I canNOT wrap my head around how who’s could be possible. I’m assuming they filled their basket at a low cost shop. And probably didn’t include all the “extras”.
I.e. spices , herbs, butters/oils, flour, beverages, yada yada.
That being said. What’s your estimated Thanksgiving cost & for how many people, I’m super curious.
by LaborsofLoaf
43 Comments
10 people for an appetizer, lol.
Trying to hit around $20 for the wife and me this year. Curious if I can do it. I’ve got all peripherals.
Aldi’s has a preset meal
Lol my mother bought a turkey this year because the local grocery store had a coupon for $10 off the turkey if you buy $20+ of other stuff, and it was nearly double the price per pound of the one she bought after last Thanksgiving.
Last year’s was $0.86.
My Aldi is advertising this for I think $47. But it’s a specific buy X, Y, and Z.
We spent about $150 on groceries for thanksgiving and it’ll feed 7 adults and 4 kids but we’ll also have leftovers. I live in SC.
[https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/grocery-costs-thanksgiving-dinner-are-historically-affordable-rcna180874](https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/grocery-costs-thanksgiving-dinner-are-historically-affordable-rcna180874)
Always cite your sources. They’re basing this on the real value of the dollar, not on current prices, and do not say what this meal is composed of but they’re talking about processed food (like Target’s 4-item, 4 person package which includes ‘a canned vegetable and a box of stove top stuffing.’).
For me, in Canada, Thanksgiving is a harvest festival and we want seasonal veggies and fall flavours, which are cheaper than processed at that time of year. It’s also in early October, so in line with the harvest schedule.
This is accurate. Everyone can only have one spoonful of anything though. And no seconds. And no dessert! Drink water. And eat before you arrive. Lol
I didn’t- I’ve got a household of 6 in Puget Sound- they want leftovers- turkey, ingredients for pie, dressing, roasted roots and green beans, mashed potatoes, a fruit side (kiddos pick) gravy
We have to eat gluten free- I also bought the extra bread for a French toast casserole (breakfast Thursday and Friday) and rice to make the Traditional Turkey Curry Buffet”
Total- $158
Must be some special crack they were smoking before coming to that number.
Aldi has ones that is roughly under $50 it depends on the size of the Turkey.
* Butterball turkey .99/lb (10 lb – 9.99 to 20 lb 19.80)
* Poultry seasoning 1.19
* Sweet dinner rolls 1.79
* Pie crusts 3.99
* Canned pumpkin 1.15
* Sweet potatoes 1.95
* Mini marshmallows .95
* Evaporated milk .95
* Whipped topping 1.09
* Cranberries.99
* Russet potatoes3.29
* Gravy mix .29
* Chicken broth .99
* Stuffing mix .75
* Celery .95
* Fresh green beans 1.65
* Baby carrots .95
* Onions 2.19
* Shells and cheese kit 1.25
Total: 36.26 to 46.16 – depending on the size of your turkey, you could grab some extras or double some things. They recommend 1-1.5 lbs per person so 10-15 lb turkey would be right for 10 people.
Maybe a small turkey, a box of stuffing, and a bag of instant potatoes and gravy with some sodas to spare.
We live in Kentucky, cost about $200 for a good gourmet (appetizers, full meal, and some pies)
They missed a zero.
For ten people you need about a 17 pound turkey. Winn Dixie has Butterball Turkeys for 99 cents a pound, so that’s $17.
I don’t see why you can’t make enough dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy and a veg easily for another $40.
It cost me $40 just to get ingredients for Mac n cheese
Let’s see… I’m feeding 13 adults this year plus 3 little ones. West Michigan, I shop at Meijer.
I’m making turkey, potatoes, gravy, carrots, dressing, rolls, gravy, pumpkin pie, deviled eggs, ham rolls.
Two turkeys, each about 15#, at 39 cents/lb. Totals about $13.
10# potatoes, 99 cents a bag, totals $2
A pound of butter $2.99, gallon of milk the same. Total $6
6# carrots, $7. Celery $2, onions $3
1 loaf of Italian bread for dressing, $1
Can of pumpkin, $2
Flour, let’s say $2
Eggs $3
Ham, $4, cream cheese, $2, green onions $1
A bottle of sparkly juice, $4
Two bottles of Asti, $12
Total cost: $64.
