47 Simple Ways to Save Money on Thanksgiving 2022 (#36 Will Surprise You!)

Below, we’ve put together a list of hacks and tips on how to save money on Thanksgiving dinner, travel, drinks and more. Plus, we’ll share a simple way you can get paid for drinking all that Turkey Day alcohol.

So check them out and enjoy a fun, food-filled day, without breaking the bank!

Save on Thanksgiving travel

Thanksgiving is the time for family and friends.

This means that travel is often involved.

And the cost of visiting your friends and family can be high.

Sure you could skip the journey, and stay at home instead. Skype and other free video calling apps have made it super easy for us to stay in touch with our long-distance relatives.

But, it’s not quite the same as sharing dinner together on Thanksgiving.

Fortunately, there are many ways that you can save money on transportation this Thanksgiving.

So you can enjoy the day with family and not have to worry about the cost.

Below, we’ve put together a couple of easy ways for you to save cash on flights, and accommodation if you need it as well, during this holiday.

1. Book flights during September

Waiting until the last minute to book your flights is a surefire way to pay more.

According to SkyScanner, if you book your flights during September, you’ll save 4%.

So don’t leave it until the last minute.

Try to book your flight in advance and you can save yourself a lot of cash.

If you’ve left it too late this year, keep this tip in mind for next year.

But don’t worry too much if you don’t book your flight until near Thanksgiving, there are still things you can do to save.

2. Choose when you fly, carefully

If you’re willing to be a little flexible with your travel date, then you could save yourself a lot of money on flights.

Thanksgiving Day is actually one of the cheapest days to fly. So you can pay much less for a ticket if you travel on the Thursday.

But, this isn’t convenient.

There are fortunately, many other days surrounding the holiday when you can get flights cheaper.

Leaving on Wednesday and returning on the Sunday around Thanksgiving tends to be the go-to itinerary for travelers. This means that airlines charge a premium for tickets on those days.

According to CheapAir these are the best times to fly for Thanksgiving 2017:

• Cheapest departure date overall: Monday, November 20
• Cheapest return dates overall: Friday, November 24 and Tuesday, November 28

However, you might not be able to depart on Monday.

If you must depart on Wednesday November 22, then you can still save by being flexible with your return dates.

According to CheapAir, these are the best times to book a return flight:

• Friday, Nov 24: Savings of $150
• Monday, Nov 27: Savings of $105

3. Use SkyScanner to find discounted flights

One of the best things you can do to save money on flights this Thanksgiving is look for discounts and deals.

There are plenty of online platforms that offer them.

If you want a cheap return flight this Thanksgiving, then check out the deals on offer from SkyScanner.

On there, you can find a great mix of discounted international and domestic flights.

For example. at the time of writing, there were some heavily discounted round-trip tickets available for domestic flights, like:

• Oklahoma City to Orlando: $75, save 76%.
• Chicago to Atlanta: $78, save 51%.
• New York to Los Angeles: $211, save 46%

There are also discounted tickets available for international flights too:

• Phoenix to London: $686, save 37%
• Pittsburgh to Paris: $300, save 53%
• Los Angeles to Vancouver: $178, save 32%

SkyScanner is definitely worth checking out if you want cheap flights around Thanksgiving.

Check out this page for deals.

Just scroll down the page, until you get to below the blue box.

Then, you’ll see a list of discounted domestic and international flights.

Compare flights with it too

What’s great about SkyScanner is that you can also use it to search for and compare cheap flights.

Just enter your travel dates and destination and you’ll be presented with a list of options.

This is a really useful tool.

It makes finding cheap flights quick and easy.

4. Skip hold baggage

Thanksgiving trips are, generally, short, meaning you can likely get away with just taking carry-on luggage.

If you do this you’ll save yourself money on baggage fees.

Plus, you:

• Don’t have to worry about the airline losing your luggage.
• Won’t have to wait for your bags when you arrive. You can just walk straight out of the airport.

5. Check out Airbnb

If you aren’t staying at a friend or relative’s house for Thanksgiving and need accommodation, then skip the hotel.

Instead, check out Airbnb.

You can often rent out a whole apartment or house for less than the cost of a hotel room.

