This year, it looks like we will be hosting Thanksgiving again. It is a preemptive strike on our part to avoid the arguments and indecision about who is hosting and where and when. Plus, we would rather trade the extra work for the travel and knowing that we can just zip our kids into their beds at the end of the day.
Another reason that I am looking forward to hosting Thanksgiving this year is that we have our brand new (used) cherry dining room table that we picked up at a yard sale. We can finally seat 10 people (with some borrowed chairs) at a time. We’ll have to make other arrangements for the kid table, but that is fine.
With the cost of food and the need for extra serving items, this holiday is going to require some budgeting and some financial planning. I’ve already been thinking about the traditional Thanksgiving foods and stocking up during sales and with coupons on the non perishables. The turkey should be free, either through a coupon from the use of our store bonus card or a coupon from a neighbor or friend who doesn’t want their coupon.
Basically, I am going to add up all of the items that we will need for the meal, see where cuts can be made, and then make up the budget. I’ll divide the amount by the number of weeks, so I know how much can be spent over time.
Some of our relatives are famous for certain dishes, so if they are willing to prepare them and bring them along, this will reduce the expense a bit as well as allowing us all to enjoy the best of the best. My sister-in-law makes a wonderful broccoli casserole, and the kids just love mom-mom’s macaroni and cheese.
Leftovers can be budgeted as well. For example, if the cut up veggies aren’t touched much, they can be used for a turkey soup to be frozen for later use.
Click here for more articles by Mary Ann Romans.
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