5 Ways to Save $100s on Thanksgiving Dinner This Year

If you’re looking forward to preparing a festive holiday spread, but dread the high cost, great news: These quick, easy tricks will spare you a bundle without sacrificing a single delicious bite! Here are five ways to save on Thanksgiving dinner in 2021.

Score the entire feast for under $30 — or even $0!

Grocery stores want to help you save on your Thanksgiving needs, so many are giving away turkeys, as well as other holiday foods, with limited – time promotional offers. For example, in 2020, Walmart gave away a free full Thanksgiving dinner for a family of five (including turkey, gravy, sides and a drink) when shoppers downloaded the Ibotta app.

Aldi packaged an entire Thanksgiving meal big enough to feed 10 (including a turkey, stuffing and ingredients to make pumpkin pie) for under $30. And other supermarkets offered a free turkey with the purchase of a ham or a minimum purchase of other products. Find out about all of this year’s free food offers at savings sites like Hip2Save.com and TheKrazyCouponLady.com.

If you’re looking for a place to nab a free gobbler this year, head to Ibotta. They’re offering 100 percent cashback on essential dinner items, like mash potatoes, stuffing, and -you guessed it- turkey. All you have to do is register.

Savings tip: Cut the cost of homemade stuffing by buying Walmart’s day old bread, which goes on sale the morning after it’s baked for less than $1 per loaf.

Spend 50% less on sauces and seasonings.

If you need cinnamon, oregano or other herbs and spices, skip the baking aisle and head to the international aisle or an international grocery store instead. You’ll find lesser-known smaller brands that cost about half as much as larger name brands, while still giving you high quality and great taste. Looking for spice blends, gourmet condiments or sauces? Chances are, you can whip up most at home with ingredients you already have in your pantry. For example, pumpkin pie spice is simply a mix of ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and allspice. And honey mustard is made by combining mustard, honey and rice vinegar. For easy DIY recipes for spice blends, condiments and sauces, visit a site like AllRecipes.com. Mixes and cooking supplies are up to 50 percent off.

How to slash costs and save on Thanksgiving dinner.

You may think of drugstores when you need pain relievers or tissues, but at Thanksgiving, they’re a great spot to find recipe ingredients, boxed biscuit For example, this time last year, Walgreens offered buy-one-get-one (BOGO) sales on canned vegetables, sugar, salt, baking soda and cooking oil. And CVS gave shoppers a BOGO discount on aluminum foil. The reason? They’re hoping that while you’re there to take advantage of deep savings, you’ll also pick up other items. To find the latest discounts, check your pharmacy’s weekly circular in — store on online at SundaySaver.com.

Spot low prices on apps to save on Thanksgiving dinner

Before heading out for groceries on your shopping list, compare their prices at supermarkets in your area by downloading the free Basket app (Basket.com) or Flipp app (App.Flipp.com). Simply input what you need, and you’ll find out how much they cost at each store, so you can find the best deal in seconds. Also helpful: Visit manufacturer websites for products you want. Some companies offer a free online tool that shows you which stores near you stock the item, its price and if it’s currently on sale. Two to try: Pillsbury.com/coupons/in-store-deals and BettyCrocker.com/coupons/in-store-deals.

This article originally appeared in our print magazine, Woman’s World.