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Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. There is no need for expensive gifts and no stressing over what to buy people and whether they’ll like it. It’s just a day to spend quality time with family.
It’s too late to get a cheap Thanksgiving flight, (preparing for the holiday season is key to saving money), but if you left things to the last minute like my family, here are three things you can do to save.
1. Non-traditional dinner – If preparing food from scratch and spending all day in the kitchen is not your cup of tea, try simplifying the meal. Instead of preparing turkey, roast a chicken or Cornish game hens, or make something completely different. Go vegetarian for a day or make soup. Both options can be easy, delicious and are often very inexpensive.
2. Impromptu Potluck – Ask friends and family members to bring a side dish, dessert, or beverage for a potluck dinner. If the festivities are being held at your home, prepare the turkey or other main dish like duck, ham, or prime rib. This will get everyone involved and save you time, money and the hassle of preparing a complete meal for your guests. This is one of the easiest and most common ways to save money on Thanksgiving dinner.
3. Make new traditions – Many of us already have traditions like going around the table and telling others what you are thankful for, but how about creating new traditions. This year, strengthen your family and community without spending a penny. Volunteer at a local homeless shelter or food pantry. You’ll feed good from helping others and come away with a new understanding of how much you have in your life. If you cannot volunteer on Thanksgiving Day, consider helping out before or after the holiday.
Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price. 
With all of my family out from under my wings, I’m fortunate to be part of an extended family of close friends who are starting a new tradition, at the instigation of one of the daughters-in-law, who lost her own mother a little over a year ago. The “girls” will gather on Wednesday for some pie-making, and the dinner on Thursday will be a potluck, with the host family doing the turkey. I found some inexpensive kitchen towels at Target (a package of 5) for a hostess gift, along with a package of scone mix from World Market. Should do the trick! I’m also taking a couple of sides, and the martinis for 3 of us!
Thank you, very useful. I wasnt actually a big fan of Spinach for many years (ok, that’s a total lie, I hated the stuff), but after shacking up with a vegetarian I kind of had to put up with it, and have gradually come to absolutely love the stuff. Spinach curry is now my absolute favouritest! I even found an entire spinach recipes website which is my new favourite site now, you should have a look!
I’ve always liked spinach, especially pan grilled with garlic and olive oil as a hot side. Used in salad with crisp bacon crumbles, thinly sliced red onion and sliced mushrooms, dressed with wine or rice vinegar and a smidgen of oil, it’s both nutritious and diet-friendly. A variation is to add a few feta or blue cheese crumbles. Spinach omelettes are a cinch to make, and can be gussied up with a variety of fillers. In a pinch, frozen chopped spinach can be used in place of fresh.
@Yasmin ~ I wasn’t able to bring up the vegetarian T’giving site. Is there a good vegetarian recipe site you can recommend? One of the guests for Christmas is a vegetarian, and eats no meat of any kind, including fish.
@EllieD I also like making spinach into a hot side dish. Mine has walnuts cooked in a little butter and brown sugar (or toast them plain for a healthier version), sauteed red onion slices, and goat cheese, which I add after removing the pan from the heat as the cheese heats up enough from the other warm ingredients.
Thanks. I’m supposed to cook for my new vegetarian girlfriend next week and have absolutely no idea what to make! I found a ton of recipes at this vegetarian recipes site but with so mnay to choose from I just got confused. Do you have any recommendations, like .. the tastiest vegetarian recipe, ever, or something?! Thanks in advance! I’m so clueless about this vegetarian stuff
@Merle ~ One guaranteed dish is mac and cheese, which is both filling and vegetarian friendly… as long as your new friend eats cheese and milk products (ovo-lacto type). A yummy appetizer I always enjoy at PF Chang’s is the veggie lettuce wrap, which is made with tofu instead of meat, and, in my opinion, the tastiest of all 3 of theirs. Tofu takes on the flavor of whatever it’s cooked with, so it’s quite versatile. There are also quite a few vegetarian meat substitute products on the market these days, so take a look around. In CA, there is Morningside and Soy-Joy (I have a couple of vegetarian friends who use these products). Definitely avoid Tofurkey, which looks nasty, and doesn’t smell or taste much better! You might want to try AllRecipes website for more vegetarian ideas.