Thanksgiving is just around the corner, my friends!  If you haven’t already, it is probably time to start shopping for your Thanksgiving dinner prep.  What?! Shopping now for Thanksgiving? Yep, I said it. Don’t shoot the messenger folks, it needed to be said.

So, once you are ready to jump into Thanksgiving prep, here are 5 tips for saving on Thanksgiving Dinner:

1. Shop early.  I know I already mentioned this, this is why I am writing this.  Shopping early will help you to save money on your Thanksgiving shopping list.  This is especially true because stores often offer a different sale price each week for holiday staples.  Take advantage of these deals, my friends!
2. Use coupons.  Coupon, coupon, coupon!  There is a reason that you visit our site often, COUPONS!!! Coupons are always a great way to save money on groceries, Thanksgiving is no exception.
3. Accept offers of help.  If someone offers to bring a side dish or dessert, accept those offers!!! No reason for you to spend all of the money and time!  Don’t be afraid to loosen up your control of the meal planning. The more cooks the merrier.
4. Stick with the basics.  Mashed potatoes, turkey, rolls.  The main staples of Thanksgiving are actually quite inexpensive.  No need to make lots of detailed, involved recipes to keep your guests happy.
5. Skip the holiday decor.  There is no reason to get your house decorated for the specific holiday.  Just clean up, light a couple of candles and let the meal do the decorating!  There is no need to spend a bunch of money to decorate for just a couple of hours.  Even if you use dollar store decor, it adds up!

How do you keep from breaking the bank during the holidays?  I would love to hear any other ideas and points of view!

The holidays are expensive.  So very expensive, but they don’t have to be.  You may think I am kidding, but I’m not.  There are some really simple and really easy ways to save money during the holiday season that you can start implementing now, to make this your most budget-friendly holiday season yet.

So, let’s start with Thanksgiving.  Here are 5 tricks to saving money on Thanksgiving dinner that you can start to work on now.

1. Plan in advance.  Start planning your Thanksgiving meal now.  Talk to family and find out who will be hosting the holiday dinner and you may find out that you don’t have to cook!  If you are in charge of dinner, start planning your meal now so that you can start your shopping early.
2. Start your shopping now.  You have just over a month until Thanksgiving, that means that you are well within your timeframe that you can start shopping for your Thanksgiving groceries.  No, you obviously don’t want to buy your perishable items too early, but you can start buying your canned and frozen goods now.  There are already lots of good deals out there.  At my local supermarket, they had a sale on frozen, bagged cranberries for just $0.89.  You can bet I bought those early.  Also, keep your eyes out for canned veggies, and even frozen turkeys!  Not only are you giving yourself more time to find deals, but it will be less out of pocket at once which is nice.
3. Shop around.  Starting in late October, you will start seeing lots of great holiday sales.  Be sure to shop around and score deals where you can.  Many stores even offer free or greatly reduced turkeys when you spend a specific amount of money on other groceries.
4. Plan a potluck.  Why not plan for your Thanksgiving feast to be a potluck? With everybody bringing something, everyone will save money.  
5. Skip the alcohol.  Alcohol is expensive. Even a cheap bottle of wine will cost you $10+ (and one bottle of wine won’t cut it with a big guest list).  If you simply choose to keep alcohol off of your holiday menu and you will find that you save quite a bit of money.

The holidays are almost here better start stressing now.  Right?  I mean who doesn’t spend the holidays stressed right?  Between being surrounded by family (not always what you want) and having your budget stretched to its max, there are a lot of things to be stressed about.  The fact of the matter is, it is just too easy to become overwhelmed with the holidays. If you are the one that is hosting the holiday gathering, that stress grows even more.

Our goal is to help you lower that stress by keeping your budget more on track.   

Plan a Potluck

A potluck dinner is the way to go when you are talking about planning a big meal.  Simply ask your guests to bring their favorite side dish and that will lower your workload tremendously.  Most people are going to love this anyway since they want to contribute.  For those that aren’t big cooks, it’s easy (and inexpensive) to pick up a bag of chips or a bottle of wine or soda.

Don’t stress the decor

Seriously.  People aren’t stressed about how your home is decorated for Thanksgiving.  They want to visit you, not see your linen tablecloths or wreaths.  Make sure you house is clean enough for company and that’s about the extent of what is needed.  If you insist on decorating, just hit up the dollar store for inexpensive decorative pieces.

Shop Smart

Make sure to shop smart when you head out to buy food and supplies for your holiday meal.  Use coupons, load deals on your shopping apps, submit rebates when you can and make sure you take advantage of the grocery stores that offer free turkeys or hams with a purchase over $50 or $100 (or whatever the amount may be).  Don’t abandon your typically savings tricks just because it’s a holiday.  If anything, step up your game.  Shop early, shop around, research and plan!

What kind of budget do you set for your Thanksgiving gatherings?  Are you able to easily stick to that budget?  If yes, how do you do it?  Do you have any great tips or tricks that have helped you to save big on holiday meals and gatherings?