Let’s take a look at an example to illustrate:

Let’s say you are visiting Denver for Thanksgiving.

You plan to stay from Wednesday, November 22 to Friday, November 23.

Here are a few examples of what you’d pay for a single hotel room, according to prices from Trip Advisor at the time of writing:

• $184 at the Oxford Hotel
• $110 at the Magnolia Hotel Denver
• $129 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Denver – Downtown / Convention Center

With Airbnb on the other hand, for the same trip, you’d pay the following for a private room:

• $36: Cozy Bedroom Close to Downtown Denver
• $50: Victorian Mansion Cap Hill: suite w/ balcony
• $51: Comfort and Downtown Convenience

As you can see, it’s much, much cheaper to rent a place through Airbnb than it is to book a hotel room.

But, what’s great about Airbnb is that you can also rent an entire apartment or house.

And the best part?

You pay a similar price to what you would for a single hotel room.

In some cases, the cost of an entire house/apartment on Airbnb is cheaper than a single hotel room!

Here are a few examples:

• $100: Beautiful Penthouse Condo in Denver (2 Beds).
• $129: Elegant & Unique Loft Row Home (3 beds).
• $103: Downtown Studio, Walk to Convention Center, Free Parking (2 beds)

So, if there are a lot of your family members traveling for Thanksgiving, then consider renting a house or apartment together from Airbnb.

You can split the cost, and you’ll save yourself a significant amount of money.

Combine that with our tips for saving money with Airbnb and you’re on your way to becoming a pro on saving money on hotels on Thanksgiving.

So check out Airbnb and see if you could get a great deal on accommodation this Thanksgiving.

Save money on Thanksgiving dinner

On Thanksgiving, the food is an essential, but it can be pretty expensive.

That’s why we’ve put together a few tips on how you can save money on Thanksgiving dinner.

6. Plan your menu

This is so simple but so important!

Planning your menu thoroughly, before you purchase anything can help you save money.

Let’s say you purchase pumpkin at the store, assuming you’ll make something, like pumpkin soup with it.

But then you see a great recipe for a butternut squash soup, and decide to forgo the pumpkin soup.

Then, you’ll have wasted your money on pumpkin that you don’t plan to serve.

When you don’t plan what you’re going to serve at your dinner, then you’ll probably spend more money than you would if you had a set menu.

7. And take stock of what you already have in

Has this ever happened to you?

You buy something at the grocery store only to find that you have the exact same item sitting at the back of the refrigerator or the pantry when you get home.

This is not only frustrating, but it costs you financially.

If you want to make a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner this year, and stay on budget, then you need to see what you already have in your cupboards, refrigerator or freezer.

You’d be surprised at how many Thanksgiving ingredients you already have in stock.

Doing this might take up a bit of your time, but it means you won’t waste your money buying stuff that you don’t need.

8. Cook from scratch

Sure, buying pre-made gravy or instant mashed potatoes is more convenient.

But, it’s also way more expensive.

You can cut the cost of hosting dinner if you simply make most of your recipes from scratch.

Don’t worry; there are plenty of great recipes online.

Check out these resources:

• Budget-Friendly Thanksgiving Menu
• 100+ Classic Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes
• Budget-Friendly Thanksgiving Menu from the Food Network
• Thanksgiving Recipes from AllRecipes
• The 136 Most Delish Thanksgiving Desserts
• The 149 Most Delish Thanksgiving Sides

But realize it’s not always cheaper…

9. Buy some things pre-made

Generally, making dishes from scratch is cheaper than buying them pre-made.

But it’s not always the case.

For some items, it’s actually better to buy packaged foods!

For example, canned pumpkin and a readymade crust might cost you less than making a pumpkin pie completely from scratch.

Similarly, a can of cranberry sauce might work out cheaper than making it with fresh berries.

Compare the cost of making a dish from scratch to the cost making it with premade ingredients or buying it readymade.

10. Find out how many guests you’ll be feeding early on

This is the first thing you should do when planning a Thanksgiving meal on a budget.

Get a final headcount as soon as you can.

Otherwise if you don’t know how many people you’ll be sitting down to dinner with, you can end up buying too much food.

