Shop wisely. Lots of grocery stores will offer FREE turkeys with a minimal purchase. Look at weekly ads the week before Thanksgiving to see what specials stores are offering. Also, holiday food will almost always go on sale and basic non-holiday food will not. Try to purchase only holiday-themed foods the week or two before, if possible. You can also make a note to buy throughout the year. Purchase items as they go on sale and store them until November comes around. This works great for frozen and canned varieties.
Go potluck. Have everyone bring their favorite dish and you provide the turkey! Not only does it save money, but it really frees up your time to enjoy the day more outside of the kitchen.
Less is more. Think back on last year and the mounds of leftovers in Tupperware you had filling your fridge for days… even weeks. Avoid all of that. Stick to the dishes that are the fan-favorites and avoid the desire to make 6 different starchy casseroles.
Think outside the box. Instead of traditional Thanksgiving food, why not theme it? Mexican, Korean, Italian, even vegetarian. The point of Thanksgiving is the people and being thankful, so feel free to skip the dressing and cranberry sauce.
Use natural, DIY decorations. Don’t spend a lot of money on table décor! Collect fall leaves and branches, acorn squash, pumpkins, pinecones, dried flowers from your garden, or fall fruits (like apples and pears) that you can eat another day.
Use up turkey leftovers– There are so many more options for leftover turkey than sandwiches! Think outside the box! Turkey salads, turkey tacos, turkey chili, BBQ pulled-turkey, turkey quesadillas, the list goes on and on. Mix up your flavor profiles and you’ll be surprised at how versatile turkey can be!
We hope these tips help you save a little cash this year.