Cost of Thanksgiving Dinner for 10

[QueenOfCalifornia]

$44.61

Here ya go people:
The AFBF survey shopping list includes turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a relish tray of carrots and celery, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and beverages of coffee and milk, all in quantities sufficient to serve a family of 10.

Uh... sure it is...

http://www.fb.org/index.php?fuseaction=newsroom.newsfocus&year=2008&file=nr1113.html

[NeedleCast]

1. Seems reasonable

Are you saying it's not?

[notadmblnd]

2. I will.

[Incitatus]

5. a 16 lb turkey and

a 12-oz. package of brown-n-serve rolls, $2.20; a 12-oz. package of fresh cranberries, $2.46; a 30-oz. can of pumpkin pie mix, $2.34; two 9-inch pie shells, $2.26; a 14-oz. package of cubed bread stuffing, $2.57; a relish tray of carrots and celery, 82 cents; a half-pint of whipping cream, $1.70; a pound of green peas, $1.58; and three pounds of sweet potatoes, $3.12.

for 10 people?

I don't think so.

edit- replied to wrong post

[notadmblnd]

8. it's not enough food for 10 people and it's going to cost way more than that

[Warpy]

41. Forget that celery and carrot relish plate

because a bunch of celery around here will set you back a buck and a half and a bag of carrots is about the same. You'll pay over 3 bucks for enough pre cut celery and carrot sticks to serve 10 people one of each.

[surrealAmerican]

68. That's the one I noticed first too.

I doubt you can get celery and carrots at that price unless you're growing them yourself.

[Hestia]

75. another thing, just because Pop-n-Fresh says you have to buy ready made

pie crust, doesn't mean you can't make your own. It's easy, as well, pie. You don't even need a rolling pin, just a large drinking glass if you don't have one. Plus, buying a pint of whipping cream and making your own is a bit tricky, but as long as the cream is ice cold and the beaters are cold, you can make your own at half the cost.

I would put out different snacks, maybe cheese and crackers or something. But there are ways to extend $45 into a large meal. You just have know how to cook and be creative. It's how Martha has made millions.

[Warpy]

76. Right, I've always surprised people by making my own

pastry and whipped cream. I've been creative with sides. I know how to eat cheap.

However, this one was for the non cooks, the women who cook on holidays but rely on fast food, frozen food and canned food the rest of the year.

As I pointed out, this will feed 10 people. It just won't overstuff them.

[Coexist]

54. 1 lb. of green beans for 10 people. Is that supposed to be funny?!

and no appetizers but some carrots and celery with no dip. And what is everybody drinking? Water and milk. That is odd.

[uppityperson]

79. 1 pound of peas for 12 people? "here are your 3 peas"?

[QueenOfCalifornia]

7. I am saying

I don't know how to prepare thanksgiving dinner for 10 people and have it cost just under $45.

I use stuff to cook my food like butter, onions, nuts, wine... more wine for me... more wine for the other people... more than a stalk of celery for a relish tray... oh and one fucking pie for 10 people? Not around here.

[NeedleCast]

15. Guess it depends

On how much you're planning to eat, but looking over their inventory, I'd say that might cover 10 people if some of those people are kids. Looks like they're aiming pretty low in the side dishes and condiments though, I'll grant that.

That being said, given 45 dollars I could easily prepare a good tasting, healthy meal for 10 people. Might not be a traditional Thanksgiving meal where everyone stuffs themselves silly, but still.

I think they're looking at the minimums here and not talking about preparing a gourmet Thanksgiving complete with copious amounts of wine and pie.

[gollygee]

26. I agree that you could easily make a good meal for 10 on that

but not a traditional Thanksgiving meal with all the traditional foods.

[wildflower]

34. Well, I could cut the pie into 10, even 12 or more, pieces

But the rest of it? Hard to imagine feeding 10 people.

[stopbush]

11. Sounds reasonable to me if you're talking a single serving of everything

for everybody.

Now, if you're talking about Americans eating like typical Americans AND having enough leftovers to last a week, then that number is way too small. Most Americans have 3-4 helpings of Thanksgiving dinner with multiple desserts. Yeesh!

Most of the expense of Thanksgiving goes into beer, wine and liquor, and with today's economy, those items will be sold in even greater quantities this year.

