5+ Lifesaving Tips for a Stress-Free Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a day to give thanks and spend some quality time with good company. It shouldn’t be a time of heavy stress and blowing through your food budget. Check out some tips for saving time, money and sanity next week!
Accept Help
If you’re hosting Thanksgiving this year, don’t feel like you have to do everything yourself. When people ask what they can bring, tell them! Have people bring side dishes, desserts, wine, etc – anything that will help take a little pressure off of you, and save you some money to boot. Just make sure to be specific about what you need and write down your menu as it gets created. You won’t want to end up with three mashed potato side dishes, for example.
Get a Final Headcount and Avoid Overbuying
In the week before Thanksgiving, make sure you get a final headcount of people who will be joining you for dinner. You’ll want to prepare food for the amount of people you have. Leftovers are good, but an obnoxious amount of leftovers might create some waste.
Frugal Living has this great Thanksgiving calculator that could help you estimate your needs and avoid overbuying.
Lay Off the Apps
On the day of the year where the feast is the highlight of the day, don’t waste your money or energy on a bunch of apps. Don’t waste the calories or the money. You could have a couple of cheap snacks to pick at if people can’t wait for dinner, but skipping out on fancy apps is a good opportunity for savings.
Buy a Frozen Turkey
When you buy a frozen turkey, you’re likely to save 30-40% more than you would if you bought a fresh turkey. Just be sure that you allow adequate time for thawing. According to Money Talks News, you’ll need 3-5 days to let it thaw, so just plan accordingly!
Saving That Turkey
If you make a mistake while cooking the turkey, all hope is not lost. Here are some tips from saving that bird!
If Your Turkey Hasn’t Defrosted…
Season the still-frozen bird and put it in the oven. It’s safe to cook a turkey from the frozen state, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Cooking time will be at least 50 percent longer than it is for a fully thawed turkey (for example, a bird that would ordinarily be done in four hours will likely take six hours to cook).
If You Overcook the Turkey…
Make sure you use a very sharp knife to minimize shredding when you cut the turkey. Then make sure you have lots of (delicious) gravy on the table.
If Your Roasting Pan is Too Small…
Use the largest baking sheet you have in your kitchen to roast the turkey. Or, you can get a cheap deep, disposable foil roasting pan in a pinch.
Check out some more Thanksgiving tips on Tip Hero:
