Sweet Pennies from Heaven

how to save money on Thanksgiving Dinner

7 Tips on How to Save Money on Thanksgiving Dinner

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This is a sponsored post in partner with IFOF. All opinions are my own.

 

how to save money on Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and I know making that shopping list can be daunting! You don’t ever cook THAT much any other time through the year and it can end up costing a fortune. There are 7 ways that I’ve learned how to save money on Thanksgiving Dinner and I wanted to share them with you.

7  Tips on How to Save Money on Thanksgiving Dinner

1. Make a list and then find coupons to use on as many of the items as you can.

2. Shop at stores that you can combine store coupons with manufacturer coupons.

3. Price match. Walmart price matches, so take ads in and price match as many of the items on your list as you can.

4. Volunteer other family members or friends to help cook. This will take some of the burden off of you.

5. Shop around for prices on turkey or ham. Usually though, the week or 2 before Thanksgiving is the best time to buy. They’re on sale everywhere.

6. Scale back! Most times we end up having WAY too much food and there are usually 3 or 4 dishes that no one would even miss. Drop $15/$20 just by scaling back!

7. Buy frozen over fresh turkey. These are cheaper, however, you have to allow plenty of time to thaw. Here’s a post that gives turkey thawing instructions.

 

I have a few fantastic recipes that are thrifty and perfect for Thanksgiving dinner or as snacks. Just click on any of the links below to visit that recipe, and enjoy!! Wishing you a blessed Thanksgiving Day with family and friends!

 

baked mac and cheeseEasy Baked Mac and Cheese

 

mashed potatoesEasy, Rich and Creamy Mashed Potatoes (The Pioneer Woman’s recipe!)

 

Pumpkin PieLight Pumpkin Pie

 

pumpkin pie puppy chowPumpkin Pie Puppy Chow

 

 

Affordable Food Tips (1)

I am an IFOF (Indiana Family of Farmers) Ambassador for the Affordable Food Tips For Your Family, From Our Family Series. I have written a few other posts in this series. You can find them below.

Week’s Meal Plan Under $50 Plus One Pan Pasta with Chicken Recipe

 Everything in Moderation | What I Learned at the Grocery Store

13 Guaranteed Ways to Stick to Your Grocery Budget

 

Prepare for the Holidays 5 Week Challenge – Week 5 (Last Minute Checklist and Turkey Thaw Times)

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Thanksgiving

This is Week 5, the last week, of our Prepare for the Holidays 5 Week Series & Challenge!  If you’ve missed the other posts, check them out below to get “in the loop” and hop aboard if you’d like to get prepared early as well.

I can smell the wonderful scents of all the yummy baked goods coming out of your ovens!! Through our previous week’s challenges, we’ve cleaned inside and out, donated some unused items along the way, organized our cabinets, made our shopping lists (that was last week, in case you missed it), and most have already bought all their groceries.

This week, I want to go over a checklist of sorts.  This will basically be your Homework assignment. We’ve accomplished alot over the last few weeks and I hope it all did help you in preparing for your holiday company. Our goal was to make things LESS hectic, so I hope you’re feeling good and LESS stressed!

Your checklist:

Thaw that Turkey! Most of you should already have it in your refrigerator anyway so it’s already started thawing or may have been thawing for a few days.

Refrigerator Thawing Times (via USDA website)
Whole turkey:

  •  4 to 12 pounds ……  1 to 3 days
  • 12 to 16 pounds …… 3 to 4 days
  • 16 to 20 pounds …… 4 to 5 days
  • 20 to 24 pounds …… 5 to 6 days

 

  • Clean out your refrigerator and make room
  • Double check your recipes to make sure you have everything you need (don’t forget the extras like seasonings, plenty of milk, butter, oil, eggs, etc.)
  • Grab some printable coupons for all of your dinner extras that you need to buy!
  • Make sure your camera is charged or has batteries for fun family photos
  • Don’t forget the Reynold’s Wrap & Foil!
  • Eat lots of turkey and ham, enjoy time with your friends and family!

(photo credit, crosswalk.com)

Prepare for the Holidays 5 Week Series – Week 4

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Prepare for Thanksgiving

This is Week 4 of our Prepare for the Holidays 5 Week Series & Challenge!  If you’ve missed the other posts, check them out below to get “in the loop” and hop aboard if you’d like to get prepared early as well.

Last week we talked about organization in the cabinets and making sure you had all of the things you need to actually prepare your Thanksgiving or Christmas feast. I hope that all went well.

THIS week, we’re gonna talk about your kitchen FOOD items inventory list. Holiday dinner items have been on sale the last couple of weeks but now they’re ramping them up with the turkey and ham sales too! I really recommend starting your grocery list super early rather than later because you’ll have to hit 3 different stores before you find vanilla pudding, Cool Whip, Stuffing Mix, you know the drill.  The stores sell out of alot of things quickly and don’t have enough inventory!