[BattyDem]

22. The multiple desserts (and multiple appetizers) get us every time!

To be honest ... we could probably skip the turkey. After the stuffed mushrooms, stromboli, stuffed meatballs, shrimp, cheese, veggies & dips, etc., we're ready for desserts. :blush:

[geckosfeet]

3. What BS. Where did they shop. $.82 for celery and carrots! Hogwash. eom

[slampoet]

78. I bought Celery and carrots at the cheapest place in town last week. $3.19 for 5# of carrots and $2

for the 3#'s of celery.

[Missy Vixen]

4. Where do they get this figure? I mean, really

There's two of us. We usually have someone over. We don't have anywhere near 10 people, and it costs FAR more than $44.00, even carefully shopping the specials.

Unbelievable.

Julie

[Eurobabe]

9. Yeah I smell BS. Last year for 4 people

I spent $80. And that wasn't doing anything extravagant. Unless you count the pecans for my homemade pie. Christ, butter is $4 a pound in the US!

[QueenOfCalifornia]

13. At my house

(I cook this meal every year and have been doing so for 20 years) It is typical to spend way more than the amount that the farm people came up with. They must be feeding miniature people... not "Little" people but people about the size of a Barbie Doll.

[JeanGrey]

24. Do what we do. We get the ham and turkey (easily under that

amount at Costco or Sams) and everyone brings a side dish. We usually do rolls too! We always have enough food by FAR.

[gollygee]

6. Uhm . . . no way

Speaking as someone who prepares meals.

[Lyric]

10. Bullshit. That figure is only correct if it were possible to buy ONLY

as much of each item as necessary--for example, three or four tablespoons of sugar instead of a whole bag. This paragraph makes their ridiculous calculations clear:

A combined group of miscellaneous items, including coffee and ingredients necessary to prepare the meal (onions, eggs, sugar, flour, evaporated milk and butter) dropped in price by 60 cents to $2.69.

A pound of butter alone costs more than that here. It must be nice to be able to buy your butter by the pat, for the exact same unit price as by the pound. :eyes:

[bmbmd]

12. Dickey's BBQ in McKinney Tx

Will sell a barbecued turkey, rolls, sweet potatoes, dressing, and pie for fifty bucks. Seventy five for the honey glazed ham option.

[no_hypocrisy]

14. $44.61 if you're eating Spam . . .

[Speck Tater]

16. $9.90. 10 Banquet turkey TV dinners on sale. Beat that! :) NT

[QueenOfCalifornia]

20. I had a friend

who actually did that to people one year... It was so fucking funny... But I did not attend his "dinner party" since I cook the dinner every year... I just heard about it the next day from some poor suckers who did go to his house. :rofl:

[BattyDem]

23. No way!

I would have killed him, especially if I had an offer to go somewhere else after accepting his invitation! :wow:

[QueenOfCalifornia]

28. This was in

the age of Monty Python on the TV - people did weirder things then... I think it was in 1979 or 1980.

[Speck Tater]

27. One year, when I had moved to a new town, single and

far from family, and didn't really know anyone in the new job yet, I spent Thanksgiving in front of the TV with a couple turkey TV dinners. I actually enjoyed the peace and quiet. But then, I've never had a problem with solitude.

[Nay]

48. One year when sonny Nay was small, we went OUT to eat on Thanksgiving. OMG

It was AWFUL. Not the food, mind you, but going to a restaurant for Thanksgiving -- well, it just wasn't the same. We never did that again. I cooked a turkey and everything every year after that. This year, tho, I have a DIL doing all the work!! Woo hoo! Three cheers for getting old!

[Speck Tater]

50. Every since my mom turned 80

we've gotten into the habit of doing Thanksgiving dinner at a very nice local restaurant that puts together a decent feast. All the family but me and my mom have to travel a long ways to get here. Having my mom set up the feast is out of the question now, and I couldn't do it in my little bachelor-sized house. So for the last 8 years (mom's 88 now) we've enjoyed letting somebody else do the cooking and clean up the mess.

For us it's more about getting the family together than it is about food anyway.

[EmilyAnne]

72. How about two Tofurkys?

My guests would be PISSED, but as a vegetarian, I'd sure get my fill.

[Warpy]

17. Serve, but not stuff

and I think that's the difference here.

They'd get fed but wouldn't flake out watching football, bloated and semi conscious.

There wouldn't be enough left on the turkey carcass for soup, either.

