea Tran
Thanksgiving is an exciting holiday for many Americans. In 2019, the cost of feeding 12 people is about $130 (The Penny Hoarder). The cost of preparing a Thanksgiving dinner can get expensive. Here are some ways to cut down the costs.
One great way to make Thanksgiving more budget friendly is by hosting a potluck! Everyone invited can bring a side dish or dessert, and that way everyone will feel that they made the day special. Many Americans experience leftovers for days following thanksgiving. One way to prevent overstocking your refrigerator or pushing your budget is to plan out the number of guests and the portions. Consider buying a smaller turkey and adding more side dishes. Shop early. Buy the turkey early and put it in the freezer until the day arrives. If there are a lot of guests, buy from a bulk retailer for great savings. Instead of using disposable silverware and plates, invest in plates that can be used for a long time. This will help save money on cutlery and plates while also minimizing unnecessary plastic waste. Decorations can get pricey. Pinterest is just one of many websites that has thanksgiving inspiration ideas. Instead of splurging on expensive thanksgiving decorations, DIY your decorations. Purchase a candle for a few dollars and gather leaves and pine cones from the backyard for a fun and inexpensive festive decor.
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, share these ideas with your friends and family! While it is an exciting season, the last thing we all want is to spend too much when there are simple ways to cut costs.
Works Cited
“Fred Meyer : Shop Groceries, Find Digital Coupons & Order Online.” Fred Meyer : Shop Groceries, Find Digital Coupons & Order Online, www.fredmeyer.com/.
“Investing and Personal Finance News and Research - US News Money.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, money.usnews.com/.
A lot of these ideas are good but it might only save you a few dollars. Do you think a good store to get stuff is dollar general type store or would it be better to go to a place like walmart or pick n save
ReplyDeleteThis post had some good ideas about how to cut costs for thanksgiving because there are definitely a lot of leftovers after the holiday is over. I liked how you explained what we could do in order to decrease the amount and in order to overall decrease the cost of hosting family. The best idea you gave and one that is already used by almost everyone is that people bring other dishes so its not all on one person. This is limit the cost for each family.
ReplyDeleteThis a very relevant topic right because of the approaching holiday. I've never realized how expensive it is to provide a meal for your friends and family. My aunt used to host Thanksgiving at her farm for about 50 family members but had to stop due to the overwhelming expenses. There was also a lot of other factors that went into her decision to stop but buying and preparing food was the biggest. I really thought the potluck idea would've been very helpful in her situation, especially for the number of people she had to feed. If everyone coordinated to bring one dish to share, it would have made her life a lot easier.
ReplyDeleteThese are some great ideas! Every year my family gets together for Thanksgiving and we eat a LOT of food, and just like your article says, we often have a ton of left overs. We could buy less to begin with to save the money (plus some of the people in my family hate left overs, so there would be less complaining). I never really thought about using plastic silverware or not, most of the time we just use real forks, but sometimes there are enough people that we run out of silverware, my family will use plastic forks, and even sometimes paper plates. Looking back I understand how much money we waste each time we do this in addition to hurting the environment. From now on, I will be more conscientious on my spending on food and supplies.
ReplyDeleteI never realized that their were so many things that someone hosting a Thanksgiving celebration would have to think of purchasing besides a few extra groceries that will be made for the celebration. From purchasing plastic versus metal silverware to even how to decorate your place for the celebration. All of these tips are super helpful for anyone who is on a budget but still wants to host the holiday or even college students who want to host a small celebration with family and friends. I will most definitely start to consider the expense of hosting a Thanksgiving celebration and how to find ways to reduce the extra cost that could possibly disturb our future budgets.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that we spend a lot of money on Thanksgiving. I like the ideas that you came up with to help us not spend so much. I liked the idea of potluck so makes others bring in food that they want to eat and have others eat. Also the idea of getting leaves from outside I really think that it will save you money. A question I had was is there certain stores we should stay away from when buying food for Thanksgiving?
ReplyDeleteI never thought about all of these ways to reduce the cost of Thanksgiving. I always think about the food, family, and the experience, but never the price of it all. I think a potluck sounds like a great idea so that everyone knows they will have some sort of food that they like, one person doesn’t have to buy it all, and people can feel helpful. I think your article does a good job of explaining this and the other methods to having a cheaper Thanksgiving, like making your own decorations, but I think some pictures or graphs would be helpful to really get the whole picture and be able to visualize it. What other ways do you think you can save for things like travelling to a family member’s home for the holiday? Also, how do you think the price of Thanksgiving food compares to your normal dinner food? These are just a few more things to consider that your article made me think about.