Got a free turkey when I bought 35.00 worth of groceries at Grocery outlet.
10 pound bag of potatoes 5.00.
Butter, cream, cheese for potatoes…. 10.00.
2 boxes of stuffing…… 10.00.
Roasted vegetables….. 15.00.
Green salad …. 10.00.
Gravy ….. .05 of flour.
Hawaiian rolls….. 10.00
About 50.00 bucks so far.
Other people are making cranberries, desserts and bringing drinks so yeah pretty close.
It must be a Dave Ramsay casserole made of rice and beans.
Lets make them prove it, I want to see every Politician shop & cook the meal for 10 with $58 and not use rotisserie chicken!!!
No, it is true. Because of the election or woke or something.
I think when you take out the high probability of leftovers, meaning, $/lb of food purchased or prepared and adjust that ratio to only pay for what was eaten, the cost is lower than you might expect. I have a 50$ turkey, but there are only 4 of us eating, so I will easily have half of it left over.
I just put everything I need for my Thanksgiving for the 10 people coming and it costs $82.
Our menu is:
– turkey
– cornbread stuffing
– green bean casserole
– mashed potatoes with gravy
– roasted veggies
– salad
– rolls
– cranberry sauce
– pumpkin pie and pecan pie
I also had to put some things into my cart which may be left over after like flour, sugar, eggs, and milk but did not include any of the seasonings I need for my dinner.
Maybe I could do cheaper but I don’t think one package of Mac and cheese or a single package of mashed potatoes would be enough for 10 people. I was picking all the cheap store brand items for everything we cook.
Idk it was much more than this national average.
ETA: this does not include any drinks or alcohol.
They do these calculations every year, it tends to include a cheap turkey, cheap rolls, stuffing and canned sides. I would estimate my costs at around $40 but that’s for a very simple one with only for half the people and no desert.
I think it is possible but you’d have to go to multiple stores and cook everything – including pie shells from scratch. Turkey is 29 cents a pound at Food Lion with a $35 purchase. Sweet potatoes were 25 cents a pound at Harris Teeter.
I’m too lazy to add all of ours up plus my sister is bringing some, my aunt is bringing some, some is stuff I’ve had and I forget what I paid for it. Ten of us, 3 are kids, turkey is 18lbs and was .59 a lb. There should be leftovers for a second meal I hope. NE Ohio. If we’re counting ingredients we’ll use? At least $200-$250.
I just checked on target.com a basic thanksgiving meal with a whole turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberries, and pumpkin pie for 10 was about 45$
So there is a [link in the article](https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/20/thanksgiving-meals-may-be-cheaper-in-2024-as-turkey-prices-drop.html#:~:text=of%2010%20will-,cost%20%2458.08%20in%202024,-%2C%20on%20average%20%E2%80%94%20down) to where it’s broken down….
The “classic” dinner is a fixed amount of groceries for which prices are compared each year. Of course many people will have varying amounts of these in their “10 person gathering” and at widely varying price points.
For comparison, I priced out the same items at my local grocer (Aldi’s).
-For reference, they actually had a sale category called “Thanksgiving Feast for 10 only $47” with various items.
I priced everything on that same list for around $42.
It’s an incredibly modest amount of food for 10 people. Many people indulge and make leftovers on Thanksgiving, but there are also probably plenty of people that don’t have much. I have no idea what the “average” person’s Thanksgiving dinner, including those that may not be able to afford anything special at all, looks like.