[MrsBrady]

18. who has peas with thanksgiving????

its grean bean casserole.

peas?


and on edit: I know some people "buy rolls" for big meals. But personally, if it's not home made rolls on a holiday. why bother?
go ahead. call me a snob. I'm not eating no stinking packaged rolls.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

25. Hell yes

I make home made yeast rolls which are a pain in the fucking butt but they are so damned good. I think the ingredients cost about $10 - just for the rolls. Oh and my pies? Homemade too - no store bought shells either. I think the cost of butter alone is about $15 and that is not a joke. I start making stuff 2 days prior to Thanksgiving day and it's worth it.

No way in hell could I make dinner for 10 people with $45 - Hell... even if I made hamburgers for 10 people it would cost more than $45.

[BattyDem]

19. 10 what? Toddlers?

:shrug:

We can't even feed 7 people (and two dogs) for $44.61!

[Ganja Ninja]

21. Maybe 10 years ago it was $45 bucks.

Today it's closer to $70.

[4lbs]

29. A few years ago I was invited to Thanksgiving at a friend's house. There were 12 adults there.

Afterwards, I asked the lady whose husband invited me how much it cost them to buy the food for all twelve of us. She said, with the pies, it was about $130.00. That's 10 or 11 bucks per ADULT person.

So, I now subscribe to the thought that it takes about $10.00 worth of food per person for a decent Thanksgiving meal.

[napi21]

30. I could easily make that meal for less than $45, but I make my own bread,

rolls, pies, sweet potatoes etc. The only thing I buy packaged are frozen vegies and of course the turkey. I just did a rough calc. of what all the ingredients would cost. I did not include the cost of electricity to cook everything, but I doubt they did either.

You would have to shop specials, but almost everything used for a Thanksgiving dinner is on sale. ie: Turkey@ .69/lb, butter @ 2# $4.00, frozen vegies @ $1.00 box, canned pumpikn @ $1.49 a can. I know those prices are good because I just returned from shopping for those very items about 1 hour ago.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

31. I am glad

I am eating here... because I use seasoning, herbs, broth, nuts, fresh vegetables (never frozen) and we drink like we mean it.

For your enthusiasm and optimism you get Hasselhoffed:

[lukasahero]

37. "and we drink like we mean it"

LOL - thank you for this. I've been sitting here trying to figure out how to say my wine bill for Thanksgiving for 9 will be more than $45 without sounding like a bunch of drunks!

A quick survey of grocery prices around my area brings just the food bill for 9 to ~$100 (excluding herbs and spices I already have on hand). The turkey alone is going to cost close to $35.

The beverage bill will come in around $60.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

49. I buy, for just 5 or 6 adults

2 bottles of red at about $10 per bottle and 3 bottles of white at $10 each - then there's the eggnog with brandy. Oh and that's just for the kids.

(Do I have to put a sarcasm smiley?)

[lukasahero]

63. No smiley necessary :)

I'm getting a chuckle out of those here saying "per person?" because, honestly, that's more in line with what I was thinking! It's no wonder half our politicians our "out of touch" with ordinary Americans if these are the facts they're being sold.

[haele]

32. Hmmm, shopping the commessary and the local IGA /bulk food stores as cheaply as I can -

And making my own 2 pies, I come up with the following...
My "at home pantry" will already have -
Oil, olive
Oil, vegetable
Bread (stale)
Assorted herbs, Spices and Seasonings
Kosher Salt
Flour - 3 lbs
Shortning
Baking Soda/Baking powder
Sugar (white)
Sugar (brown)
Tea (box of bags)


Commissary/NEX -
16 lb turkey at around $1.25 a lb - $20
Eggs, extra large, 18 - $2.30
Milk - double pack (2 gallons) $4.29
Heavy Whipping Cream, 2 pints - $1.50
Cream Cheese, 1 package - $1.05
Butter, 1 lb - $2.25 (purchase 2) - $4.25
Frozen sweet peas, family sized bag - $1.75
Canned pumpkin, large can - $1.50
Canned Cranberries (everyone in the family likes the ones with the "can ring"...)$1.09 a can, two cans $2.18 - (a bag of cranberries would be around $2.50)
Dinner Rolls, 2 dozen, frozen $1.75
Coffee, halfway decent brand "1 lb" bag - $3.25
Sub-Total: $43.52
Add 5% "commissary fee" - $2.18
Total - 45.68

IGA/local bulk store -
Sweet potatos - 4 lbs - $2.36
Celery (2) - $1.50
Carrots, 1lb - $.75

Total - $4.61

So in San Diego, for around $50.29 I can get my "Thanksgiving for 10" if I shop as wisely as I can because I'm lucky enough to be able to use the commissary. I might be able to get $3.00 if I have the right coupons.

