Hosting Thanksgiving can be an expensive proposition, but there are many ways to save some money without ruining the dinner.
- Potluck-Style – This does more than just cut the costs (and the time needed in making multiple dishes). Before you know it, you’ll be trading recipes to figure out how Aunt Marilyn makes that awesome pumpkin pie. It’s best for the host to deal with the turkey, but having someone else bring the ham you can save a lot of money. The key is to make sure all the important items are covered by someone.
- Make Food from Scratch - Yes, it’s faster to use ready-made mashed potatoes or pre-made pies, but it’s much cheaper to make them from scratch (not to mention tastier).
- Hit the Bakery Outlet – You can find deals on day-old bread at the bakery outlet. It’s much cheaper, but nobody will know the difference.
- Appetizers - Keep an eye out for low-cost appetizers (cheese and meat trays often go on sale near Thanksgiving). People will munch on these before the main course and not need as much of the more expensive items. It also keeps them occupied while waiting for everyone to show up.
- Smaller Dishes – This is a big one for kids especially. We tend to stack our plates high and often find that our eyes are bigger than our stomachs. It’s easy to go up for seconds, but it’s quite a waste to have half-eaten plates of food. You might find that next year you don’t need to cook so much and everyone will still walk away stuffed.
- Make Fewer Items – Do you really need both sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes? Corn and green bean casserole? If there are sides that people are indifferent to you may be able to eliminate them.
- Save Reusable Containers - Save your old peanut butter or spaghetti sauce jars and use them to pack up leftovers for people to take home. They’re free, unlike the disposable containers.
Got some tips to share? Put them in the comments!!! Have a happy Thanksgiving!
Posted under Spending
Written by Matt on November 26, 2008
