6 ways to save on Thanksgiving dinner

Thanksgiving is just two weeks away.  Here are 6 ways to save on Thanksgiving Dinner:

Plan your menu, finalize headcount and create your shopping list 2 weeks ahead

This is the most important step in planning your Thanksgiving meal so you know what size turkey and ham to get.  Rule of thumb is 1  – 1.5 lbs. per person.  Since you can get a turkey for FREE at Safeway when you spend $100 through November 14th, you are getting an instant $32 savings for a 16 lb turkey that would feed 10 people with leftovers.  You don’t want to have too much food left over or too little to feed your crowd.  If you are hosting a pot-luck style event, then you need to know what everyone is making so that you can tell them how much to bring as well.

Shop Early

It’s not too early.  In fact, the prices of all the Thanksgiving essentials are on sale and even at their lowest levels one to two weeks before the big day.  Only a few items like fresh green beans, fresh cranberries, frozen pies, sweet potatoes and 10 lb. bags of potatoes will go down between now and Thanksgiving.  The turkey and sides are already on sale at their lowest prices and will be for the next few weeks, so take advantage of the great deals now.

If you wait until the last minute – you may be stuck paying for a fresh turkey, which is typically over $2 – $3/lb. or a turkey that is not the right size for your gathering.  You may have too many left overs if you are stuck with a bigger bird than you need.

Shop Smart

Whether you are hosting a Martha Stewart style meal, or a semi-homemade meal, where you shop can make a difference in what you can expect to pay for your Thanksgiving meal.  To save the most, you definitely want to shop the grocery sales and in-store promotions for Thanksgiving and use digital coupons for extra savings.  You should also shop the store brands as those are oftne cheaper than the branded items and you can save a bundle.  Safeway has some awesome deals on everything you might need for your Thanksgiving meal right now with $.99 Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce, $1.99 Pepperidge Farm Cubed Stuffing, and Cream of Mushroom and Chicken Soup just $.33 each, just to name a few.

Delegate and Ask for Help

Friends and family will inevitably ask you what they can bring – the best answer is a bottle of wine and if they want to bring more, then a dessert is best.  This way, you don’t have to splurge on the expensive adult beverages and you’ll know that dessert is covered.  If you don’t have enough oven space for all the sides, you can always ask someone to bring a side, but be specific about what you want them to bring.  Since you are hosting, you want to control the menu and you may not want Aunt Carol’s jello salad as a side.

Keep Decorations Simple

Use simple fall pumpkins, gourds and fall leaves and other fall decorations that you can find on clearance right now in lieu of fresh flowers for your table setting.  Fresh flowers will set you back at least $40 – $50, whereas simple mini pumpkins and gourds will cost $.50 – $.69 each, so if you get ten, you’re going to spend up to $7 on decorations, which is a no-brainer, but you must get these early because as it gets closer to Thanksgiving, you won’t find these in the stores as they will be promoting Christmas and holiday decor, pinecones etc, the week of Thanksgiving.

Skip Paper Products

If you plan to host Thanksgiving again in the future you want to purchase some fall colored cloth napkins that you can just wash, iron and reuse every year.  You can often find cloth napkins in the dollar section at Target.   It will save money over buying paper napkins and can be incorporated into your décor.  Since Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate, bring out the fancy china as this is the time to use it.

SuperSafeway is a blog devoted to helping you find the best deals at Safeway in the Denver division.  Every week we find and share the best advertised and unadvertised deals at Safeway with and without coupons.  We also share recipes and weekly meal planning ideas based on sales to maximize your savings.  For more low prices, check out Super Safeway’s weekly ad coupon matchup page.  Stay updated on the best deals by following Super Safeway on Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram, or Pinterest and subscribe to our newsletter.

* Please note – Savings information is based on Colorado pricing and the Safeway Coupon Policy for the Denver Division which includes Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, Wyoming and South Dakota. Your market may vary. *