If I'm stuck to using only in town and finding as many sales as I can, I could probably come within $7.00 of the price at the commissary.

Of course, if I had to "buy my pantry", add another $15 or so - and that's using the commissary for the oils, baking powder, baking soda, shortening (around $10.00), and the bulk store for the sugar, flour, herbs, spices and seasonings by the lb or ounce, (around $5.50) and the bakery outlet for the stale bread for bread crumbs (about $1- $2).

If you have the maximum time, a good selection of coupons for items like frozen peas, rolls, cranberries, mixes, and coffee, and a wide variety of sources as well as a good local produce selection, you can probably get your semi-traditional Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner for 10 together for around $50. But even then, that requires you to be really lucky with the sales and coupons.

Haele

Haele

[yardwork]

33. This would be pretty nasty, unhealthy, processed food, though.

[kestrel91316]

35. That's NOT Thanksgiving dinner. They left out mashed potatoes and gravy.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

44. No shit!

Which is pretty cheap to make - I buy a sack of russets and I make mine with whole milk and sour cream with butter - But Thanksgiving is not Thanksgiving without the potatoes and gravy. No one at my house wants sweet potatoes (the candied kind) but I make some for the outsiders who like them. :)

[WindRiverMan]

47. and what is up with just one kind of pie?

Pumpkin is great, but you gotta have a pecan pie in there as well. An apple one is great too.

and what about a green salad or a bowl of corn chowder to start things off?


and no holiday dinner in my house is complete without stuffed artichokes or my Italian mother would kill me.

[dana_b]

58. Yeah! and a 14-oz. package of cubed bread stuffing, $2.57?

ONE 14 oz bag of stuffing. Now we need at least two bags for a family of 6. Then you need celery, onions, butter, maybe apples or whatever you like IN the stuffing. This is a joke.

[LeftyMom]

36. They are clearly on drugs.

[gollygee]

38. They didn't spend enough to pay for drugs too. n/t

[LeftyMom]

39. Maybe they just bought drugs and hallucinated the dinner. nt

[SoCalDem]

42. Prozac Praline Pie for dessert

:)

[QueenOfCalifornia]

53. Mmmmm

prozac pie. :rofl:

[SoCalDem]

55. Goes great with Xanax Punch..n/t

[Javaman]

40. is that each??

that is colossally low.

[Igel]

43. Depends.

More often than not I've gotten turkeys at a discount, whether in Oregon, Los Angeles, Rochester (NY), or now, in Houston. $1.19/lb is more than I'm comfortable paying. I think last year's was spendy at $0.69/lb. Even taht would free up $8.00. Haven't priced them this year, so I may be in for a shock. Probably not a big one; they're hooks, buy $X, get reduced-price foul. And the prices are usually announced only a week or so before Thanksgiving, so it's still too early.

(When I was single in Los Angeles, I always shifted T-day to Friday and went shopping at 8 am on said Friday and hauled my 'loot' in my panniers on my bike. The local Vons usually had thawed turkeys available on Thursday, didn't sell all of them, and had to discount them to get rid of them on Friday. Nothing like $0.06/lb for turkey. So I'd buy 3, cook them hollow (the oven in my studio apt. and barely walk-in kitchen could handle one bird at a time ... maybe two, if we're talking quail). Then I'd freeze the meat. Just what a starving grad student needs.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

45. One of the local supermarkets is selling a premade dinner for 8 for that price

I could do it cheaper than that. Most places around here give away turkeys if you spend a certain amount in the month before Thanksgiving. The rest of the stuff is pretty inexpensive.

[Retrograde]

52. Where is "here"?

These are supposed to be average prices across the country. Now, I happen to live in a high-priced area (SF Bay area) in terms of food - I'm amused that the same strawberries from the same farm that I bought in upstate New York were $.50 cheaper then they are here, less than a hundred miles from where they're grown - and someone's got to be lower to average us out. Where do you live that these ingredients are so cheap?

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

57. Northern NJ in one of the most expensive counties in the country

[aikoaiko]

64. bergen?

