My husband and I are hosting a Thanksgiving at our home this year for the first time. We usually throw potluck-type meals and parties, but Mr. BFS wants to cook everything ourselves this time so our 6 guests can simply show up and we can all hang out. Well, to be honest, he is cooking everything except the sweet potatoes, which I have down pat. This means we’ve come up with a menu, have already done the shopping, and that my food budget for the month is most probably going to be shot to hell, lol. Oh well – it’s the holidays. 
Here is our Thanksgiving menu and costs so far:
- Turkey (yay for sales!) – 12 pounds for $2.50
- Sausage and cornbread dressing (two 9″x13″ pans, so half the price if you don’t want leftovers) - $20.00
- Sweet Potatoes – $4.00
- Carrots – $1.50
- Green beans – $1.00
- Butter sticks (best, most fattening biscuits ever) – $1.50
- Jellied cranberry sauce – $1.25
- Apple Pie (from scratch – my husband kicks butt) – $7.00
- Glass pie pan (my husband is annoyed with our old metal one right now) - $5.00
- Aluminum 9″x13″ pans for the dressing – $2.50
For food, that comes to a total of $38.75. With 8 people including Mr. BFS and me, that’s only $4.85 per person. Not too bad for some major yumminess! I’m really looking forward to this! And to the leftovers…hmmmm…yummy…
In case you’ve been looking around for ideas for your own Thanksgiving or a potluck you’re going to, I actually made up a list of cheap Thanksgiving side dishes last year, so feel free to check it out. For recipes I actually have made like the sweet potatoes, I write out the steps and include pictures too. This reminds me that I haven’t done one for you all in a while, so I’ll work on that. Maybe I’ll do a recipe rundown for Aunt Barbara’s sausage dressing so you can see why we are spending so much for a side dish…it’s my own personal crack in a pan…seriously, it is that good.
What are your Thanksgiving plans?
We are staying home and doing our own thanksgiving! First time ever, but it will be relaxing. While being with family can be important, time to just relax is nice every once in a while.
Enjoy the holiday.
We are going to my parents on Thursday and then heading to PA to see my Wife’s family where we do Thanksgiving 2.0.
Interesting thought when I read your post…that is REALLY cheap for that much food. Couldn’t one cook “thanksgiving dinner” every other week and eat for cheap?
@20′s Finances, relaxing sounds great! Have a fantastic time!
@Evan, normally turkey is way more expensive ($2 a pound or more compared to the 20 cents a pound right now) and the dressing is fattening enough that we generally avoid eating it too often, but those other sides are part of our normal food budget.
sounds like a great party – enjoy thanksgiving!
Board games and card games are a big part of my family’s Thanksgiving traditions. I like having things for people to do (besides watching TV, although the parade is a must!). I find that focusing people’s attention away from the television starts all sorts of positive conversations.
My brother and I are heading to his friend’s house for Thanksgiving!
Sounds you like are going to have a great time as well. Happy Thanksgiving!
I’m assuming your friends are feeling very lucky right now.
My family is close so we spend it with them. Today my girlfriend gasped with surprise when I told her I’ve never cooked a turkey! What! Up until a few years ago I had only touch raw meat maybe twice!
Wow, those are some stellar deals. I may head on over to your house for Thanksgiving. Haha. I’m headed home to Seattle, hope you guys have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Okay – that dressing sounds amazing! I envy you guys in the U.S. sometimes – there is *nowhere* you can get a turkey that cheap in Canada, and while you can try bring them across the border, you’re not supposed to..
Wow, $2.50 for a whole turkey?! That sounds incredibly cheap. Hope the cooking goes well. Happy holidays!
@Jeff, thanks! You too!
@thefrugallery, we love boardgames too! We’ll probably talk our friends into Small World or Deduce or Die…
@Jenna, have fun!
@Molly, LOL, raw meat is gross to touch, hehehe, but delicious to eat… I hope our friends have a good time – we are just ecstatic to actually have close friends finally!
@Jon, come on over!
Have a great time in Seattle!
@Cat, I will do a workup of our crack dressing for sure. We usually can’t get a turkey for less than $20 either – Thanksgiving is the only time they go on super sale – stores use them to draw you in…
@Jeffrey, I can usually get a turkey free from Kroger, but I didn’t get my member coupon this year.
But yes, I was very happy when hubby said it was 20 cents a pound!
That is a really great price for Thanksgiving dinner for 8 people! We’re going to my in-laws’, which is fine with me because I get to cook with ingredients I didn’t have to pay for. It’s the best of both worlds!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
@Jana, hope you had a good time!
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