ReplyDeleteConsidering the time of year (less than a week away from Thanksgiving break), I think this is a pretty fun topic. We often think about about how much our vacations cost when we travel somewhere, but the holiday vacations where we stay home to host gets a little less consideration. Your plan seems to stay pretty true to a lot of money saving plans, which is preparation. It is one of the most effective ways to save money and avoid wasted resources, but a lot of people forgo it out of forgetfulness, procrastination, or unwillingness. Though, perhaps if we knew how much it could save us in the long run, we’d become less averse to it!
ReplyDeleteI think it was really smart of you to talk about Thanksgiving since we are only one week away. I do think that these tips might be able to provide more food for more people, but without the high expense that comes with providing all of that food for potentially dozens of people.
ReplyDeleteI have always loved Thanksgiving, but I have never been the one buying the food for the special day. I knew it was expensive but I didn't know there was a way to save money without buying all of your favorite foods. I work at a restaurant and when I am working on Thanksgiving I know how expensive each thing on the menu is. There is a lot of different things that go into the dinner and perfecting it. People who want to be thankful for everything will usually go all out for thanksgiving, but they don't realize how much they are giving away while buying these things.
ReplyDeleteAs a teen, I don’t really think about the price of food unless I’m getting a couple snacks before practice at kwik trip but I suppose if you’re shopping for 20+ people the spendings can get out of hand. Especially for people how are less fortunate, it’s good that there are ways in that they can still be apart of the holiday cheer. I also don’t really think about decorations that much but I appreciate that you included how to make your own for less and why it’s better to do so. I also agree that leftovers are a major problem perhaps instead of wasting food after a little while, you could freeze it to make sure that you aren’t creating more waste and are getting more out of your money. What a great topic to discuss.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the ideas in here. Thanksgiving is often an overwhelming and busy holiday. Many family members are present, which adds up to many costs. I wonder what the economic impact on grocery stores is during Thanksgiving...or Christmas...Anyway, the ideas in this blog post are very economical. Silverware, plates, napkins, and decorations can definitely add up, so having the idea of investing in reusable utensils and DIY decors is great. It is weird to think that feeding 12 people costs around $130. This is about $11 per person. I doubt everyone on Thanksgiving eats $11 worth of food, which just shows you how the economy of Thanksgiving functions in 2019. Hopefully the cost of feeding people goes down in coming years.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with this, Thanksgiving is not cheap and it is not easy to prepare for. Buying a big turkey isn’t too cheap either. I think it was a really smart idea to talk about how for Thanksgiving you could make many side dishes rather than a huge turkey. I feel like people hosting Thanksgiving is always spending the most money which you would think should be the opposite because the people that are hosting are opening their house up to others. Thanksgiving is really hard to plan for as well, because some people come already full since they already ate at another place or the complete opposite. I think that you will never really be able to plan out how much food you need even if you could possibly save money.
ReplyDeleteThese are really great ideas! My family normally does a potluck and it is really a great way to save money around the holidays. This idea also saves time because you won't have to spend the whole day preparing the turkey, side dishes, and desert. It's insane how much people actually spend on food!
ReplyDeleteI personally really like Thanksgiving and I find I really fun because I can see family and eat a lot of food! I also do think that we spend too much on the holiday, as Americans spend too much on almost everything and every holiday. I like the idea of doing a potluck because then everyone only pays a small amount and only brings about one small dish. Also, using reusable plates and other dishes, though a lot to clean, is a great idea because it saves money and tons of paper plates and a fork, spoon and knife for every person. Overall, I do agree that there are many ways to save on Thanksgiving and it is important to that we can have money to spend on more necessary things and doing it DIY might be the best way to save that money.
ReplyDeleteThese are awesome ideas! I agree, thanksgiving can be very expensive, just like any other holiday. I know that when you host Thanksgiving is can quickly add up depending on how many people are coming. Having people bring side dishes is very smart. That way they can also contribute and feel like they have helped.
ReplyDeleteI think that you gathered a lot of really great ideas. My family typically does a putluck style thanksgiving dinner because it really helps cut the cost. I know that if my mom had to make all of the dishes she would not only be stressed about the money but also go crazy making sure that everything is done and stays hot. I love thanksgiving, not really in the food selection, but family and I think that it is such a special holiday that we get to celebrate.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of people feel pressured to have a crazy Thanksgiving meal which can cost a lot of money. There are so many foods that are very common to always have at Thanksgiving. I like that you added in decorations because, if you are having a bunch of family over you probably want your house to look festive. I think these strategies could be very helpful to save money and still have an amazing meal with your family.
ReplyDeleteI thought that thanksgiving would have costed more than 130 dollars for 12 people. I thought it would be more like 200 dollars just because of the variety of the food. I wonder how long the decorations would take to make all by yourself? That can get hard to manage making the food and all of the decor.