I grew up in Allendale. I'll never be able to afford to live there.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

65. Morris

[MissMarple]

46. But what about my endive and Boursin cheese appetizer?

Carrots and celery? We have an antipasti platter...or hubby's mom will roll over in her you know what. Then there is the ham...a must have...everyone expects it. I swear that the turkey and dressing and the potatoes (white and sweet) and gravy are the least expensive. My mother would just roll her eyes at all the fuss and drama. She just added green beans and Ocean Spray to the basic five and called it Thanksgiving. But we have fun.

Oh, and pies, I forgot the pies.

[JuniperLea]

51. The date must be wrong... This figure must be 10 - 15 years old...

And if I get the free range, natural, organic, 20 lb hen, it's going to cost that much just for the bird!

I don't know where they did their shopping, but it wasn't Los Angeles! Hell, the butter alone is $5! The rolls are closer to $4 that the two and change they quote. The celery is more than a dollar, so are the carrots. And what's this "pumpkin pie mix" crappola? I need a pumpkin, a can of condensed milk, half a dozen eggs, flour and shortening for the crust... these people aren't making a Thanksgiving dinner...

[taught_me_patience]

56. A dinner for 10 at McDonalds would be more

This AFBF survey is a complete load of shit.

[clyrc]

59. Since I live outside the US, and most Thanksgiving ingredients are specialty items

my Thanksgiving meal will be about 100 dollars, for 10 people. The turkey alone will be around 30 dollars.

[Madam Mossfern]

60. So why does it cost me

about $600 for 18 people? Hmmmmmm..........

[BattyDem]

62. I know what you mean

My sis makes the turkey and the trimmings. I make a couple of appetizers, a side dish and a couple of desserts - it costs me way more than $44.61 ... without the turkey, LOL!

They figured on a 16 pound turkey for 10 people. They've got to be kidding! My 18 year old nephew could knock off half of that by himself! :P


edited: typo :blush:

[BattyDem]

61. I mentioned this story to my mother and my sister

I told my Mom about the survey and said, "They determined that the cost for 10 people would be $44.61."
Mom said, "Per person?"

Later, I told my sister about the survey and said, "They determined that the cost for 10 people would be $44.61."
Sis said, "Per person?"

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

I guess we're gluttons!

[Vinca]

66. The estimate seems low if you want to produce a quality meal -

fresh, all natural turkey instead of frozen for example. A bag of fresh cranberries is $1.99 at the very cheapest vs. canned, corn syrup filled cranberry sauce which is a fraction of that. Homemade stuffing would cost several times over the cost of a box of stuffing mix. I bet I could do the meal for $44.61, but it wouldn't be nearly as good as it could be.

[cali]

67. oh, dear. our thanksgiving dinner is nothing like that.

It's a collaborative effort with a bunch of friends and family. Last year I did the gravlax and cherry pies. There were 20+ people and the host and hostess did a locally grown organic turkey, stuffing and mashed postatoes. Everyone else brought one or two items. Everything was homemade- from the rolls to the cornbread for the stuffing to the pie crusts.

[surrealAmerican]

71. mmmmm gravlox.

Do you cure your own?

[cali]

73. very, very easy

I actually did a variation using lapsang tea leaves and fresh ginger and sugar and salt. The standard is dill, sugar and salt with alittle vodka or aquavit. you can cure it in any way you can dream up, as long as you use the sugar and salt.

[LostinVA]

69. This is the most ridiculous thread -- I can make this meal for LESS than $45

Including real whipped cream and homemade pumpkin pie.

Give me an extra $10, and it will be a fancy pantsy meal.

And, that's without going to a Trader Joe's -- the Shop-Rite or Stop-n-Shop would work (or, Harris Teeter, if I was still in NC or VA).

I've DONE it before.

I know how to stretch a food dollar.

[Madam Mossfern]

80. I think I need you as a mentor

I spend a ridiculous amount of $ on food.

[Marrah_G]

70. I could serve a much better meal then that for 45.00

They left out alot of things that are on sale during Thanksgiving week.

[Jokerman]

74. Dinner: $44.61, Liquor to deal with the extended family: $55.00.

That fifth of Don Julio doesn't come cheap.

[Catherine Vincent]

77. I don't cook for the holidays (or any day period).

My family knows I don't cook, so they invite me. Every year I have my pick of where to go. Wheeeeeeeee!!!!! :)

[spinbaby]

81. I just spent $125

It just so happens we're having ten people--all adults--for Thanksgiving dinner this year and I just did the major shopping for the meal. I spent about $125. This included $41 for a 16-pound bird without added stuff (antibiotics, injections, gravy packets) and ingredients for three kinds of pies.