Hosting Thanksgiving On a Budget

Canadian Thanksgiving 2018 is right around the corner. Thanksgiving is an amazing opportunity to get together with family and friends, reflect on what we’re thankful for, and share a truly delicious meal! And who doesn’t love a long weekend? While Thanksgiving dinner is always delicious, it can be super stressful and a major financial burden when you’re the one hosting. Don’t stress, check out our checklist on hosting an awesome Thanksgiving dinner on a budget.

Make A List

• Make a list of all the food and supplies you need for the dinner
• For starters: Turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, and cranberry sauce are all Thanksgiving dinner staples
• You’ll also want to make a list of other items you may need like tablecloths, paper plates, disposable utensils, cups, and more
• Also, make a list of everyone attending the dinner so you know how much food/supplies you’ll need – it’s easy to forget guests when you’re frantically trying to remember at the grocery store
• We recommend making all lists on your smartphone so that you won’t forget them at home when you go to the store

Weigh Your Options

• Are you going to do homemade pie or store bought? Are you going to make your own stuffing? Are you going to buy disposable place settings or do the dishes?
• It can be way more economical to just buy premade pies and boxes of stuffing mix rather than pay for each individual ingredient
• If you’re going to make everything from scratch (good for you!) we suggest checking for coupons you can use towards your ingredients
• If you can spare the extra few dollars, buying disposable dishes and place settings is super convenient and will save you a lot of time and effort during clean up

Hit Up the Dollar Store

• You can still make a beautiful table setting without breaking the bank!
• Hit up your local dollar store for some fun and affordable Thanksgiving decor pieces as well as paper plates, napkins, disposable cutlery, plastic cups, glasses, and more
• Depending on how many guests you’re hosting you can get everything you need for under $10!

Buy Sale Items

• Buying items that are on sale is an easy way to save some money
• This is especially true when you’re hosting a major dinner party like Thanksgiving
• Saving a few cents here and there adds up big when you’re purchasing items in such large quantities
• There is not much difference between store brand and name brand food items, and sometimes the store brand is even higher quality
• Bonus: Search online for coupons you can use towards your purchases to save even more

Make It a Potluck

Who doesn’t love a potluck? Make your Thanksgiving dinner a potluck and every guest can bring a dish. As the host, you can take care of the turkey and guests can bring side dishes and/or desserts. Great dish ideas for guests to bring include mashed potatoes, salads, Brussel sprouts, corn, and pie. Not only will this save you money, but it will also save you a lot of time in the kitchen.

Do you have any other great tips for hosting Thanksgiving dinner on a budget? Let us know in the comments below!