Looking to host thanksgiving for your family and friends this year but also want to be within budget then this post can help you!

The spirit of the holiday season is surely very exciting. With all the family members coming together, Christmas music and movies playing on repeat on your TV, the fresh smell of the Christmas tree filling up your home that is all ready to be decorated and glittered and my most favorite part putting together the holiday season light outside our home, which makes our home look nothing less magical than the picture book houses from Mishika’s Christmas storybooks!

But also, in all of this, it is easy to get carried away with all the season shopping, holiday gifts, clothes that you will need and the next thing you know is that you are looking at a crazy credit card bill wondering whether you really needed all that stuff.

Well, there are many creative ways to get around to lowering your holiday expenses by making homemade DIY gifts this year or just getting creative with your last year's holiday decor by sprucing it a little bit to make it look new. But my today’s blog post is targeted on how you can very easily host an amazing thanksgiving feast for your family and friends while being on a budget!

INCLUDE AS MANY HOMEMADE DISHES IN YOUR MENU

During the holiday season, the stores are very aware that many shoppers are going to show up to buy as they are all preparing their thanksgiving feast. Hence some of the ready to cook food items are priced up like the mashed potatoes or grilled beans etc. If you try to include as many home-cooked recipes for example breadcrumbs, whipped cream or a pie crust from scratch which are not that difficult to make (all you need is some help if possible and a good recipe in front of you!), then you can save a lot of money. If you are looking from some tasty and creative homemade recipes ideas to make this thanksgiving you can try a few of them from the below list.

KEEP A SIMPLE MENU

Don’t get hung up on trying to host a very fancy thanksgiving feast. Trying to do so can only cause you a lot of stress and if you are unable to make all the recipes on your menu in time you might only be compelled to buy them in-store which in turn can shoot up your budget. The Internet has a huge resource on a simple thanksgiving recipe idea to include in your menu. Just to get an idea of what a simple menu recipe looks like you can check these recipes out from recipetineat.com. Most of the recipes are simple and can be prepared well in advance!

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ALLOW YOUR GUESTS TO PITCH IN

If your friends offer to bring drinks, chips or maybe other small things don’t hold them back. Trying to do everything all by yourself can feel extremely overwhelming. The idea of thanksgiving is for friends and families to come together to enjoy a tasty feast and share happiness. It’s important to enjoy the process and not feel anxious or tired by all of it! So, let your friends pitch in if they want to!

TRY POTLUCK WITH FRIENDS

Most of the time whenever I have hosted a dinner or lunch at my place, I have had friends call me and say that they want to bring in a desert or maybe drink at the party. If you are all rite with that, then hosting a potluck thanksgiving where you are the host, but you can have everyone bring in one special food item is a great, easy and budget-friendly way of hosting thanksgiving. Either way the idea is the same of everyone coming together to celebrate!

GET CREATIVE WITH YOUR LAST YEAR DECOR

I really enjoy sprucing up my old stuff lying around and adding some glitters and colors to make them look new. For Halloween this year, I had a set of old plastic pumpkins lying in my basement. I got some paint, glue and glitters and covered the pumpkin up with the mix. I even let Mishika get her hands dirty while doing this which turned out to be a great fun activity and awesome family time for all of us. You can also try natural decor with things lying outside like pretty gourds, pumpkins, herbs, acorns, dried grasses, etc. which can be great ideas for decoration. You can get creative with them by mixing them up or painting them to make them look pretty and perfect for the holiday season.

STOCK UP ON FOOD ITEMS THAT YOU WILL REQUIRE BY SHOPPING ON THE SALES RUNNING EARLY OCTOBER

Maybe a little late this year but something to keep in mind for next year. All the big stores like Wegmans, Costco, BJ’s and many more start running deals and promotions in their weekly newspapers or specials in-store from as early as October. Their strategy is drawing more customers by offering them lucrative deals that they can buy for the upcoming holiday season. Some of the items that are good to stock up on that can last long are flour, sugar, salt, oil, even some canned food, frozen food, etc. Just buy them all when they are best priced and keep them ready for your upcoming Thanksgiving feast.

USE THE END OF THE SEASON SALE TO STOCK UP ON DÉCOR ITEMS AND GIFTS FOR THE NEXT HOLIDAY SEASON

This is my favorite thing and I do this every year. If you are smart you will know to stock up on all the items that you need for next year from the end of the season sale. After Thanksgiving and Christmas, all the stores like target, Christmas tree shops, Michael's are marking down their decoration to make way on their shelves for new items to come. This is the best time to think about everything like decorations, gifts, clothes that you will need for next year.

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BUY IN BULK

Maybe not for everyone but if you are someone who doesn’t mind shopping in bulk then there are a few items that are cheaper when shopped in bags. Like potatoes, butter, eggs, sugar and flour are cheaper at the big stores like BJ’s or Whole foods market. You can either store them and use them later but if you think that they might go waste you can share or split them with your friends. Something to think about if you are on a very tight budget!

BE AWARE OF BUDGET CREEPS

I know you are probably reading this blog post because your aim is to be on a budget. But sometimes, it does happen that in all the preparation and trying to get everything done in time people do get carried away by taking multiple stops at the store without realizing that their budget is creeping up. Make sure to always look at your account balance and credit card account activity to keep a track of the amount you are spending daily. One thing that I like to do daily is to check my account balance in the morning. I have been doing this for years and realized that somehow unconsciously of me checking my account balance in the morning, it triggers my mind to be more mindful of my expenses in the day. Just something I do daily!

It is easy to get carried away with all the season shopping, holiday gifts, clothes that you need and the next thing you know is that you are looking at a crazy credit card bill wondering whether you really needed all that stuff.

KEEP A LOOKOUT FOR COUPONS

As I had mentioned earlier that many stores start running their deals and promotions from as early as October when you can physically go in and get those items. But did you know that they start giving out coupons from mid-august. Some of the places to look out for coupons are coupons.com, ebates, Groupon or the weekly promotion magazines at BJ’s Wholesale Club, Costco and tops.

CHOSE STORE BRANDS OVER NAMED BRANDS

If you compare the prices you will always find that the store brands are cheaper than the big named brands. I usually shop at Walgreens and always lookout first for the Walgreen named products for oils, spices, butter, etc. before buying the named brands as they are priced better and are equally good. Sometimes some store brands also offer organic products (which is something I try to include in my basket as much as I can)!

REPLACE FRESH FOOD WITH CANNED FOOD WHEREVER POSSIBLE

This tip can work either way. Like if you are buying chilly beans then probably it’s a better idea to go for canned food as they are also flavored and can help you cook your recipes easier. But somethings like the pickles, I find it better to prepare it myself from scratch as it turns out cheaper than the bottle and tastes great. I follow this super easy recipe from delish.com to pickles at home. Very convenient and it takes me just 5 minutes to make it!

DON’T GET CARRIED AWAY

And lastly, the point of thanksgiving is to share happiness, spend time with family and friend and have a great time! So don’t let anything carry you away from that.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

In case you are looking for more posts to read on the blog:

1.       Holiday gift guide for him

2.       Holiday gift guide for her

3.       Tips to save money while raising a baby

4.       How to create a monthly grocery budget for your family that works

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