ReplyDeleteI think the ideas you came up with to help save money for thanksgiving are great ideas.I know that my family uses some of those. We all contribute some sort of food to the dinner whether it be a dessert or a side dish or an appetizer. This allows for everyone in my extended family to contribute and then it is not just one person who has to deal with cooking all the food, preparing it and spending all the costs. Also, you mentioned that decorations can be expensive so making homeade ones from ideas from pinterest is a really interesting and smart way to use pine cones from your backyard. These are just extra ideas that would help a family if they could not afford decorations to save even more money
ReplyDeleteI found these ideas to be very beneficial! I especially enjoyed the idea of having a potluck as it allows for less time spent cooking and buying food and having people over can be very fun! Additionally, I always forget about all the planning that goes into Thanksgiving, specifically trying to decide how much food to make and then going out and buying those ingredients, the tips like buying a smaller turkey and freezing it until you are confident in how many guests you will be having is something that could help. This article is very relevant as Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and I really liked the whole idea of saving for Thanksgiving! It would be interesting to see though how spending for food compares among all the big holidays and if Thanksgiving comes out on top.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great read in part because I think as Americans we tend to think of the holidays as non-negotiable expensive events. No one likes to talk about budgeting during Christmas, because everything is supposed to be about family, buying presents, and special holiday experiences. The same is true for Thanksgiving. But, this isn't the narrative that every family can work with, especially when budgets are tight. You had some super practical tips, so great job! Goes to show that holidays can still be awesome even on a budget.
ReplyDeleteI never really thought about all fp the ways you can save for thanksgiving! These tips are so cool and can still give off that same thanksgiving aspect. Holidays are very expensive and I think many people think it’s okay to spend that much as it’s the holidays. However, with saving money still coming into play all of these tips are super helpful to help everyone save money on Thanksgiving while still having the same thanksgiving feeling.
ReplyDeleteThese ideas can help so many people save more money on thanksgiving. I never though about these ways to save money for thanksgiving. Even if it just helps save a dollar it can still be helpful. Having your guests bring side dishes is a very good idea so you dont need to spend your money on everything
ReplyDeleteI really like how you provided so many different ideas on ways to save money during Thanksgiving. Personally I know my family does a potluck and each family will bring a different dish to pass on Thanksgiving. I like all your other ideas like DIY decorations and making food for the amount of people so you don't have a lot of leftovers and waste food. I personally know we have a ton of leftovers after Thanksgiving. Overall I really liked this post and how there are so many different options on how to save money during the holidays.
ReplyDeleteI really hadn't thought of all the time and money put towards Thanksgiving! I think that the idea of a potluck, or having each party of your group bring one dish, is absolutely the best way to go. This not only cuts costs, but brings in unique foods that are from different parts of the family. Adding to that, there is no longer a heaping amount of leftovers left on the hosting family, and plenty of delicious food still to enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI did not realize how much it can cost to make Thanksgiving, before I went shopping with my mom last year and saw how much things cost. I think it is a great idea to have everyone bring a dish, so maybe the host only needs to make a turkey. This way, everyone can bring something they are good at cooking or may be a traditional dish for their family. I also wonder how much grocery stores jack up prices around Thanksgiving on cranberry sauce or potatoes, because a lot of people have those on Thanksgiving?
ReplyDeleteThanksgiving can be a very pricey holiday, especially since everyone is buying the same ingredients/food from the grocery store. I agree that it is very important to do some planning ahead of time, to ensure that you plan the right portions to avoid a lot of leftovers. A few leftovers can be good, but my family tends to just throw out our leftovers after a while, which means that we spent too much on our Thanksgiving food. I think shopping early is a great idea, especially so you can buy the main things like the turkey before many stores increase prices closer to the holiday.
ReplyDeleteI think the ideas that you came up with to cut down the costs of Thanksgiving are very beneficial. In my family, everyone brings something so not just one person is handling all the costs and cooking, splitting the cost and time makes it easier on everyone because they just bring one or two dishes instead of having to do everything. The ideas you gave for decor are really cost efficient. Interest and other online sources have plenty of crafty decoration ideas that can cut down the cost from actually going out and buying festive decorations.
ReplyDeleteMy family has been doing the potluck idea for as long as I can remember and I had always though that all families did a potluck. Another thing that I would have gone more in depth on was after dinner and pre dinner activities for the family.