Essentially, getting a headcount early on prevents overspending.

11. Always use a grocery list

Statistics tell us that when you write out a grocery list, and take it with you to the store, you tend to spend less.

And, there’s a simple reason for this…

…you see, when you go to the store without a list, you’re more likely to make random or impulse purchases.

With a list, however, you’re more likely to just get what you’ve written on it.

Use an app like Wunderlist or write it out using good old fashioned pen and paper.

If you’re struggling to know how much food to buy, then use this Thanksgiving dinner calculator.

12. Stock up early

Did you know that many grocery stores spread out their sales throughout the whole month of November?

Really!

One week, a store might have a sale on turkey and the next week it might run a discount on frozen vegetables.

So we suggest that you start stocking up early, otherwise you might miss out on some great bargains.

Simply look out for Thanksgiving deals when you do your regular shopping.

13. Compare Prices

Don’t assume that one store is going to offer the cheapest price for absolutely everything.

This is why comparing prices is so important.

If you want to save money on Thanksgiving, then compare the cost of the things you plan to buy at different stores.

You might find that you can get a frozen turkey for a few dollars less at another grocery store.

Plus, the deals and sales on offer will also vary.

During the Thanksgiving period, stores all compete with each other to draw in the most customers.

This means that they provide a lot of deals and sales.

So if you do all of your shopping at just one store, then you could miss out.

Make sure that you do a price comparison on the stuff on your grocery list, and that you shop at multiple stores.

14. Plan for leftovers

If you make meals using the leftovers from your dinner, you can cut down your food bill during the days that follow Thanksgiving.

Whether it’s potato soup or turkey sandwiches, there are plenty of meals you can make with leftovers.

Check out these articles for Thanksgiving leftover recipes:

• 50+ Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Recipes
• 28 Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes
• Best Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes

15. Get a frozen turkey

If there’s just one simple thing you can do this year to save money on Thanksgiving, it’s get a frozen turkey.

They taste just as great as fresh ones do.

But, here’s the difference…

They’re way cheaper!

With a turkey, how it ends up tasting is mostly due to how you cook it.

So don’t go with the most expensive one at the store. It won’t taste any better anyway!

Choose a frozen turkey and save yourself some cash.

You can easily find recipes online for a great tasting turkey, like:

• Thanksgiving Turkey Recipes
• 48 Insanely Delicious Stuffing Recipes for Thanksgiving

16. Save your receipts

When you visit the grocery store to stock up on food for Thanksgiving dinner, make sure that you don’t throw out your receipt.

There are actually apps that pay you to upload your receipt.

Here are a few that you should check out:

• Ibotta
• Receipt Hog
• ReceiptPal
• Checkout51

With some of these apps, like Receipt Hog, you get paid per receipt, and others, like Ibotta you get paid cashback when you purchase certain products.

These apps and websites are great because they put money back in your pocket.

17. Check out grocery store coupons

Many grocery stores offer coupons.

These can be great tools for saving money on food this Thanksgiving.

Using them, you can get some excellent deals.

Here are a few grocery stores and brands that offer coupons:

• Kroger
• Aldi
• Target
• Costco
• Walmart
• Sam’s Club
• Trader Joe’s
• Hy-Vee
• Lucky Supermarkets
• Save-A-Lot
• Family Dollar
• Publix (printable coupons)
• Publix (digital coupons)
• Hannaford
• Shop ‘n Save
• ShopRite
• Safeway
• Schnucks
• Food Lion
• Whole Foods Market
• Albertsons
• Stop & Shop

Before you head out to the grocery store, check to see if there are any coupons available for the products that you plan to purchase.

18. And don’t forget about coupon websites

It’s not just grocery stores that provide you with coupons.

Coupon websites also offer them.

Take a look at these websites:

• Coupons.com
• RetailMeNot.com
• RedPlum.com
• Amazon.com

And, check out our article on the best coupon websites for even more great sites.

The key to using coupons though is to only clip the ones that you actually need.

Sure $2 off coffee sounds great. But if you didn’t plan to buy coffee, then you’ve just spent money that would otherwise have remained in your pocket.

19. Save up to 15% on Thanksgiving food with Amazon

Amazon Subscribe and Save is one of those money-saving tools that we think everyone should know about.

