Whether you’re hosting the big meal at home or preparing just a few dishes to pitch in with others, Thanksgiving dinner can get a little pricey. There are hostess gifts, decorations, dinnerware and, of course, turkey with all the trimmings.
I’ve been hosting Thanksgiving dinner for several years, and because of my girls’ food allergies, I prefer to buy it all myself. It serves two purposes—I can control the ingredients and stake a claim on all the leftovers.
However, I stick close to a $100 holiday dinner budget (for food, plates and decor). With careful planning, it is possible to serve even a large crowd with just a little money. Don’t spend too much on decor—a few natural centerpieces will go a long way. Core a few apples and insert taper candles or use mums that you can plant outside to enjoy for years. If you have table cloths & napkins tucked away, you’ll set a beautiful table without spending a penny on paper products.
This way, you can use the bulk of your funds on the main event—it’s all about the food! Start by making your Thanksgiving menu right now. Our basics stay the same from year to year—turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie—but I throw in a new side dish every couple years or pull out old favorites, depending on sale prices. Be as generic as possible at first to give yourself wiggle room. For example, if a veggie tray is too expensive the week of Thanksgiving, you’ll have the option of buying a different appetizer.
Once you know what you’ll be serving, create a master ingredient list. This should include absolutely everything you will need to prepare each recipe, including quantities. Then comes the fun part—it’s time to go through the pantry.
Every November, my pantry gets a thorough cleaning so I can take stock of what I have, check expiration dates on things that have probably been there since last Thanksgiving and donate to the school’s annual food drive. As I put items back on the shelf, I compare them to my ingredients and cross off items I will not need to purchase. If I have a concern my family could eat something I will need, I label it with a sharpie or store everything in a large baggie with THANKSGIVING in big, bold letters so there is no question about it.
Whatever is left becomes the Thanksgiving grocery list. You have a couple weeks left to watch sales, clip coupons and buy everything you need within your budget. Grab a few things each week as they go on sale, and you can even stay out of the grocery store on the dreaded Wednesday before!
Originally published on 11/15/2010
Corrin says
With all the holiday sales and your excellent planning, I think $100 is a generous budget. I’m sure everything is delish!
valentine says
this is an interesting tip that important to an event planners and also is of use to this department http://education.unn.edu.ng/faculty/departments/dept-4/
Ramiro Batista says
Hi
SEO Link building is a process that requires a lot of time fo inexpensively.com
If you aren’t using SEO software then you will know the amount of work load involved in creating accounts, confirming emails and submitting your contents to thousands of websites in proper time and completely automated.
With THIS SOFTWARE the link submission process will be the easiest task and completely automated, you will be able to build unlimited number of links and increase traffic to your websites which will lead to a higher number of customers and much more sales for you.
With the best user interface ever, you just need to have simple software knowledge and you will easily be able to make your own SEO link building campaigns.
The best SEO software you will ever own, and we can confidently say that there is no other software on the market that can compete with such intelligent and fully automatic features.
The friendly user interface, smart tools and the simplicity of the tasks are making THIS SOFTWARE the best tool on the market.
IF YOU’RE INTERESTED, CONTACT ME ==> seosubmitter@mail.com
Regards,
Ramiro