Alright, alright. With Thanksgiving time nearly upon us, I’ve been thinking a lot about how much money Americans spend on turkey time each year.
About $165, with nearly $68 of that going to travel.
In my mind, this number is the problem with averages. If you are flying your family across the country, you’re spending a lot more. If you’re on the hook for the entire meal and all the beverages, you could easily clock in well beyond this number. If you’re that one relative that always shows up with nothing except bags for the leftovers, well, we won’t go there….
While you can’t do much in terms of geoarbitrage-ing your holidays in one week’s time, I do have four other tips to share that might help you keep some of this cash in your wallet this year.
Find a frugal wheelhouse.
I am not in charge of the turkey. As a guest, I fall into a different camp. My mom is the only dinner guest I know who brings a whole ham, but I digress. This is one area where you can move from frugal to cheap real fast. Showing up with a six-pack of dinner rolls to feed 12 or more is cheap. Or as my nana used to say, “Skimpy. It looks so skimpy.”
Instead, find something that you and other guests enjoy and see how you can optimize it. Shop sales (fresh cranberries can be had for a screamin’ deal as a loss leader and they freeze for a really long time) or do more from scratch. I make a tray of taco dip and a double recipe of brownies (from the box!). It costs us maybe $15, but people request both the appetizer and the dessert over and over again.
I didn’t choose the offerings because of their price points; I just figured out where to buy the ingredients more cheaply once I realized what a hit they were. (Let me spill my taco dip secrets since you’re here: one part sour cream, one part cream cheese, and a packet of taco mix – or make your own! Top with whatever fixings you want or serve as is. It’s so good, so frugal, and so stupid easy. And if you want a real recipe, this one from Skinnytaste is awesome.)
Pull from your shelves.
OK, so this one isn’t entirely helpful for this year, but it’s definitely a trick worth filing away. This is going to sound a lot like regifting, but it isn’t. It’s shopping so far in advance you might think you had access to a time machine.
Because most of my friends and family drink alcohol at celebrations, I stock up on a few bottles of wine throughout the year when they go on sale. A local liquor store chain has percent-off stock-up sales, and I try to combine those with manufacturer rebates or Ibotta deals. Then, I just pull from my shelves whenever we are headed out somewhere.
Related Post: Using Ibotta for Some Extra Holiday Jingle
This is also an awesome way to never be caught empty handed due to a last-minute invitation. And there’s no need to be someone you’re not or try to make your fellow revelers into different people either. I’m not a wine drinker, so I used to equate expensive with good. Now, I just buy a few of the brands that I know my family and friends actually like.
If alcohol is not big in your family or friend group, you could easily do the same thing with coffees or teas. Both have long shelf lives and could be consumed at the end of meal on Thanksgiving, the next morning, or anytime .after
Know thy host(ess).
I’m Italian-American, and we show our love with saturated fat. It’s just what we do. But even if I am absolutely positively forbidden from bringing any food items, I cannot show up empty-handed. It’s just not how I was raised. However, I know what it’s like to battle clutter, so I try to be really mindful of what I’m giving and whether or not it’s an actual gift.
Depending on who is hosting, my go-to items are either wine (see aforementioned booze-y trick!) or plants. Not fresh flowers. Not only are plants usually a lot cheaper, they make so much more sense than fresh flowers. No one has to scramble for a vase, and if you opt for a poinsettia at Thanksgiving time, the host can use it all through the holiday season. I also like to give fresh basil or rosemary plants when I know the hosts cook with fresh spices and have the counter space.
Dress up, not new.
I’m a pretty big fan of leggings and sweater dresses (more room for food!), but you won’t catch me buying anything new for Thanksgiving. In fact, none of us are wearing things we don’t already own.
Related Post: Everything I Tried to Buy My Son in the Past 24 Hours
I’d like to say that this was simple. It wasn’t. I come from the mindset that if there’s a photo of you in an outfit, you can’t be photographed again in it. Honest to social media gods, that’s how my brain used to work. It took years to break my compulsion to buy something new on holidays (or most days, if I’m being totally frank), and it’s been equally challenging to convince myself that my son doesn’t need a special turkey day shirt either. Yes, he’d look freaking adorable in a Everyone’s Thankful for Me jumpsuit, but that $10 is going right to his 529 instead.
So Tell Me…How do you keep your expenses in check without crossing the line from frugal to cheap?
I’m gonna be honest here – I don’t really like turkey (gasp)! So I often have pork roast or ham for Thanksgiving, which I purchased on sale previously and popped in the freezer. We still have a great family meal, but it costs us a lot less…
We tend to be the couple hosting. Turkeys at least quite cheap, most of the grocery stores around here literally give one away when you spend 100 dollars on other groceries. Group the bill if you have to and away you go.
