How cheap can you fix Thanksgiving dinner?

[SOAPPRO]

I should have said how frugal can you fix thanksgiving dinner. Mine should cost no more than $20.00 for 6 of us. I get a free turkey at work.

[PRICEPLUS]

Sometimes I can get a turkey in the hunting season. The folks at home find them not as nice as the fattened up store bought! I think a hormone, antibiotic, chemical free bird is the best. Somehow I find a greater appreciation of what I am eating when I have to go get it!

Potatos are fairly cheap when on sale. The DW and I have the mashed for the holiday. We add onions and a few pieces of American cheese. The stuffing can be made by buying day old bread where possile. I like the frozen vegetables like peas and string beans(store brand).

When folks are coming over for the holiday we have folks bring deserts or make a dish or two. I love the canned cranberrry sauce! The turkey can be the big expense. We buy enough groceries that generally we get a free store bought turkey!

[tinapbeana]

my family is weird, and we don't do holiday hams or turkeys. well sometimes there's a turkey breast, but more often than not we go for the time honored holiday... meatloaf! YUM, a family favorite!!!! and yes, i'm being serious. we eat about 5 lbs of meatloaf for most major holidays (Christmas, Valentines, birthdays, etc). tasty, makes great leftovers, and pretty durn cheap.

[PRICEPLUS]

My mother makes the greatest meatloaf I have ever tasted and I would rather it than a great many other holiday favorites!

[Ima saver]

That is my birthday and I don't like to cook. But there is no place open on thanksgiving around here. Last year we went to Gatlinburg, but most places were closed there too. We have no family, there is just the two of us.

[PRICEPLUS]

Julie, I'd like to think that a great many of here consider you family! You have more family than you know

[Thrifty Ray]

DH goes quadding at the coast for Thanksgiving every year and takes whichever kids want to tag along. I always stay home and do the black Friday thing, decorate the home and wrap the gifts.

There have been years I was home alone for Thanksgiving. The years I was home alone I dined on a Marie Calendar frozen dinner and read a good book (loved it!)

The last couple of years we have gone to my DILs moms house. We take a turkey that DH gets for a gift from his boss each year and I take some drinks and a side dish....so usually I spend under $20. I am sure she spends several hundred...they always make 2-3 turkeys, a ham, lots of sides and invite everyone they know. ....and she serves many bottles of wine, champagne and a keg of beer...


When I used to cook Thanksgiving dinner it could get expensive...Id say around $40-50---but that was back in my work outside the home making lots of money days...(aka pre-frugal!!) If I were to cook it now, Id challenge myself to keep it under $25.

[Gruntina]

This year is going to be expensive for me but it was intentionally planned. My bf and I are sharing our first thanksgiving together this year and it will be the two of us. I am going to get a Turkey as I love to cook and bake. It's a lot for just the two of us but it will go a long way. I plan to freeze serving portions of the turkey for future meals, use the bones to make broth and since I have a whole week off vacation, I might just create some meals and freeze them. The freezer is going to be beyond stuffed.

I just also have to have the sweet potatoes/nuts casserole and homemade stuffing. My goal with these two is not to buy large quanities since its just the two of us to try to keep some cost down.

[Bookie]

I'm usually invited out for Thanksgiving, so aside from a bread and butter gift I have no expense.

A couple of years ago I won a free turkey on a grocery store coupon. You can't give away a turkey at Thanksgiving, so I took it home and let it thaw. Baked that beast according to the instructions in my big cookbook and cracked up when I took it out of the oven.

It was perfect! A magazine cover turkey in all its golden splendor. I even took photographs. Then I broke in down into single meal portions and froze it. No one ever got to see my perfect turkey, but I ate off it for months.

[MonkeyMama]

I'm not sure, but was just talking about this with dh's mom today. ALL of our family lives 2 hours away and we hate always having to drive down there for holidays. Since we have the most room we have always taken on hosting thansgiving. BUT they love to cook so they bring most of the food and do the cooking.

