It’s not hard to be frugal when shopping for Thanksgiving dinner.
Store managers know that during the holidays, people buy more food than usual, so many major grocery stores have a free-turkey offer with a fairly minimal purchase.
Just pick the store that has the turkey you want as a freebie. I haven’t paid for a turkey in three years.
If you have a smaller family, consider buying just a turkey breast to roast. If you really want the “full bird” effect, perhaps get a large roasting chicken.
Think outside the box when it comes to turkey leftovers.
Try different flavor profiles to spice up what you have on hand. For example, you can make quick curry turkey salad; turkey tacos with fresh corn salsa; barbecue pulled-turkey sandwiches; or a Chinese turkey salad with mandarin oranges, red onions and sesame-ginger dressing; green Thai turkey with curry paste, basil and coconut milk;.
If you actually eat cranberry sauce, splurge and buy the cranberries fresh and make the sauce from scratch. It’s easy: Just cook the cranberries on the stove with sugar and spices or some grated orange peel.
If you don’t really eat it, just skip it.
If you can bring yourself to buck tradition and serve something else altogether on Thanksgiving Day, you can load up cheaply on Thanksgiving goodies the day after the holiday. This is a great idea if you want to celebrate Thanksgiving on Saturday.
Speaking of after-Thanksgiving sales, buy a few nonperishable items right after Thanksgiving for next year if you have the pantry space: canned cranberry sauce, stuffing mix and canned corn, for example.
If you are not much of a baker, you’re in luck. Frozen pumpkin pies usually go on sale around the holidays for more than 50 percent off.
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