Take a moment to reflect on the meaning of the holiday. Chances are, spending time with family and friends is more important than how fancy or expensive a holiday meal is. When planning your meals, take into account the time required for preparation and cooking. If you want to spend time with your loved ones on the day of the event, you don’t want to spend all day in the kitchen.
Plan your holiday meals to stay within your budget
Organizing a Christmas dinner is challenging enough… who needs the added stress of walking away with a huge grocery bill? Here are a few tips to help you enjoy the holidays while protecting your wallet:
- First, go shopping in your pantry. “Most of the time you already have a lot of stuff in your pantry. Look at what you already have and create a menu around that,” says Nik.
- Make a List – Make a list and stick to only what is on the list. This allows you to have a budget and stick to it.
- Preparing side dishes from scratch – Buying side dishes saves time, but it costs more and is less healthy to do so.
- Portion Control – Buy the right amount of food. Portion control is crucial: 50% plant-based, 30% protein and 20% carbohydrates.
- Forget the meat: opt for a meatless Thanksgiving! Use hearty vegetables such as roasted mushrooms or pumpkin as main dishes.
- Cook what’s on sale – Weekly shopping ads appear on Sundays. See what’s on offer and design your menu around that. If a store is sold out, keep in mind that most stores’ prices will match! Buy Generic Brands or Store Brands – Save money and guests will never know your secret.
- Go to the supermarket when you’re not hungry to keep your spontaneous purchase to a minimum. Stay away from ready-made and processed foods, as they tend to be much more expensive.
- Enjoy a potluck – Share the dining experience with family and friends. Let everyone bring a dish!
- Skip Decor – Using food as a centerpiece, large pumpkins, squash or even eating on tiered platters with fresh herbs is always attractive.
- Plan for leftovers: Buy storage containers and divide your holiday dinner for lunch later in the week.
Use cheap, easy-to-prepare recipes
Tasty dishes don’t have to cost a fortune to make! Find quick, simple recipes with easy-to-find ingredients that work even in the smallest budgets on our cost-effective recipes holiday page.
Simplify your menu
You simply don’t need seventeen side dishes, forty dips and five desserts. Sure, that’s nice, but if you take the time to narrow down the selections, you’ll encounter less waste and less expense. I started doing this. No one ever said, “Gosh, I miss your roasted asparagus.” They said, ‘Please pass the green beans.’
Maximize those leftovers!
If you end up preparing a big meal for your loved ones, there’s a good chance you’ll end up with leftovers. Don’t underestimate the power of leftovers to save you stress and money this holiday season! Most people agree that leftover turkey dinner is just as delicious on the second or third day. Most guests will appreciate you feeding them and won’t criticize you for serving leftovers, especially if they were present at the original meal.