How to Cut Your Thanksgiving Dinner Costs

Each year as Thanksgiving approaches, you may notice that prices of Thanksgiving type foods rises. This year will be no exception. If you plan to cook Thanksgiving dinner this year, you can expect the usual costs to be double or triple what you paid last year. Here are some things you can do to save money on your thanksgiving dinner.

Start shopping now. The closer you get to Thanksgiving, the higher the costs will be. If stored correctly, Thanksgiving turkey, stuffing, and all the fixes can be purchased two months or more in advance of thanksgiving when the prices are cheaper. Even if you do not have the funds or space to start shopping for Thanksgiving foods in advance, perhaps you can start buying special spices you will need such as sage, allspice, nutmeg, and poultry seasonings.

Make cheaper versions of traditional thanksgiving dishes. If costs of Turkey are high, consider having chicken for thanksgiving dinner. AC writer Debbie Henthorn recently wrote an article on Chicken Recipes for Thanksgiving Dinner. Make your stuffing from stale bread and spices instead of buying expensive stuffing mix. Read How to Make Traditional Thanksgiving Stuffing by Nanette Richford for instructions. For side dishes, choose the vegetables that are cheapest in the store at the time.

Make more items from scratch. Stuffing, desserts, breads, and gravy are all pretty easy to make from scratch. While it will take some time and effort, it will cost you far less than the ready-made items in the stores right now. Some recipes you can try are Making Cakes from Scratch: Coconut Cake, and Make Your Own Pumpkin Pie from Scratch.

Have a family potluck dinner. Invite your entire family in for thanksgiving this year and have each person in charge on one dish. For the more expensive dishes like meats and Turkey, have a couple of family members chip in to pay for it. Read Hosting a Pot Luck Thanksgiving Meal with a Large Family by Janet Clark and Hosting a Family Thanksgiving Potluck- More Food, Less Work by Carol Rucker.

So you see by planning ahead for buying and preparing your thanksgiving meal, you can save yourself a good deal of money, and even time. Once you have your meal planned out don't forget to prepare your Thanksgiving decorations. This article on Free Thanksgiving Décor will help.