Be sure to grab some printable coupons on any items you may have on your list. It’s always nice to be able to save money, especially when we spend what we spend on preparing dinner!

Homework Assignment:

  • Write down all the dishes and desserts you will be making
  • Go through each recipe/dessert and write down the ingredients you’ll be needing
  • See what you have in your pantry, cabinets, and refrigerator already so you don’t buy what you don’t need
  • Don’t forget the odd stuff, like sugar, oil, butter, eggs, milk, salt & pepper, flour, nuts, etc.
  • Double check your list, and head for the store EARLY!! Don’t wait till Wednesday to go!!!

Extra Homework Assignment:

Hit the hotspots we’ve talked about in the previous weeks challenges (linked above), spend 10 mins. on each.

 

Now, let me know if you have any questions and let us know how you’re doing on your challenges! We really want to hear from you!!!

(photo credit:  bonappetit)

Prepare for the Holidays 5 Week Series – Week 3 – Kitchen Inventory

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This is Week 3 of our Prepare for the Holidays 5 Week Series & Challenge!  If you’ve missed the other posts, check them out below to get “in the loop” and hop aboard if you’d like to get prepared early as well.

Last week was dedicated to cleaning up outdoors in preparation for Holiday company.  This week, I want to concentrate on Organizing our Kitchens.  That is where all of our time is spent preparing Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, afterall.  Nothing is worse than trying to get dinner ready and you can’t find your hand mixer, or the biggest mixing bowl.  If you’re like me, you can’t find it because you loaned it out or it’s shoved way back at the back of that black hole of a corner cabinet!

So, let’s go through our cabinets to make sure we have everything we need and GET RID of everything that we don’t ever use!!  Go grab your mixing bowls from your sister, your roaster pan from your aunt, and your measuring spoons….oh dear, where did those go???  Mine could be out in the back yard for all I know! You know…kids and sand boxes or dirt piles!

Here is a list of the most used items needed for preparation of Thanksgiving or Christmas Dinner.  Some recipes call for special utensils.  Just make sure that you have those when you’re ready to make that recipe.

If you’re needing any of those items listed but can’t afford to shop for them new, consider going to the Goodwill to find them.  Buying new can be expensive and I’ve found every single item mentioned above at the Goodwill before.  Don’t be afraid.  There’s nothing a little bleach and hot water won’t kill ;)!

Now for this week’s assignements:

  1. Make sure you have all of these items + extra items that special recipes call for.
  2. Gather 1 box or trashbag of unused kitchen items that you don’t use and donate to Goodwill or family in need.
  3. Gather any or all kitchen/utensil items that family/friends have borrowed so you don’t have to hunt them down later.
  4. After you’ve boxed or bagged up your unused kitchen items to donate, re-organize your cabinets with the things listed above so that you’ll easily find them when Thanksgiving Eve approaches.
  5. Last but not least, spend 10 minutes on each Hotspot from Week 1.  If it’s nice weather in your neck of the woods spend some time outdoor cleaning from Week 2.
  6. As always, come over and comment below this post here and let us know how you’re doing on your assignments!  I’d love to hear your progress!

Prepare for the Holidays 5 Week Series – Week 2

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This is Week 2 of our Prepare for the Holidays 5 Week Series & Challenge!  If you’ve missed the other posts, check them out below to get “in the loop” and hop aboard if you’d like to get prepared early as well.

Last week we talked out cleaning indoors and hitting the hotspots that get us down!  I also had previously mentioned that staying on top of those will make getting ready for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas so much easier when it comes to getting things nice and neat for company. So, on top of this weeks challenge, I’ll also add some extra homework to keep up with the work we’ve already done so that things don’t get out of whack!

This week, we’re chiming in on outdoor cleaning!  I don’t know what kind of messes YOU have, but for me…I have cobwebs that need knocked down on the front and back porch.  We also have trees all around our house so we get tons of leaves that I have to keep at bay. Most end up all over my patio that I have to sweep off every day or every other day.  Thank goodness for leaf blowers…that’s all I gotta say!

Then there are those things out there that need to be put up for the winter.  Extra chairs, bug spray bottles, in my case…lots of hubby’s odd and end things.  Right now as I look out my dining room window I see fishing line, a drinking glass filled with nails and screws, and a pair of work gloves on the well-box.  I also have some rugs that I washed and hung over chairs to dry that needs to come back in.

What kinds of things do you need to get done outside to prepare for holiday company??  Below is a list of “homework” assignments that you can do over the weekend just to get started!

