Thanksgiving For $20 or Less?
Have you seen Walmart's clever Thanksgiving commercial? It advertises a Thanksgiving meal for 8 that costs only $20.
I had to investigate.
I clicked all over Walmart.com, but only a press release spells out the $20 feast. The complete dinner includes:
If you're headed to Walmart, make sure you study your local flyer first. They're hoping you'll go for the turkey and upgrade with $40 in extras. The menu varies by region. (Click here to see an example of variable pricing. Sweet potatoes are on sale instead of red potatoes. One page lists fresh green beans for $1.50 and the next, for .99--at the same store?)
Actually, the Walmart menu is a good starting point. Most Frugal Hackers could readily adapt for almost as little.
- Buy a turkey on sale.
- Steam 2 lbs. fresh green beans (canned has a lot of liquid to compensate.)
- Cook 1 bag fresh cranberries or serve canned.
- Use scratch cornbread, day-old homemade bread and turkey broth for stuffing.
- Roast the 5-lb. bag of red potatoes or stock up on .25/lb sweet potatoes.
- Make Money Saving Mom's quick yeast rolls.
- Buy the $5.50 pumpkin roll or make Kim C.'s recipe.
So tell us--will your family beat Walmart's $20 menu this year? Or do you go all out for the feast instead?
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10 Responses to “Thanksgiving For $20 or Less?”
November 16th, 2009 at 10:48 am
Thanksgiving under $20 bucks. Not bad.
November 16th, 2009 at 11:35 am
I go all out, but I made my list weeks ago so I can spread out the cost.
November 16th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
I’m pretty sure at the bottom of the TV ad it mentioned “2 lbs potatoes” FOR EIGHT PEOPLE! On what planet can 8 people eat just 2 lbs of potatoes among them…on THANKSGIVING??
Maybe we’re just potato gluttons but that seems a little crazy to me.
My mom is doing Thanksgiving all herself for the whole family this year. The rest of us need only bring a dessert (and I am bringing cranberry sauce). So my Turkey Day feast isn’t costing me much at all. Then again, I’ll need to make a feast of our own at home over the weekend so my hubby can have leftovers. Not really so frugal after all
November 16th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
We are bringing a dish or two to a family gathering, too. Potlucks are frugal, but the real secret to their success is variety. It would cost a lot of money for one individual family to make all the various holiday favorites.
That’s the only flaw I see in Walmart’s menu. It’s missing so many traditional foods! (Although, by omission, their menu is a lot healthier : )
November 16th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
I sure would like to get a .40 a lb. turkey as I’ve heard Walmart is advertising. I’d also like to fine .25 /lb. sweet potatoes. Here the cheapest I have found is .49. Still, Walmart’s menu is not bad, and it would be doable for most people. Although to so many, an exxtra $20 is not to be found. Just eating any day is a real challenge, and I’m talking about some working families here.
November 17th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
This is so funny – as soon as I saw that ad I thought, “I bet Meredith could beat that.”
We do pot luck at my sis-in-laws and I bring things that I can make from scratch so I’ll definitley spend less than $20 although I haven’t decided what to make yet. Rolls are inexpenisive to make…so is sweet potato or squash pie. I make pecan pies, too, but use pecans from my grandma’s yard.
November 18th, 2009 at 7:00 am
Not to be a party pooper, but that menu looks pretty drab and not very festive to me. At least make green bean casserole and another dessert. I do realize that for some families this is a splurge, but for $5 more, it could be a lot better. Most families can afford that.
November 19th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
We go all out with each family bringing a few dishes, we then have left-overs to make into new meals and freeze.
November 25th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
I blogged about the Walmart sales, too, when the ad came out last week. Turns out Walmart can’t sell turkey at that price everywhere, so be sure to check your local store before you go. Also, the turkeys for sale at Walmart in the Chicago area were at least 21 pounds each, so you have to consider that, too.
I also came up with a Thanksgiving dinner—for six—for less than $26, using only real food, not convenience, prepared stuff, and I think it’s a lot more festive than Walmart’s, but that’s just me.
Anyway, Happy Holiday, everybody. Stay frugal.
November 29th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Ours was $500.00 — for 16 people.
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