Do you want to save money on Thanksgiving? You may think it’s difficult to celebrate a Thanksgiving dinner within a budget. But trust me, there are many unique tips and tricks to save money on a Thanksgiving dinner.

How to save money on Thanksgiving dinner like a pro

Check out some fantastic money saving tips for food for Thanksgiving dinner.

1. Buy seasonal fruit and veggies

It is obvious, you’ll pay a much lesser price for fruit and veggies that are available in this season.

Seasonal things are cheaper and remain fresh also than out of season produce, so you have less risk that they’ll go off before using.

2. Buy generic items for the dinner preparation

You might need a lot of things for your Thanksgiving dinner party. But before buying such items, make sure you focus on generic items rather than brand names. If you look closely, there is barely any difference between a generic item and the branded item. The more you analyze, you’ll find the main factor is the price. So, why do you spend $10 to $20 more for a similar quality item? The choice is easy now, isn’t it?

3. Plan way before the day comes

Start thinking about the Thanksgiving dinner party at least one week earlier. It can help you to save your wallet.

For example, if you buy frozen turkeys in advance, it’ll be cheaper than buying fresh ones just before the big day. Don’t worry about the taste, it’s just as good as a normal one.

If you have enough time, you can search for cheaper stuff for recipes.

You may also check out for the deals on other ingredients, particularly stuff that is available as frozen.

4. Try to buy in bulk

Bulk buying can be beneficial if you plan for a big party. Many stores offer lucrative discounts on bulk purchases. It may possible that you can get one or two free turkeys if you buy 5 or more in a bulk. But you must stay alert and avoid overbuying.

5. Prepare food what you actually require

We often become so excited about Thanksgiving that we start making 6 types of dessert, 4 types of side dishes, and the biggest turkey you find till Thanksgiving.

We become so much devoted to the ceremony that having a mountain of leftovers doesn’t bother us anymore.

You may stop this habit if you want. To save money, you can use the leftovers as office lunches for the next few weeks, But make sure you preserve them good.

The best thing would be only making what you actually need.

Make 2 or 3 dishes, and make them well. People often taste 1 or 2 desserts at a time, not more.

6. Only make what your guests actually like

There’s absolutely no reason why you have to serve certain dishes for it to be a “real” Thanksgiving.

For example, if half of your family hates green beans, why serve them even if it’s “traditional”? On the same point, if your family love pumpkin pie and always eat the whole thing whether or not the filling is made fresh or is from a can, then you should definitely choose the cheaper option.

By simply giving them what they like rather than feeling like you “have” to serve certain foods, your guests will definitely be satisfied with their Thanksgiving dinner.

7. Think about the leftovers

You’ll have leftovers, trust me! It happens.

So have a plan ahead of time, how will you manage them.

For example, you can keep your leftover turkey meat in your refrigerator. But what will you do with the carcass? Use it to make stock. Have some leftover veggies? Use them to make a delicious soup for lunch.

Keep all the leftovers and freeze them until you can use them for preparing meals.

8. Call for a Thanksgiving potluck dinner

There’s no doubt that one of the main expenses we bear for the Thanksgiving period is food. So another best way to limit your costs can be throwing a potluck dinner.

Just ask your guests to prepare and bring a dish of their choosing. Make sure you discuss the items so that you can avoid any repetition of dishes.

This will help to not only share the costs but also save the time and hard work for preparing the dishes!

Conclusion

By doing a little pre-event planning, budgeting, and smart shopping you can enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner with lots of saving.

If Squanto never offered the pilgrims, coming from the other side of the world, a place to stay and food to eat, then thanksgiving day would not have taken the form as it is today….

It was a long difficult time of suffering, and a brief history of charity and love, that made the foundation of thanksgiving. If you don’t know who’s Squanto, then let me tell you, ‘he was the dude, back then’.

When the english pilgrims stepped down from the merchant ship Mayflower on Cape Cod, they were welcomed by heavy snow, draught, unfavorable conditions, and other threats from nature.

That’s exactly when Squanto appeared. A tribal man from the jungle, had feathers on his head, and spoke broken English.

He offered the dying and weathered englishmen shelter, and food.

Squanto taught them how to plant crops and how to beat the harsh weather conditions of the Atlantic.

So, now it was time for the englishmen to pay thanks and show gratitude to Squanto and his native american tribe.

