Low Cost Ideas for Thanksgiving Dinners
Many people enjoy Thanksgiving because it is a holiday that doesn’t involve expensive gifts, unlike Christmas that can sometimes turn into stress-mas due to budgetary restraints. However, sometimes people can underestimate the expenses that can go into Thanksgiving dinners.
Hosting a Thanksgiving dinner can often include large amounts of people. Whether it’s for extended family, friends or even coworkers; Thanksgiving dinners will undoubtedly involve an army to feed. When feeding an army, regardless of the type of food you choose to make, Thanksgiving can be an expensive ordeal. However, there are some ways to cut costs for your Thanksgiving dinner without sacrificing in the quality of the food.
Potluck dinner
A great way to cut costs for a Thanksgiving dinner is to hold a potluck event where your guests are able to feature their best dishes. This allows you to simply purchase and prepare the main turkey dish, while your guests can bring everything else. A great way to pull the entire meal together is by designating each guest to a particular category. While one guest can bring the vegetable dish, another can bring an intricate salad and still another can bring the desert. This is a great way to spread the expenses of the meal without sacrificing in the quality of the menu or the food. Each guest will undoubtedly want to showcase their best cooking and this will ensure a great overall meal.
Homemade ingredients
During the holidays, many grocery stores stock up on premade ingredient items. However, because of the popularity of the items during the holidays, the markup on ingredients can be quite costly. An example is the ready-made bread cubes for making stuffing or seasoned bread crumbs for casseroles. However, these are ingredients that are easily made at home at a fraction of the cost. Simply buying some store brand white bread at around $0.58 a loaf you can easily chop and toast them to make bread cubes for stuffing or use a food processor with your favorite spices to make your own homemade breadcrumbs.
Alternatives
Using alternatives in your Thanksgiving menu can be a great way to cut costs. While canned or frozen corn can be a common ingredient for slaws and salads, opting for corn on the cob and slicing off the kernels yourself can actually save on the budget. Another great alternative is using chicken rather than turkey as the main dish. Intricate recipes for rosemary chicken roasted whole can become a favorite. Bulk stores like Sam’s Club andCostcooffer whole chickens in pairs at a low price and allows for multiple chickens for your Thanksgiving dinner. Since Thanksgiving dinners usually involve long tables with multiple seating, setting roasted chickens in space intervals along the table is a great way to ensure everyone has a prime spot for the main dish and makes for a great appearance in your overall Thanksgiving dinner table.
Difficult economic times can call for alterations in your regular holiday routine. This can mean a secret Santa gift-giving regimen to cut costs during Christmas or an altered menu for your Thanksgiving dinner. Whatever your cost-cutting measures might be, it’s important to remember that the menu is not what dictates how great the dinner will be. The spirit of the holiday is about giving thanks and being with family and partaking in some cost-cutting measures for the actual dinner will not take away from what the holiday is all about.