ReplyDeleteThe cost of a Thanksgiving for 12 people is only $130, which is actually less than I thought. Although I do agree that it can be a pretty expensive holiday. My family has been the host of Thanksgiving every year for a long time and I know one of the worst things about hosting is all the time it takes to prepare. While our family doesn’t have to travel anywhere, the opportunity cost of having to prepare every food dish and clean the house is quite large. I think it’s a great idea to do a potluck and something that would reduce the stress and cost of preparing for a large family holiday. Furthermore, I think it’s a great point that there’s always a ton of leftovers, buying less food upfront could really help mitigate that problem. Great ideas in this post!
ReplyDeleteI love these ideas! The potluck idea is how my family has normally done holidays and it really seems to make sense. It means people spend less time worrying about cooking and getting everything just right and they can focus on enjoying the other people around them. I help my dad make the turkey most years, but I forgot how much planning goes into Thanksgiving as a whole like getting all the ingredients, making enough food, working around allergies and picky relatives. I really liked this post because with Thanksgiving right around the corner, I love the idea of being smart with Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteThanksgiving is a HUGE deal in my family, and relatives travel to Kentucky from all over the country just for the occasion. You are very correct in saying that there is too much food and a ton of leftovers - everybody takes some back home with them, usually, because there isn’t even enough room in the host’s freezer to store it all. I feel, though, that overeating is just a part of the holiday - too much food is just enough food, really. I understand, though, if you are serving on a budget that the excess is unnecessary.
ReplyDeleteI was actually surprised by the fact the cost for feeding 12 people is $130; I thought it would've been much higher than that. However, the price tag is still up there. I think it's important to share tips like these who still want to celebrate the occasion, but are on a tighter budget than others. I'd would be really interested to see how other holidays, especially Christmas, rank in terms of costs. Would Thanksgiving still hold the top spot?
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to see that to feed a family of 12 on thanksgiving was $130. I agree with the blog that doing a pot luck can save lots of money from personal experience in my family of 11 people. I do think that there are always too many leftovers for thanksgiving where it gets to the point of it being overwhelming. However, thanksgiving is a tradition that many families care a lot about and always go all out.
ReplyDeleteI would be curious to see how thanksgiving affects the economy as a whole, especially for grocery stores. Seeing how much money a single family usually spends during this week just shows how there is most likely major changes in activity for this market. I wonder if some of these money-saving methods would reduce these drastic changes in the economy and create more regulation, and if this would be more beneficial or not for the market.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, families need to plan for thanksgiving; and if you do not then it can get expensive. Knowing how many people you are serving can cut down on the bill and overstocking on items that are going to just go to waste. This topic starts a good dissuasion about grocery shopping in general. There are ways for families or people to cut down by simply just planning our meals, this should not just be around thanksgiving. This skill needs to be applied throughout the year. This can be half the battle, like you said. America wastes a lot of food, especially around this time of year I am sure. With Christmas coming up around the corner, plan with your family like you said, but make that a habit to your families or you day to day life habits.
ReplyDeleteI can see how these tips would be very helpful. Sellers know that they can increase the prices on Thanksgiving food because they know that people are going to buy it regardless of the price. To attain maximum profit they trap you with those high prices which can be avoided by buying food early and freezing it. I can also attest to the idea that full participation in bringing dishes is very cost beneficial. I often notice that when my family gets together it’s usually the host that it makes and buys all the food and the same couple families bring side dishes. If everyone contributed it would lessen the cost and the time put in to make the dinner for the host.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was very shocking that it costs that much to put on a thanksgiving dinner, everyone always thinks it's cheaper to cook for a lot of people, but that still comes out to about $10.5. I think your ideas to save money is really good because not only does it save money but also saves time and causes less stress. I also think with the Black Friday and Christmas season it is important to save as much as you can, knowing you will be buying a lot of gifts. I also agree with Brynn’s comment on how it would be interesting to see who benefits from the thanksgiving rush and how it helps or hurts the economy.
ReplyDeleteI like that you gave us some tips on how to save money. The potluck idea I like, it kind of reminds of birthday parties where there are certain people that bring certain foods. Not only can that save money for you it can save money for the people attending the Thanksgiving dinner. Maybe talk a little bit more on how this effects the economy as a whole. I didn't really understand how this effected the economy.
ReplyDeleteI can definitely see how thanksgiving can be very expensive! I thought that it was a good idea to provide a potluck, because like you stated if everyone brings one dish, that would be one less side dish that the host needs to worry about. Not only is thanksgiving quite expensive but it also is time consuming, my family normally spends half the day on thanksgiving plus the day before all for cooking. Another point that you brought up that shocked me was that feeding a family of 12 costs $130. I would definitely expect it to cost more considering the amount of foods that you need to purchase. I also liked how you stated that a lot of families face leftovers, because I know that my family definitely does and we don’t even like turkey, so if we consider that amount of people that we have that could definitely reduce the amount of leftovers.
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