Hosting Thanksgiving dinner each year can be physically and financially draining. To give everyone a chance to enjoy the get together, why not break from tradition. Having a pot-luck thanksgiving dinner can save you money if you’ve been the one doing the lion’s share of the work each year.
Rather than having one family being totally responsible for the meal, it makes sense to ask everyone to chip in – especially if you have many families getting together each year. The hosting family can be responsible for the turkey and the paper goods. A second family can plan to bring another meat, another can be in charge of potato dishes, another noodle dishes; hand off relish trays to another family, desserts to a couple of families, and everyone can bring a drink to share. Oh, and don’t forget dinner rolls! You get the idea; you have each family be responsible for bringing something so one family isn’t supplying everything.
You may think using paper goods is a waste of money, but think about it a minute. If a huge crowd is at your home and you don’t have enough dishes for everyone, that means you’ll either have to borrow, rent, or buy them. A stack of good quality disposable plates are cheap compared to the prospect of buying enough dishes for the whole crew!
Another benefit of using disposables is that clean-up will be much easier. Instead of having a couple miss out on visiting with others because they’re washing all the dishes, they’ll be able to put lids on things, clean up any spills, and then toss the rest. How easy is that?
Having other families chip in on the food also means that one family won’t have to bear the brunt of the cost. Instead of one family spending an entire paycheck for food to feed a whole bunch, the cost can be spread out among many families. In the long run, each family will end up spending less.
Plan your menu well in advance and let each family choose what they’re bringing. If you’re hosting the party, you may want to have some extra, easy-to-fix dishes available just in case one family can’t make it.
When planning your own part of the meal, begin purchasing items you’ll need several weeks before the holiday. This will enable you to buy things a little at a time, use coupons to save the most money, and provide enough time to ensure you have everything. Many grocery stores offer coupons for free turkeys when you spend a certain amount of money in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. Planning early means there’s no need for an emergency trip to the store to buy something you forgot.
Having a pot-luck Thanksgiving dinner can save you money, there’s no denying that. However, if you’ve never had one it might be an unusual thought for some. Discuss it early enough for everyone to feel comfortable with it. You may find, after giving it a try, that everyone is glad to be able to help provide something for the meal.