Homework for this week:

  • Sweep cobwebs
  • Dust off outside furniture
  • Clean Outside Windows
  • Pick up and put away summer things (extra lawn chairs, etc.)
  • Clean up flowerbeds
  • Use a powerwasher on anything that needs a good cleaning (we usually need to powerwash our patio this time of year)
  • Rake leaves

In addition to this weeks assignments, I wanted to give you a few things to do to stay on top of the work you did last week.  So here are a few things to add to the list above.

  • Spend 10 minutes on each hotspot that you cleaned last week.
  • Clean up 1 more hotspot in addition to those.
  • Get Laundry caught up.
  • Regular dusting, sweeping/vacuuming, and mopping.

Let us know how you’re doing….just leave a comment below.  We’re a week closer to Thanksgiving and I’m excited that I won’t be killing myself the night before getting ready for company!!  It’ll all be done beforehand ;)!

Prepare for Thanksgiving Together 5 Week Series – Week 1, Part 2

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Week 1 is out of the way and we’ll soon be starting week 2 of the challenge and series!  If you’ve not seen what this 5 week challenge is about click and read the following.

This week we talked about indoor cleaning to prepare for Thanksgiving company.  I meant to get this post up on Sunday but it was a CRAZY weekend so this one’s a little late.  I promised before and after pics of my own progress.  If you’ve got some that you’d like to share, send them to sweetpennies@gmail.com.  I’d love to share them!!

My struggles this week was finding the time.  I had to squeeze it in, but you know…if I waited closer to Thanksgiving then I know I’d be totally stressed so I’m glad that I’m focusing on it now!  Okay, here are my before and after photos.  The 2nd week’s series post and challenge will be coming up this week…keep an eye out for it!

Laundry is GONE! Shew, I can breathe =)

DVD's are GONE!! Yes, those are old wooden Santa Clause figures...I leave them out all year =) I still need to arrange the mantle and I'll get to that this week!

Again, DVD's are GONE! They're all in a cabinet, nice - neat - and organized!

Okay – so how did YOU do this week?  What all did you accomplish?  Here is a recap of last week’s homework assignment:

  • Pick 3 Hotspots in your home & clean them up (give yourself 10-15 mins. for each hotspot!)
  • Designate a Basket, totebag, even a Walmart bag to pick up out of place things every night (and put those things away) *Make this a nightly ritual or give this job to one of the kids (set a timer to make it more fun for them!)
  • Get laundry caught up.
  • Fill one trashbag (or more) full of unused and good recyclable toys to drop off at Goodwill or donate to a family in need.
  • Fill one trashbag (or more) of unused and good clothing to drop off at Goodwill or donate to a family in need.
  • Sweep cobwebs and dust bunnies from the ceilings and corners of your rooms.  (I dare you to do it to ALL your rooms!)
  • Clean & organize your entryway.
  • Do your regular dusting and mopping/vacuuming.

My grade:

  1. Picked 3 hotspots – Check
  2. Designate a basket or bag to pick up things each night – Check
  3. Get Laundry caught up – Check
  4. Fill bags with clothes and toys – Check, Check!  Already gave the clothes away…now I just need to drop off the toys this week!
  5. Sweet cobwebs – Check
  6. Clean and organize entryway – I don’t really have an entry way so I get to cheat on that one 😉
  7. Regular dusting, mopping/vacuuming – Check (a couple rooms…not the whole house (eek)

Prepare for Holidays 5 Week Series & Challenge – Week 1

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This is the first week in our Prepare for the Holidays 5 week series!  Do you realize Thanksgiving is right around the corner?!  In this series, I want for me AND you to be accountable to eachother as we do our challenges and homework.

Over the course of the next 5 weeks, we’re going to prepare ahead of time so that we’re not overwhelmed the day or 2 before Thanksgiving.  When we should only be having to worry about the food, we’re consumed with cleaning, laundry, decorating, and everything else!  Let’s get ahold on it NOW so we don’t have to then! Plus, our work now will also help make things a little easier for the 2nd round of holiday guests for Christmas!

If you’re just now finding this series, here are all the weeks challenges in case you want to catch up or jump ahead.

For this first week, I want to talk about indoor cleaning and hotspots.  You know what a hotspot is, right?!  These are those places that we HATE to clean.  The places that pile up so easily and quickly.  If we can get a grip on these and stick to it with just a few minutes daily – those hotspots will become not so hot ;)!  Now, if you’re like ME…you have lots of hotspots!  My focus is getting rid of the visible hotspots because those are the ones that are seen when folks come through the door!  My worst ones are laundry, my kitchen table (always piled up, even with folded laundry (hehehee)), fireplace mantle (FULL of DVD’s and movie cases!).

My hope is that starting this challenge will get us in the mood to eventually get to all the hotspots, even the ones that are hidden like in the laundry room, bedrooms, closets (<– link to tips on closet organization!!), office space, guest rooms.  But, let’s just work on the ones that are visible to guests OR the ones that are really just a nasty thorn in your side!