It’s a service offered by Amazon.

Here’s how it works:

• Visit the Amazon product page of a product that you regularly purchase.
• On the right side, you’ll see the option to make a one-time purchase, or to subscribe to an item
• When you subscribe to a product, Amazon will automatically deliver it to you at the intervals you set.
• You can choose to have the item delivered to you as little as once every six months or as often as once per month.

And the best part about Subscribe and Save is:

You can get up to 15% off!

Really!

If you subscribe to one item you get 5% off. But if you subscribe to have five separate items delivered within one calendar month, then you get 15% off.

This can save you so much money on food for Thanksgiving dinner.

What’s great about Subscribe and Save is that you can cancel it at any time.

So after you get a delivery for Thanksgiving, you can cancel your subscriptions after turkey day.

There’s no obligation to keep your subscriptions.

We’ve done a full review of Amazon Subscribe and Save. So you should definitely check that out to find out more about it.

20. Minimize the appetizers (or ditch them altogether!)

Thanksgiving dinner by itself is often filling enough. That’s why you should cut back on the appetizers.

People just fill up on them and end up wasting food at dinner.

So save yourself some money, and prepare half of what you normally would.

Or ditch the appetizers all together.

You could simply serve a couple of light snacks instead.

21. Keep your meals simple

It might seem tempting to try to make gourmet meals using expensive ingredients to impress your guests.

But simple dishes are just as tasty, and they’re cheaper.

Resist the urge to make complicated meals.

Stick to the simple classics, like homemade rolls and simple mashed potatoes and gravy.

Skip the luxury stuff. People prefer the classics anyway!

22. Think quality not quantity

It’s tempting to try to fill our Thanksgiving tables with as many delicious dishes as possible.

But if you make too much, the food only ends up being wasted.

Of course you can plan for leftovers, but leftovers only last for so long before they go bad.

So consider how much food you really need to serve.

Do you really need five different side dishes, or would three suffice?

Do you really need to make a green bean casserole each year, just because it’s traditional, if no one eats it?

Think about what dishes you and your guests actually enjoy, and just make those.

Don’t feel like you have to make all of the traditional foods to have a good Thanksgiving.

23. Buy generic products, rather than name brand items

Generally, generic products are always cheaper than name brand ones.

So, you could save yourself a lot of cash simply by opting for store brand items.

There’s usually no difference between the two either.

Both taste just as good, but one is much cheaper than the other!

24. Check out the circulars and weekly ads

A lot of stores run special promotions for Thanksgiving in their weekly ads or circulars.

So don’t forget to check them out before you go shopping.

You can get yourself some great discounts.

And maybe even some free stuff!

Some stores offer a free turkey when you:

• Use a loyalty card.
• Spend a certain amount of money.
• Buy specific products.

25. Buy in bulk

When you buy in bulk, the cost per unit is usually much lower.

So when you purchase stuff like eggs, flour and potatoes from a store like Costco or Sam’s Club, you tend to get more for your money.

If you’re having a lot of guests over for dinner, then you should definitely consider buying in bulk.

But, what if you don’t need a huge bag of potatoes you ask?

What if you only have a couple of guests coming over?

Well, you can still benefit from bulk buying.

There is a way that you can buy in bulk, without food going to waste.

Simply ask a friend or family member who is also hosting Thanksgiving if they want to split bulk items with you.

You each pay half and you each get half.

So for example, you get half of the bag of potatoes, your thrifty friend gets the other and you each only pay for your half.

26. Look out for seasonal produce

Vegetables and fruits that are in season are, generally, much cheaper than those that aren’t.

Asparagus, for example, isn’t in season during November. This means that you’ll pay more for it compared to items that are in season, like cranberries.

So if you want to save some cash, you’ll want to buy produce that’s in season, like:

• Collard greens
• Green beans
• Sweet potatoes and yams
• Winter squash
• Pumpkins

Handily enough, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has a list of foods that are in season during the fall.

Check that out here

27. Think of multiple ways to use ingredients

Try to think of multiple ways that you can use one ingredient.

Let’s say you have a bag of sweet potatoes for example.