We usually provide the turkey and will probably get it free from the grocery store. You know, spend x dollars, get a free turkey. We already spend the x dollars anyway.

I don't think we will have to spend much else - just provide some basics - maybe salad and rolls and drinks. Not planning to spend much but planning to eat well! I get paper plates and all that from the dollar store. I probably don't even need to buy any this year, so many leftovers from years past. I'd be surprised if we spent $20 to feed 20 people. HAving a generous family, that loves to cook, helps a lot.

[BCHGRL]

LoL - I do Thanksgiving for free; it is called eating at my parent's house.

[Ima saver]

I always went to my in laws and ate for free too. I miss that! Last year we went to gatlinburg, so thanksgiving was expensive.

[aurielle]

Every year for the last 6 years me and DH and a big group of our friends rent a church hall with a kitchen, take up a collection and put on a turkey potluck dinner for those who have nowhere else to go for Thanksgiving. We supply the turkey, ham, mashed potatos and gravy and stuffing, and many who show up bring side dishes and desserts. We encourage people to bring board games, cards, dominoes, etc. so people can spend the day, socialize, whatever. For the last few years, the local treatment center has been participating and doing alot of the cooking and clean-up. It's pretty neat. We have a good time, and usually a homeless person or two shows up, or people hitchhiking through town. We don't get that many though, because other organizations also put on turkey dinners.

We usually donate $10 or $20 and show up and participate. This year DH said he will be cooking the ham. This should be interesting

And for our money, time and effort, we each get a plate of food, have a great time with our friends and don't have to eat leftovers for the next week. A win-win situation.

[dossin1]

I expect to spend around $25 this year, since I don't think we are having any extra family over. In the past (when we had money!) I used to buy Honeybaked ham and spend $35-40 for ham, but no more. I think I will try to find the ham recipe on internet and make one for Christmas.

[PrincessPerky]

aurielle,
that sounds like a very cool idea.

Our thanksgiving is always up in the air, I hate that! so this year we may spend about 40..on gas to go to pa, or we might spend nothing on dinner at the ILs in town, or we might spend 30ish on dinner for us and the ILs here...

Ill let you know the week of, which is when we will know..and yes that irritates me!!!!

[sakigt]

Originally Posted by BCHGRL

LoL - I do Thanksgiving for free; it is called eating at my parent's house.

Thats how Im doing it

[tinapbeana]

bah!!! i usually get out of TG for free, but it's only b/c i have 1 meal at the ILs, 1 meal at my parents, and sometimes a 3rd obligation somewhere else!

i'd just as soon drop $50, have everyone over to my house and not have to drive all over creation (or carry around that empty leg to hide all the food).

[frugalmomof1]

I haven't had to pay for a Thanksgiving dinner yet! We either go to the in-laws, or travel to Minnesota to spend it with my parents. I guess if you consider the cost of a plane ticket, then it's an expensive meal...but the visit is definately worth it.

[budgetmom]

We are pitching in for dinner at the ILs because there will be a lot of family there this year, which is not the norm. I volunteered to pitch in because IL's are hosting their DD's wedding reception the weekend after. It's going to be a crazy week! I am giving the TOTAL cost of dinner at around $150 (and that is a generous estimation as I don't have the menu in front of me right now). But, we are feeding a MASS amount of people. I know that we are cooking 2 turkeys (one baked and one fried) and a ham. I think... mashed potatos and sweet potatos, stuffing, green bean casserole, corn casserole, deviled eggs, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, red velvet cake, cranberry bread, lots and lots of dinner rolls...that's all I can think of right now, but I'm sure there is more. We all turn in to total pigs during the holidays!

[shelbylovesmelby]

We eat @ the il's by their choice not by ours as their house gets so hot it's like 90 in there! But we do usually buy the turkey as they only buy a turkey breast if we don't buy them an actual turkey. + we like the left overs for sandwiches & turkey soup