Thanksgiving is the day to celebrate blessings, not to dwell on tightened budgets and curbed spending. But in the midst of this year's dollar-conscious times, it may feel extravagant to prepare a holiday-worthy feast for a crowd. If you're planning to host a Thanksgiving meal, we have a few ideas to keep costs low without taking away from the occasion. So call up friends and invite the neighbors, and there will be food to go around and abundant reasons to give thanks!
Thanksgiving often goes hand-in-hand with excess: an excess of options, calories and leftover food. This year, try keeping your meal simple. Use in-season produce (think squash, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, apples), which cost less than out-of-season goods (don't make strawberry shortcake for dessert) to prepare your must-have dishes. Avoid overdosing on side dishes, even though it might be tempting to offer your guests a rainbow of choices, and you'll save big on overall costs. Focus on a few favorites and you'll be quick to earn the gratitude of your diet-conscious guests and create less stress for yourself as you prepare.
Consider padding your holiday menu with a few inexpensive dishes that will feed a crowd. Think out of the box: try a soup or a pasta dish that can be made easily in bulk. Add a little fall flair to either (toss your pasta with chunks of squash or make a curried carrot soup) and those dishes won't feel out-of-place on the Thanksgiving table.
Check with your local supermarket to see if they offer any sales on frozen turkeys before the holidays. Many stores even offer a free turkey if you spend enough on other groceries. By saving a few receipts, you could walk away with the most expensive element to your meal free of charge.
Don't break the bank when it comes to decor. All of the elements that you need to make a beautiful centerpiece for your table are free outdoors: vivid leaves, acorns and assorted fall blooms. Add a pumpkin or chrysanthemum to the mix and you have a gorgeous natural eye-catcher for your table.
Finally, why not take advantage of the family-sized gatherings that happen on Thanksgiving Day and ask each of your guests to prepare and bring one dish, to create a potluck-style meal that will feed a large group. The relatively easy task of coordinating the dishes that your guests will prepare is far less stressful than cooking for everyone. And Thanksgiving is one holiday where cooking is part of the fun, so you may be surprised to hear that your guests are excited by the task of preparing a favorite dish. As you assemble your spread on Thanksgiving Day, everyone will have had an important part in the preparations, without excessive cost.
As you sit down to your meal, give thanks for friends, family and other blessings, taking the focus off the food and placing it back on the overall feeling of love and gratitude that makes Thanksgiving an annual favorite.