The fixings are usually cheaper off season. A little late for that but for next year by the gravy, stuffing, and other long expiry date items early.
I love this, Penny!
We lurveeee some taco dip in our family, and it would be perfect. For Christmas, we actually always do a big slew of appetizers for our extended family gathering. It takes the pressure off the host to have a picture-perfect meal, distributes the responsibility to contribute and is always delish. I used to mooch off my mom’s famous broccoli salad, but am officially married and have to bring my own dish this year. Taco dip sounds right up my alley…
Aldi for the win this Thanksgiving! To make my grandma’s famous dressing, I’m going to Aldi for their $.95 stalk of celery, $.95 loaf of white bread, $1.15 container of chicken broth, darn cheap butter, and maybe darn cheap cornbread mix (not sure if they have that; haven’t looked). Then I’ll casserole it up for some post-turkey leftovers. Brownies from a box are a great idea; I’ll probably adopt that. Thanks!
I agree with you–it’s all about frugal alternatives for the stuff we already eat. Since we’ll be at the beach, I’m definitely bringing all the ingredients from Aldi with me, because the beach grocery store is about 70% more expensive on average! It’s ridiculous.
As for clothing, well, I apparently dress so badly my grandmother once loaned me her Christmas sweater for the holiday photo. So I guess that’s not really a problem, because I can always raid Granny’s closet for free. 🙂
I love this! We host every year and I totally start stocking up on some ingredients a couple of months in advance to even out the budget. We also hand make most of our decorations which saves money and keeps the kids occupied while the grown ups clean and cook.
Such a cool idea to make decorations! I can’t wait until my son is bigger, and we can make turkey handprints!
We make stuff from scratch and we stock up on Thanksgiving sales. Everything seems to be a loss leader when it comes to Thanksgiving.
Growing up I always had potluck Thanksgiving and it was awesome. There was so much food to choose from, and no one spent an arm and a leg to do dinner. My granny always hosted and she did the turkey, but that was it; everyone else brought sides and desserts. Worked like a charm, and everyone went home with leftovers!
That sounds delicious! Sadly, we didn’t get any leftovers this year. We left too early!
I love the idea of stocking up over the year so you have stuff for the inevitable holiday parties! I’m also with you on not dressing new or fancy for holiday meals – stretchy yoga pants ALL THE WAY.
Honestly! And I keep looking at all the holiday baby clothes, and I honestly don’t think they could make them more uncomfortable. Elastic waistbands for everyone!
We make two huge Thanksgiving dinners; one to take to the local hospice house, and the one we host, so I’ve learned a few tricks, too. Aldi is usually the best place for things like canned pumpkin, evaporated milk, etc. We’re fortunate enough to live and work near several different grocery stores, so I buy the weekly loss leaders from each one, starting about three to four weeks before Thanksgiving.
I love your idea of not necessarily bringing food if you’ve been told not to bring anything, but still feel like you can’t arrive empty-handed. I may borrow the fresh herbs idea. One thing, I’d add, though, is to make sure any plants you bring are pet safe if the host has pets. We have cats, and I always end up getting rid of any poinsettias people bring us. No one wants a holiday trip to the emergency vet.
Yes to that with poinsettias. Definitely not for houses with doggos or cats!
My Mom brings a whole ham to Thanksgiving too! Haha! We have a big family Thanksgiving at my brother & sister-in-law’s house and I think my Mom brings it cus my Dad dislikes turkey. Yeah, that last part is weird.
I keep my holiday frugal by signing up to bring something I’m good at making…cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, or salad. I concentrate on making one dish (in bulk). The ingredients for these are all inexpensive.
Additionally, there is no new clothing here!
I love your point about making sure you’re good at making it! DIY gets me so many times because of that. Just because other people (OK, fine, Pinterest!) can make it, doesn’t mean that I can. Trial and error can be costly!
ok.. so what brand box brownies mix do you use..i have tried some in the past that were a major fail.. help
This is so funny to me! My MIL insists that it’s the brand I use. Nope! At least I don’t think so. I buy whatever is on sale – Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, or even Aldi! I think the trick is how I make them. About 5 minutes before they are done, I take a piece of foil as big as my brownie pan and I cut the center out. I set it on top. That way, the edges don’t get too done and the middle cooks more. I also take them out when they’re still a teeny bit soft (clean toothpick but definitely gooey). My MIL just leaves hers in too long!
Also, LOL that I have this much to say about a box mix 😀 But I do love chocolate!