Thanksgiving Insanity

We used to spend a fortune every year for this one meal. Just for Thanksgiving dinner in my family, we could easily spend over $100. That was for not only my immediate family, but for relatives, too. $100 is more than I spend on a weeks worth of groceries for myself these days, so that amount of money, to me, is simply astronimical.

My siblings and I have all grown up now though, and we all have jobs, and some of us aren't always able to make it together to eat Thanksgiving dinner. Our relatives all have families of their own, and not as many of them make it out to our home each year. This year, much like last year, it is likely just going to be my mother and my sisters and I eating together. Four people. That's it.

Last year, my Mom was worried about how we would manage Thanksgiving. She is on a very tight budget, as are my sisters and I. I told her that for one thing, we could make a lot less food. We didn't have to make as much of each thing as we used to make. Instead of making a whole turkey, we could make simply a turkey breast. Instead of making 7 or 8 different side dishes, we could each select our favorite *must have* side dish, and we would only make enough for the handful of us who would be eating, plus a little for leftovers. Thanksgiving dinner leftovers are great, but there is no reason we should all be eating on them for a week, at least in my opinion. In addition to that, I told her that I would make up a list of everything we would need, scour the grocery store ads, and do the shopping...and that I could do it all for under $40. She didn't believe me...but I did it. The four of us each chipped in $10, and I did the shopping and the cooking, and we still had an ample Thanksgiving dinner with enough leftovers of each of our favorite dishes.

Since we are likely going to be doing the same thing this year, my Mom asked if I thought I could work it all out again the way I did last year. Only this time, she wanted to come with me to do the shopping, to see how I did it. I got a little chuckle out of that. But I agreed. We went to the store yesterday and got everything we would need for Thanksgiving dinner. And once again, it came in at less than $40. Even though she knew that I had searched through all of the ads and knew where the best deals were, Mom was shocked when we got to the checkout and she saw the total. Our basket was nearly as full as she would have it be when she used to shop for Thanksgiving dinner when we were feeding 12+. We were planning to make nearly as many dishes as we did back in those days, and with some of those dishes, we were planning to make nearly as much of it as we used to do. But still, I managed to figure it out so that we spent less than half of what she used to spend. She was flabbergasted.

I think that I have now solidified myself as the official deal shopper in the family. Many years ago, I solidified my position as the official Thanksgiving Dinner cook. No one else really wants to do it, and I enjoy it.

Anyways, if you're looking for ways to cut some corners and save a few dollars when you do your shopping for Thanksgiving dinner, my best advice is to look at the ads! There are sharp differences between the different grocery stores in how much they charge for various Thanksgiving essentials. Make a thorough list, noting how much things cost and where...and then fight the crowds! It is nuts, but it is well worth the savings to simply go where the deals are.