It was then, that the first thanksgiving season was observed, where food, fresh harvests, and other household objects were exchanged among the people of the native tribe and the pilgrims.

Then after 2 centuries, our former president Mr. Abraham Lincoln officially declared a special day that is to be considered a holiday and should be marked as thanksgiving day.

Since then we have been celebrating thanksgiving each year, where we invite our family members and friends, and have big feasts and get-togethers.

But are all of us actually celebrating this festivity the way it’s meant to be done? Guess not. Thanksgiving itself means to show gratitude and give thanks, which many of us don’t follow.

In this blog post however, it is a question of finances.
I believe, this thanksgiving it’s time for us to offer gratitude with an act of charity so as to respect our financial independence, and say thanks to the Almighty, who makes it possible for us to earn and live!

What should you do on thanksgiving?

A little charity is what I am asking you to do. Nothing more.

As you receive your paycheck for this month, try to scrap out a little percentage (say 5% or 10% – even 1 dollar will do), and donate it to some charity foundation or association.

There are numerous charity organizations in our country that you can donate to.

Even your local church will pull out the job too. Just go ahead and do the charity. Offer your thanks for the financial happiness you are experiencing in the present time!

Trust me, your thanksgiving will be the most blessed one, and can’t get more better if you do some charity!

But that’s not all. Charity is one part. Do you know how charity influences better finances?

I recently went through a few blogs and articles on psychology and finances. They are defining charity and donations at a different level.

It’s said that when you give away a portion of your money for moral investment, it brings in happiness and influences you to have more wealth, so that you can receive more happiness like this in the future by donating more money.

Charity is an investment. Not something that will give you good returns in terms of money. But it ensures that you are sharing your wealth for worldly reasons.

Obviously you can ignore this belief, but remember that charity will surely force you to have more income, and will give you a strong reason to sustain your existence.

Life is short mate. You are born today, and you die tomorrow, before you even know it.

Hence do something, for which you will never leave any regret behind, when you are gone.

Have a wonderful and happy thanksgiving.

Maybe you have to work on Thanksgiving Day. Or maybe you have any sudden issue for which you couldn’t plan on hosting Thanksgiving dinner. Or maybe you’ve planned on hosting Thanksgiving but haven’t had a chance to decide the menu. Here’s what you can do to save the day:

You can feed eight people, but it’d be pretty easy if you want to make it for four. You just need to cut it in half.

1. Roast the turkey in pieces

Cut the turkey in several pieces (two bone-in breast pieces and two whole legs) before roasting.

The benefits are:

It’ll cook faster. It’ll take only 20 mins and keep keep all the moisture and flavor intact.
It’s easy to add more flavors and juice without tempering the shape. Brush melted butter under and over the skin. Place the pieces on a baking sheet and pour some wine around.
The pan juice can be used as a flavored sauce if you want more gravy.

2. Serve a delicious kale salad

To add something green and fresh with the turkey, you can use a kale and Brussels sprout recipe. It’ll add an italian flavor to your meal. It’ll take 20 minutes only to make it. Use your food processor to slice the kale, almonds, apple, cheddar, and brussels sprouts.

3. Roast some squash and sweet potatoes

You can roast a bunch of sweet potatoes and Delicata squash. Try to cut these veggies into proper circles. Then serve the pieces on a circular platter and highlight the plate with fresh thyme sprigs and red-pepper flakes. It’s ready, place it in the oven for roasting.

Now, to add more variety you can prepare a gorgeous cranberry agrodolce. It’s a great sweet and sour italian dish, perfect for any occasion. You’ll require tart cranberries, red-wine vinegar, and sugar. You can use it as a condiment for the roasted turkey.

4. Make a skillet stuffing

Stuffing is must for any good recipe you make for Thanksgiving. So, on this occasion you can create a stuffing that’ll increase the taste of your turkey much more. For that, you’ll require ingredients like wild mushrooms (it’s the best thing for stuffing), hot & spicy Italian sausages, some fresh sage, and corns for extra flavour. You can also use white wine, grated cheese to make it richer and tastier. It’ll also take 20 to 25 mins, voila!! It’s ready to serve.

5. Make a frozen puff pastry

Now it’s time to prepare the dessert for Thanksgiving menu. You can prepare a maple-pear sheet tart, within 10 min. Just put it in the oven before starting up the dinner. You can use vanilla ice cream for dressing and pour some Italian amaro to drink after.