Your Homework for this Week

  • Pick 3 Hotspots in your home & clean them up (give yourself 10-15 mins. for each hotspot!)
  • Designate a Basket, totebag, even a Walmart bag to pick up out of place things every night (and put those things away) *Make this a nightly ritual or give this job to one of the kids (set a timer to make it more fun for them!)
  • Get laundry caught up.
  • Fill one trashbag (or more) full of unused and good recyclable toys to drop off at Goodwill or donate to a family in need.
  • Fill one trashbag (or more) of unused and good clothing to drop off at Goodwill or donate to a family in need.
  • Sweep cobwebs and dust bunnies from the ceilings and corners of your rooms.  (I dare you to do it to ALL your rooms!)
  • Clean & organize your entryway.
  • Do your regular dusting and mopping/vacuuming.

IMPORTANT:  Come back here and comment on this blog post with your accomplishments! We ALL want to hear plus it’ll help keep us motivated and accountable!

Each week in addition to the other challenges, I’ll be giving homework to maintain these jobs so that you don’t get back out of whack before Thanksgiving ;)!  I’m talking about myself here, haha!  Okay below are some of my before pics that I promised.

OMGosh – I can’t believe I’m about to DO this!  Here goes…

My utility room is right off the kitchen so all my folded laundry and hangers land on the kitchen table. The end also houses my blogging “office”.

 

Antique wooden bench in kitchen across from my table has a bunch of Eli’s clean clothes folded up there. There’s also a pile of my pajamas. The Walmart bag on the end has some of Eli’s outgrown clothes that I’m giving away.

 

 

The fireplace mantle stays piled up with DVD’s and DVD Cases. This isn’t my fault because I don’t even know how to work the DVD player. I blame this on my husband!

 

Again…more DVD cases. My husband buys DVD’s every single week. He wears me out with his obsession. He’s totally addicted to the $5 bins at Walmart!  I see a toy, ink pen, a camouflage hat, and a few out of place things.  UGH!!!

 

Now, along with all of these hotspots I’ll also be getting my laundry where it’s supposed to be and OFF my kitchen table.  I’ll also be sweeping my yucky cobwebs, going through and gathering bags of toys and clothes to donate, and doing all the other homework!

Please leave comments here as we struggle along through the week.  Hopefully there won’t be MANY struggles but if there are we can come back here and leave comments so hopefully we can help eachother out along the way with motivation!

To easily find this post to come back to, I’ll keep it on the right side of my site.  Just scroll down to find the section titled:  Preparing for Thanksgiving Together 5 Week Series & Challenge.

Happy Challenge WEEK ~ Let the Homework BEGIN! 

photo credit:  freefrombroke.com

To Do List

Let’s Prepare for the Holidays – 5 Week Series & Challenge

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So, it seems like the leaves have changed color overnight.  Wasn’t it just yesterday that we were splashing around in our swimming pools and cooking chicken on the grill?  We’ve already had chili twice in the last month – and we only fix that during cold weather ;)!

I know that I’m the worst when it comes to hosting Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner at my house.  I’m up ALL night cleaning, dusting, looking for cobwebs, vacuuming up dog hair, all while I should be worried about the turkey and ham!!

I decided to start a 5 week series that you and I could work on together…a challenge if you will!  I know there are many out there who are just like me and wait to do everything last minute to make the home suitable for holiday company (even if it IS just family and friends who see your dirty house all the time anyway!) 😉  I want to do everything on a weekly basis since we ONLY have a few weeks until Thanksgiving is here! This same challenge will work for you in time for Christmas guests as well.

Over the next 5 weeks we’ll cover cleaning up the hotspots indoors and outdoors, doing an inventory of the kitchen and organizing, cleaning out that yucky fridge, discussing frugal decor, and more!

The bases that I want to cover over the next 5 weeks are:

  • Cleaning Indoors
  • Cleaning Outdoors
  • Organizing
  • Kitchen Inventory
  • Last Minute Check List

This 5 week challenge will keep us all accountable and by the end we’ll be prepared so that all we have to do is worry about making that turkey and ham perfect instead of running around like chickens with our heads cut off!  Who’s with me??!!  If you’d like to do this challenge with us, leave a comment in the comment section below!

To get started, below are all weeks of the series in case you get a jump start and can’t stop!! haha!

(photo credit:  bonappetit)

the chick behind this blog! I'm your ordinary, everyday wife and mom to an incredible pair of stinky guys! I am a self diagnosed coffee addict with a ginormous sweet tooth, preferably baked goods!! My hope is to help you, teach you, and entertain you on your way to a more thrifty and frugal lifestyle! Along the way, you'll find awesome recipes, great tips, and tons of randomness! We have loads of fun, so ya'll come back now, ya hear?!

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