1Planning Thanksgiving: Don’t Do It All!

If for years you have been the person in your family responsible for doing all of the buying, cooking, and hosting for Thanksgiving, consider making a change this year. While you may enjoy cooking and hosting Thanksgiving for your family, it would be a good idea for everyone who will be attending to pitch in with things.

As with any party or family get-together, it is so important to carefully plan every detail of the event. Start by making a list of all the Thanksgiving dishes that you think will be needed for your meal, from the turkey to the copious pies that everyone will expect!

Once you have compiled your list you can start the process of determining who, in your family, will be responsible for bringing side items. Is Cousin Charlie well known for his green bean casserole? Does your sister Nicole bake the best apple and pumpkin pies you have ever tasted? If you delegate appetizers, side-dishes, and desserts to everyone who will be attending, you will be able to ease the burden on your budget just a little bit.

Try, however, to set a dollar amount limit on what everyone brings to your potluck Thanksgiving meal – you should very easily be able to set a limit at under $10 and have a magnificently delicious meal that every person in attendance will thoroughly enjoy!

Make sure to stress to your invited friends and family the importance of their RSVP’ing to your invite – while Thanksgiving leftovers are an understood part of the holiday, if you can avoid overspending at the grocery store for guests who won’t be in attendance, then all the better for your budget.

2Planning Thanksgiving: The Turkey

The turkey is the centerpiece for your Thanksgiving meal; however, the turkey can also be the most expensive part of your Thanksgiving meal. Towards Thanksgiving, you should be able to find several grocery stores offering great deals on their turkeys – some stores even offer free turkeys if you purchase a certain amount of groceries from their store. While their minimum limits may be around the $100 mark, it will be no problem for the average family to spend that amount at their local grocery store over the course of the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving!

Consider paying a visit to a local independent butcher to find out if he will be running any specials on turkeys; even if he doesn’t generally stock turkeys, your local butcher may be able to buy them at a much better price than you will be able to find! And, with a bit of persuasion, he may even be able to smoke your turkey for you – at no extra cost!

If you live near a turkey farm (do a quick Google search to check!) you may be able to get an incredible deal on your turkey by visiting the farm. Be aware, however, that you may need to reserve your turkey at least a month in advance to ensure that one is available for you.

3Planning Thanksgiving: Smart Shopping Tactics

Before you head out to the grocery store armed with your shopping lists, don’t forget to hit your coupon sources for extra coupons that can help you to save a significant amount of money. Check out the circular flyers that your local stores send out in the mail so that you can have an idea as to which store currently has the best deals on the things that you plan on purchasing.

For great deals on your fresh produce, consider a visit to your local farmers market; not only will you be able to get great fresh fruits and vegetables, but you can often purchase them for much less than you could purchase the same products in your grocery stores!

Although the premade pies in your grocery store generally do taste good, you can make a much more delicious pie for a fraction of the cost! Try out this incredibly frugal-friendly apple pie recipe this Thanksgiving! (Tip: make the filling during apple season when apples are on sale and freeze to use later on!)

Ingredients
Pie Dough
All purpose flour – 2 cup
Salt – 1 teaspoon
Vegetable Oil – ½ cup
Milk – ¼ cup
Filling
Apples – pared, cored, sliced – 2lbs
Brown sugar – 1 cup
Cinnamon – 1 teaspoon

Directions
-Preheat your oven to 425F
-Mix the sugar and cinnamon
-Mix the sugar-cinnamon mixture with the apple and set aside
-Sift the dry ingredients together
-Add the oil, mixing well until it looks like bread crumbs
-Slowly add the milk and mix until the dough forms into a ball

-Divide the dough in half and roll into two circle about 12 inches in diameter
-Fit one of the circles into a 9 inch pie pan
-Add your apple filling into the pan
-Place the top crust over the filling and seal the two crusts together – trimming excess dough as you go
-Cut a tiny slit in the top of the pie to allow steam to escape
-Bake for 50 minutes and enjoy with ice cream or whipped cream!

4Planning Thanksgiving: Downsizing Your Celebration

If your Thanksgiving meal is going to be somewhat smaller this year, consider purchasing a much smaller turkey so that you have fewer leftovers to deal with. Another alternative, even though it strays from the traditional, is to opt for perhaps roasting a large chicken this year – a chicken may be the better frugal-friendly option while also perhaps being a preferred bird over the turkey by some of the people in your family!

Another method of downsizing your celebration is to just simply not prepare as much this year; in addition to your bird, perhaps two or three sides and a pie are all that you need. Again, although Thanksgiving leftovers are generally synonymous with Thanksgiving itself, there are only so many deviled eggs and turkey salad sandwiches that you can eat before the food takes a turn for the potentially dangerous a week later in your fridge!

You don’t need a 40lb turkey, you don’t need six different kinds of pies! Unless, of course, you plan on inviting more than twenty people into your home this Thanksgiving!

5Planning Thanksgiving: Decorating Tips

To help liven up your Thanksgiving table a little bit consider avoiding the pricey decorations found at retailers – instead head on outside in search of colorful leaves, sprigs of pine, and even pinecones than can make attractive and budget-friendly Thanksgiving table settings.

Dollar stores are also great options for finding low-cost decorations at discount prices so be sure to see what your local discount stores have to offer in the way of Thanksgiving-themed plates, tablecloths, and even kitchen towels! Don’t forget to look for affordable Thanksgiving muffin tins that could be used to create uniquely shaped muffins or even cornbread.

With a bit of planning and careful organization, you will be able to have a frugal-friendly Thanksgiving meal that is as fun as it is delicious!