How to Feed 15 People for Thanksgiving for Under $65

Thanksgiving is all about being thankful for what we have been blessed with, but most importantly it's about that big turkey dinner with all the fixings.   Growing up it was tradition in our family that everyone would bring a side dish along with some kind of dessert to help feed our large extended family of about 23 people.  But when my little family moved to England for a few years, I took on making an entire Thanksgiving dinner for ourselves.  Each year though we would invite our friends and neighbors to join us and we would have up to 18-20 people over to share in this wonderful American tradition.  You might think it would be very expensive to feed that many people as my little family of four can easily spend $50 eating a dinner out at a restaurant.   But I have come up with a fabulous homemade menu will all the fixings that can feed up to 15 people for under $65 - that's only $4.33 a person!

During this time of the year all stores will have amazing sales for Thanksgiving meal items, so taking advantage of those will help cut down your costs.  Please note that the prices that I quote below are averages I've found from my local IGA, Kroger and Walmart stores over the past 2 weeks.  Be prepared that your biggest expense will come from your turkey and the extra items needed to prepare it (almost half your budget).  I found turkey prices ranging from $0.67 - $1.49 per pound so I took an average price of about $0.99/lb for a turkey. Using the general rule of thumb is to buy 1 pound of turkey per person and 1.5 lbs per person if you want leftovers - it will cost you about $20 for a turkey to feed 15+ people.

I have created a shopping list for all the rest of the items needed to create the menu I have listed out below along with estimated costs.  The next list is of items below needed that I assumed most people would already have in their pantries and refrigerators.  If you don't have them your costs might go up a little.  Now click on the links below to see the recipes for each of my favorite "Things I Like to Make" for Thanksgiving!

Menu:

• Herb Roasted Turkey
• Mashed potatoes and gravy
• Green Bean Casserole (I just follow recipe on back of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup)
• Sweet Potato and Marshmallow casserole
• Cranberry Apple Salad
• Jellied Cranberry (from the Ocean Spray can - just for nostalgic purposes)
• Crockpot Stuffing
• Homemade Butterflake Rolls (my friend Lana's recipe- but only need to make 1/2 batch for 18 rolls)
• My Aunt Tammy's Chocolate Pie
• Pumpkin Pie with Strudel Top

Grocery List:

• 20 lb turkey (gives you a little extra for leftovers)- Average price I found was $0.99/lb = $20
• 1 pkg fresh sage - $2
• 1 pkg fresh thyme leaves - $2
• 5 lb bag of Russet potatoes - $2
• 3 - 16 oz packages store brand frozen green beans - $3
• 2 - 10.75 oz cans cream of mushroom soup - $2
• 1 large can French fried onions (6 oz) - $2.50
• 2 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes - $0.79/lb = $2
• 1 - 10 oz pkg marshmallows - $1
• 1 - 12 oz package fresh cranberries - $2
• 1 - 20 oz can crushed pineapple - $1
• 1 - 3 oz pkg cherry jello - $0.50
• 1 - 3 oz pkg orange jello - $0.50
• 6 medium granny smith apples - $2
• 2 medium red apples (stuffing) - $0.68
• 1 lb package whole carrots (turkey - 5) - $0.75
• 1 - 3lb bag of onions (4 medium - turkey, 2 medium (2 cups) stuffing - $1.50
• 1 bunch of celery (5 ribs - turkey, 4 ribs (2 cups) stuffing) = $0.75
• 5 medium mushrooms (stuffing) = $1.50
• 1 loaf white bread = $1
• 2 - 14 oz cans chicken broth = $1.20 (free if you use your own homemade broth)
• 16 oz of evaporate milk (1 1/2 cans) (3/4 cup rolls, 1 cup pumpkin pie) = $2
• 1 cello package of graham crackers $1.50
• 1 pkg chocolate pudding instant = $0.50
• 1 pkg vanilla pudding instant = $0.50
• 2 cups vanilla ice cream - $1.50
• 1 quart milk - $1.75
• 2 - 8 oz tub whipped topping - chocolate pie and topping for pumpkin pie = $2
• 1 regular sized Hershey's chocolate bar - $0.75
• 1 - 15 oz can pumpkin - $1.69 (free if you made your own pumpkin puree)
• 1 can jellied cranberries - $0.89 
• 1 lb margarine = $0.80
• unbaked pie crust = $0.75

Grand total = $64.51

Stuff to find in your pantry or fridge:

• salt and pepper
• yeast - 1 Tbsp (rolls)
• garlic - 4 bulbs (turkey)
• olive oil (1/2 cup for turkey)
• sour cream (mashed potatoes 1/2 cup)
• poultry seasoning (1 tsp for stuffing)
• dried sage (1 1/2 tsp for stuffing)
• dried thyme  (1 tsp for stuffing)
• cream cheese (1/2 cup for mashed potatoes)
• garlic salt (1 tsp for mashed potatoes)
• brown sugar  (1/2 cup for sweet potatoes, 1/2 cup for pumpkin pie strudel) 
• cinnamon  (1/2 tsp for sweet potatoes, 1 tsp for pumpkin pie)
• ground ginger (1/2 tsp for pumpkin pie)
• eggs (1 for sweet potatoes, 2 for stuffing, 1 for rolls, 2 for pumkpin pie
• sugar (1 cup for cranberry salad,  2 Tbsp + 2 tsp for rolls)
• flour (4 cups for rolls, 1/2 cup strudel topping for pie)
• corn starch (3 Tbsp for gravy)

Happy Thanksgiving and happy eating!!!!!