This article is more an exercise in economics that compares YoY pricing.
for anyone wondering where this comes from, this is the original source
[https://www.fb.org/market-intel/thanksgiving-dinner-costs-are-down-again?x-craft-=eUDkgBkGGG&token=PLfyisHEnfv-suSmPSIVWANIelYha_40](https://www.fb.org/market-intel/thanksgiving-dinner-costs-are-down-again?x-craft-=eUDkgBkGGG&token=PLfyisHEnfv-suSmPSIVWANIelYha_40)
Turkey (16 lb): $25.67
Green Peas (16 oz): $1.73
Pumpkin Pie Mix (30 oz): $4.15
Cranberries (12 oz): $2.35
9” Pie Shells (2): $3.40
Whole Milk (1 gal): $3.21
Sweet Potatoes (3 Ib): $2.93
Cube Stuffing (14 oz): $4.08
Whipping Cream (1/2pt): $1.81
Carrots & Celery (1/2 lb ea.): $.84
Dinner Rolls (1 doz): $4.16
Ive spent about $300 on food and drinks. Meat prices are the worst. Oxtail was $180 for a case. The same case that cost $120 last year and $90 the year before. I opted to do a much cheaper cut the Beef shank. Oxtail just wasnt in the budget. The ham was $28 at walmart. In my neighborhood it $35. I dont know where cheap is but please point me in that direction.
I could do it as a challenge and there would be dessert but no leftovers. It would involve doing what I normally do and start stocking up for it weeks or months ahead, literally buying everything as a leader loss and making everything by scratch
It costs more than $58 to feed my family of 4 at mcdonald’s.
*Cries holding my 55 dollar turkey in Vermont*
A lot of it honestly depends on the sides you make and how you make it. Mac n Cheese can be either $5 or $40 depending on you lol
I did see some turkeys at a Food Lion in Norwood, NC that used to be $3 a lb and were marked down to pennies. You could get a 15lb turkey for 3 or 4 bucks. I thought it was a typo until I inspected every turkey they had.
Farm Bureau has used the same list of items since 1986 and doesn’t change it so that the data they record is consistent. [Link](https://www.fb.org/news-release/cost-of-thanksgiving-dinner-declines-remains-higher-than-pre-pandemic-levels)
The shopping list for Farm Bureau’s informal survey includes turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls, peas, cranberries, a veggie tray, and pumpkin pie with whipped cream, all in quantities sufficient to serve a gathering of 10.
Individual Prices
16-pound turkey: $25.67 or $1.60 per pound (down 6.1%)
14-ounces of cubed stuffing mix: $4.08 (up 8.2%)
2 frozen pie crusts: $3.40 (down 2.9%)
Half pint of whipping cream: $1.81 (up 4.7%)
1 pound of frozen peas: $1.73 (down 8.1%)
1 dozen dinner rolls: $4.16 (up 8.4%)
Misc. ingredients to prepare the meal: $3.75 (down 5.1%)
30-ounce can of pumpkin pie mix: $4.15 (down 6.5%)
1 gallon of whole milk: $3.21 (down 14.3%)
3 pounds of sweet potatoes: $2.93 (down 26.2%)
1-pound veggie tray (carrots & celery): $.84 (down 6.4%)
12-ounce bag of fresh cranberries: $2.35 (up 11.8%)
In recognition of changes in Thanksgiving dinner traditions, the Farm Bureau price survey also includes boneless ham, Russet potatoes and frozen green beans, in an expanded menu. Adding these foods to the classic Thanksgiving menu increased the overall cost by $19.26, to $77.34.
Serving sizes: 0.5 oz
We have 9 people and spent $390.
5% less than 2023, probably 30% more than 2019
I saw this on Walmarts website. You could add all ingredients for a Turkey dinner for around that price, ballpark figure. It wasn’t gourmet or fancy but it was enough to make a small basic Turkey dinner.
Edited to add that I live in a slightly lower cost of living area of US.
We paid $200 for Thanksgiving for 10. We thought that was a great deal.
lol, the way my friends and family eat at thanksgiving it’s more like $58 per person
Over the last 4 days, I have clipped coupons, scanned ads, and followed sales. I have now purchased everything for my 10-person Thanksgiving meal. I am confident that I have gotten the absolute best pricing on everything for my area. Admittedly, I went a little overboard in desserts (3 types of pies), but that maybe added 2% on to the total based on my calculations.
I spent $327 in total, and I didn’t even have to buy a damned turkey (i had a 17lb bird all ready). Mind you, i do cook everything from scratch, and i use only fresh produce, but still…
I spent about $200 in NYC, 9 people (6 adults and 3 teenagers.) $58 would feed ONE nephew! 😂