You Asked: Thanksgiving on a Dime

This week’s question comes from Robin:

I’m hosting Thanksgiving for my family this year. It’s 14 people and I’m really stressed because of how expensive it is! How can I save money and still host a nice dinner?

This is a problem I’m sure many of you face. And if you aren’t facing it for Thanksgiving this year, you may need help hosting Christmas.

Here are some ideas to help you out:

1. Ask people to bring something. You don’t have to do everything yourself. Ask your guests to bring a side dish. This might start a new tradition for your family and future hosts will likely be grateful. Having out of town guests? Have them bring things that travel well like pies, bread or drinks.

2. Shop the sales. Many Thanksgiving items are made with canned goods and baking supplies that keep for a while. You can often find canned vegetables, boxed stuffing and canned pumpkin on sale at different times during the year. You can also puree pumpkin and freeze it for when you’re ready. Whole cranberries freeze well too.

3. Make things from scratch. It seems much easier to buy the sides pre-made but this really increases the cost. To help reduce your stress level, you can make lots of things in advance. Green bean casserole can be assembled ahead of time. Just sprinkle the onion on and bake on Thanksgiving. Bread can be made and frozen in advance as well to ease the load. Many pies can also be made ahead.

4. Keep it simple. The more ingredients in each dish, the more expensive your dinner will be. Keep it simple. There’s no need to be extravagant. There are tons of great recipes out there that call for minimal ingredients and still turn out delicious. Some of my favorite sites: Foodie Daddy, Tammy’s Recipes and $5 Dinners.

5. Decorate with items on hand. Use greenery and other items from your yard to decorate the table. You can also have your kids make the place cards. Just have them write the person’s name and draw why they are thankful for that person. Your family will love it. Plus it will keep your kids busy while you’re cooking!

Do you have any great ideas for Robin? Please share.

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