Thanksgiving is a time for friends and families to gather, share a big meal and reflect on their blessings. Along with that comes the expectation of a full-on turkey dinner, not to mention the stress associated with planning, doing and expense.
So consider the alternatives. Instead of preparing a meal from scratch, you can carry out from a restaurant or grocery, dine at a commercial eatery, or organize a potluck. We can’t decide for you which will be the least taxing, but we figured out which will be easiest on your wallet.
Take-Out
Many restaurants and grocery stores offer cooked meals that include everything to satisfy your guests’ Thanksgiving cravings. A quick survey of take-out menus and prices at several national chains found that the average cost of a meal is about $11.25/person for four and $10/person for eight.
Take-Out Option #1: Restaurant
- Roasted turkey breast or sliced boneless ham (4 lbs.)
- Bread & celery dressing (40 oz.)
- Green beans w/ham (40 oz.)
- Buttered sweet corn (40 oz.)
- Mashed potatoes w/gravy (40 oz./32 oz.)
- Cranberry relish (12 oz.)
- Rolls (12)
- Pumpkin bread loaf
- Pumpkin pie w/topping
Take-Out Option #2: Grocery Store (Full Meal)
One national grocery chain (Kroger) offers a Thanksgiving dinner that serves six to eight people for $89.99 ($11.25-$15.00/person).
- Roasted turkey (13-16 lbs.)
- Mashed potatoes (two 24-oz. containers)
- Stuffing (two 32-oz. containers)
- Gravy (two 24-oz. containers)
- Broccoli, rice, cheese casserole (two 32-oz. containers)
- Sweet potato casserole (32 oz.)
- Cranberry celebration (16 oz.)
- Pumpkin pie (two 10-inch pies)
- Dinner rolls (12)
Take-Out Option #3: Grocery Store (Essentials)
The supermarket chain also offers just the essentials (again, for six to eight diners), which lowers the price to $44.99 ($5.62-$7.50/person). Remember to factor in a few side dishes and dessert to round out the meal, which will add to the final tab.
- Roasted turkey (10-13 lbs.)
- Mashed potatoes (two 24-oz. containers)
- Stuffing (32-oz container)
- Gravy (24-oz. container)
- Dinner rolls (12)
Dine Out
To avoid meal prep and cleanup entirely, simply eat out. It’s slightly cheaper than take-out for adults and considerably less so for children. Many restaurants offer a kid’s meal that can save you $6 or so compared with the cost of take-out.
A Thanksgiving meal at one low-cost restaurant chain (Cracker Barrel) costs $8.99 for adults and $4.69 for children. (Tip and tax not included.)
- Turkey and dressing
- Baked ham
- Sweet potato casserole
- Cranberry relish
- Choice of vegetable
- Beverage
- Biscuits or corn muffins
- Slice of pumpkin pecan streussel pie
Make from Scratch
To our surprise, a Thanksgiving meal from scratch is the most costly. Based on our calculations (full price on store brands), four people can eat a complete turkey dinner at home for $65.91 ($16.48/person) and eight can enjoy a similar meal for $105.59 ($13.20/person).
- Turkey
- Mashed potatoes/gravy
- Stuffing
- Green bean casserole
- Buttered corn
- Cranberry relish
- Pumpkin pie
- Rolls
Make from Scratch Savings Tips
Of course, some ingredients will be on sale and some are sitting in your pantry. Either way, your out-of-pocket expenses fall.
Or, you can purchase a pre-cooked turkey and the side dishes that are the costliest to make and prepare the rest of the feast yourself. A take-out meal that includes mashed potatoes saves you from shelling out $10 to boil and mash them at home, and a store-bought pumpkin pie costs about $5 compared with nearly $15 to bake one from scratch.
Then too, you can delegate responsibilities with a potluck. You provide the turkey or ham and let your guests take care of the fixings.
More from Cheapism:
Cheapest holiday shipping: FedEx, UPS, or the Post Office?