Carol J. Alexander
Families thrive on gathering for
the holidays — especially Thanksgiving. But the expense of serving a
traditional Thanksgiving feast for the entire clan can be cost-prohibitive for
some folks. With grocery prices rising like the morning sun, moms often
struggle enough to feed the family every day — not to mention making a turkey,
mashed potatoes, stuffing, and all the other trimmings. If it’s your turn to
have the tribe at your house, but you find yourself wanting to trim the
trimmings, here are five ways to help lighten the load on your holiday budget.
1. Play the game
And I don’t mean football. If you
want a traditional Thanksgiving meal, you have to play the grocery store game.
Start watching the ads early. Some stores require you save your receipts to
earn free or reduced-priced turkeys. Others offer a free turkey for a certain
dollar amount in purchases. Do the math to see which store and which deal is
the best for your family. Ingredients like sweet potatoes, canned pumpkin,
butter, stuffing mix, and marshmallows go on sale during November. Watching the
ads tells you when the price is right — and it’s not necessarily the week
before Thanksgiving.
READ MORE: 5 ways to keep kids entertained during Thanksgiving
2. Ask for help
Just because the family gathering
is at your house doesn’t mean you have to provide all the food. There is no
reason why cousin Kate can’t bring the pies or sister Sally bring the stuffing.
If you provide the turkey, ask each family unit to bring a dish. This is a
great way for everyone to share in the load and appreciate the cooking skills
and recipes of loved ones. In fact, have everyone who brings a dish bring the
recipe typed on a 3x5 card. Collect all the cards and compile a little family
cookbook to present to everyone else by Christmas.
3. Think outside the box
Do you really need to serve a
traditional Thanksgiving meal? Take a poll of family members. Would pasta and
salad suffice? Our family features a different ethnic food each Christmas. Try
having a Chinese or German feast instead. If the focus is on the fellowship and
not the food, it doesn’t really matter what you eat.
4. Use your china
Modern families think nothing of
splurging on paper when the tribe comes to feast. From paper tablecloths to
paper plates, napkins, and cups, this habit adds a considerable expense to the
meal. Show your family how special they are by breaking out the china. Do it up
right with a linen tablecloth, silver, and crystal. If you are nervous about the
children using your precious things, at least give them the Corelle. Since no
one wants to get stuck in the kitchen, when it comes time to do the dishes make
a game of getting it done.
5. Skip the meal altogether
Rather than keeping to yourselves
this Thanksgiving, consider having the family serve in a homeless shelter, soup
kitchen, or nursing home. Sharing love with those less fortunate than ourselves
brings greater rewards than lying over-stuffed on the sofa in front of a ball
game. After sharing with others, invite the family back to your place for
dessert and board games. You can even ask each family to bring their favorite
pie.
READ MORE: Raising thankful kids
Thanksgiving Day started as a
time of remembrance and thanksgiving by people with grateful hearts full toward
God for bringing them through tremendous hardship. May your Thanksgiving Days
forever continue in that same spirit.
Freelance writer Carol J.
Alexander has used all of these tips and more for saving money in the kitchen.