After interviewing financial and food experts about how to keep Thanksgiving costs down, I discovered a few recurring themes: Choose seasonal ingredients, avoid speciality items and repurpose dishes into new meals to fully leverage leftovers.
The advice coincided perfectly with my decision to host a Thanksgiving meal for 10 family members for the very first time. Our guests include children and vegetarians, so I had to make sure there were plenty of options beyond the main event (the turkey).
By applying the basic principles the experts shared with me, I set the goal to keep my total cost for feeding 10 people to $150. At $15 per person, that felt like a reasonable (but ambitious) limit.
I also wanted to incorporate the meals that have long been traditional in my family, including spinach casserole and artichoke dip.
Thanks to advance planning, I am confident I am going to achieve this spending goal when we all sit down to eat next week. Here’s how:
Appetizers: $23
Ingredients: Artichoke dip, cheese, crackers and grapes.
Artichoke dip is a family favorite at my house, so after checking with my mom for the ingredients, I realized I just needed canned artichokes and Parmesan cheese. I already had the mayonnaise and Worcestershire sauce in my fridge. Canned artichokes, like many canned vegetables, are quite inexpensive, so I’ll only have to pony up $8 for the can plus the Parmesan cheese.
The cheese, crackers and grapes for a simplified charcuterie board are also easy to find without overspending, as long as I stick with simpler cheeses. Together, the total cost comes in at $15.
I followed the advice of Brooke Caison, food editor at the recipe website Delish, who warned against trying to make a complicated charcuterie board filled with nuts, meats and fancy cheeses.
“A little bit of brie plus cranberry sauce feels high end,” she says.
Side dishes: $24
Ingredients: Spinach casserole, stuffing, mashed potatoes, rolls and cornbread.
Because members of my family have such strong feelings about each side dish, I can’t cut anything from the menu, but I can keep each dish simple. Spinach casserole features frozen spinach packs, sour cream and onion dip; stuffing includes one boxed package plus onions; mashed potatoes involves potatoes and cream. In total, these items cost approximately $20.
I’ll be able to outsource the rolls and cornbread to my mother-in-law, who is happy to contribute. That also allows me to leverage another strategy recommended by the experts — turning the meal into a potluck.
To round out the meal, I’m getting two cans each of canned cranberry and gravy for $4.
Main dishes: $47
Ingredients: Turkey and baked ravioli.
The main dish turned out to be the most difficult to create on a budget, because large turkeys are pricey. I found a 14-pound bird for $32, pulled thyme from my small herb garden and used the garlic and spices we already had on hand.
Because we have vegetarians attending, I also want to make a baked ravioli dish, which will cost about $15, including the pasta, sauce and cheese.
Dessert: $14
Ingredients: Apple pie, pumpkin pie and vanilla ice cream.
I got lucky with the dessert and received an apple pie as a gift from a friend. I also plan to pick up a pumpkin pie ($8) and a tub of vanilla ice cream ($6).
Caison mentioned another frugal dessert option, which is using cake mixes to create holiday-themed cookies. While I’m going the more traditional route this time, I might try her idea for the next holiday.
Following the advice to repurpose leftovers, we’ll make turkey sandwiches for days following the big meal. Since we’ll have house guests, the extra food will be helpful.
I’m also following the advice of Andrea Dekker, who shares food and home organization tips on her website, and tempering my impulse to purchase Thanksgiving decorations to hang up around the house. Instead, I plan to cover my table in butcher’s paper and leave markers out so each guest can jot down what they are grateful for. I’ve taken this approach for family dinners before, and it always leads to an interesting and unexpected conversation.
Grand total: $108
Success! I can’t believe how easy it’ll be to stay under budget without giving up any of our traditional dishes. I plan to use the money left in our budget to purchase drinks, extra cheese for the appetizer and other miscellaneous items like paper products.
