Thanksgiving on the Cheap

On the news this morning there was a segment about how to host a "cheap" Thanksgiving and the best the reporter could come up with was to buy Wegman's Pre-made Thanksgiving dinner for $99.

Well, I don't cook Thanksgiving dinner, my mother-in-law does, so this really isn't a concern of mine, but that got me thinking. $99 does not seem that cheap to me. In fact, I am SURE that I could do better out of the supermarket flyers sitting on my kitchen counter.

So let's try, shall we?

Wegman's Premium Turkey Dinner contains:

1 turkey (12-14 pounds)
Traditional Stuffing
Green Bean Casserole
Turkey gravy
Broccoli and Cauliflower with pine nuts
Mashed potatoes
Candied Sweet Potatoes
Cranberry Relish

Ok, let's break it down (and we'll assume that the person doesn't like to cook since they are looking at buying a pre-made dinner)

Turkey -- for me it would be free, I qualify at my supermarket = $0
Stuffing -- Stove top is $.99 a Walmart x 2 boxes = $2
Green Bean Casserole -- Frozen green beans $1.00 a bag , cream of mushroom soup, $.79, French fried onions, $2.59 (couldn't find a sale) = $3.40
Turkey gravy -- $1 a can x 2 = $2
Broccoli & Cauliflower with pine nut -- $10 (pine nuts are expensive and $3.00 per lb. for fresh veg.)
Mashed potatoes -- $2.50 for 5 pounds = $2.50
Sweet potatoes -- $2.50 for 5 pounds $1.00 for mini marshmallows = $3.50
Cranberries -- $.88 a can at Walmart x 2 (1 jellied, 1 chunky) = $ 1.76

Ingredients you might not have on hand:

Butter -- $2.50 per pound
Heavy Cream -- $2.00 per pint


Total == $29.66

Now, I am assuming you already have spices, onions, milk, kitchen basics, etc. but... I think you see my point.

The "Cheap" dinner being hocked on my local news is $69.34 more expensive than what I could put together from sale circulars (and that isn't even using coupons!)