You could use part of it to make mashed sweet potatoes and make sweet potato pie with the rest of it.

You’ve used one ingredient to create two different dishes.

This saves so much money.

This tip is sort of related to the one above. If you buy in bulk, you’ll be able to make a few different dishes from the same ingredient.

So consider dishes with overlapping ingredients.

It’s simple, but effective.

28. Ask your guests to chip in

If you’re hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year, then don’t assume that you have to get everything yourself.

Ask each guest to bring a dish of their own.

Just make sure that you coordinate what everyone’s bringing, otherwise you might end up with five bowls of mashed potatoes!

Save money on Thanksgiving drinks

Sure, having a dry Thanksgiving can save you money, but it’s nice to enjoy a drink with friends and family.

But the cost of supplying your guests with booze can be pretty high.

Don’t worry though.

There are simple hacks that you can use to keep the drinks flowing at dinner, without spending a fortune.

29. Use BevRAGE

We’ve talked about BevRAGE on Money Pantry before. We even have a full review of it, which you can check out here.

That’s because it’s such a good money saving tool.

When you think about cashback, groceries are usually what come to mind, rather than booze.

But, with this app, you can actually get money back when you purchase alcohol.

Whether it’s Beer, Wine or Spirits, BevRAGE will reward you with cash when you upload your receipt.

It’s definitely worth checking out.

What’s great about the app is that its offers aren’t limited to certain stores or retailers.

This makes it very flexible.

We suggest using BevRAGE to get some of the money that you spend on Thanksgiving booze back.

30. Purchase a case of wine

If you plan to buy a few bottles of wine, consider buying a case instead.

Buying a cash of wine can often save you a lot of money.

And some stores even give you a discount, like 25% off for example, when you a buy a case.

Don’t want a case of the same exact wine?

No worries…

…most retailers give you the same bulk discount on mixed cases as well.

No need to purchase 12 bottles of the same wine!

31. Buy alcohol starting in November

We mentioned above that shopping for Thanksgiving food early can save you money.

Well, the same is true for alcohol.

We recommend that from the beginning of November, you start stocking your Thanksgiving bar.

A lot of stores run sales and deals throughout the holiday season. So if you leave your booze shopping until the last minute, you could miss out on some great deals.

32. Choose boxed wine instead (Your guests will never know the difference!)

Boxed wine is far cheaper than bottled.

So if you’re looking to save money on Thanksgiving, you’ll definitely want to opt for it.

And, if you don’t want your guests to know, simply decant the wine into a carafe.

They won’t know the difference!

33. Shop at Trader Joe’s

If you’re on the market for some cheap wine, then you should definitely check out Trader Joe’s.

The store’s Two Buck Chuck costs just $2!

That’s an amazing deal.

Save money on utilities on Turkey day

On Thanksgiving, you want to keep energy costs down.

But this can be tough – from the cooking of the meal to the cleaning up after it, it’s easy to use a ton of water and electricity.

Here are a few things that can help you to limit the amount of energy you use, and keep your utility bills down.

34. Plan the cooking

One of the things that uses a lot of energy on Thanksgiving is running the oven.

That’s why it’s important to plan the cooking process.

If you can, plan your day so that you cook multiple dishes together, at the same temperature.

Cook the side dishes together.

Or even alongside your turkey!

When you do this, you make sure that your oven isn’t running all day.

So the amount of energy you use is reduced. And you save you some money on your utility bill.

Plus, when you take the time to schedule when dishes are to be cooked, you’ll be more efficient.

This means less time in the kitchen and more time with your guests!

35. Turn down the heat

When your guests arrive, don’t feel the need to turn up the thermostat.

The heat the oven generated during the cooking process, combined with the body heat generated by your guests will provide enough warmth.

36. Save $40 by using your dishwasher instead of hand washing!

Did you know that hand washing dishes actually uses more water than running the dishwasher?

Really!

According to EnergyStar.gov:

“Washing dishes in a new ENERGY STAR certified machine rather than hand washing can cut your utility bills by more than $40 per year.”

You might think that you’re being thrifty by hand-washing those dishes. But you’d be better off putting them in the dishwasher.

Plus, you’ll have more time to spend having fun with your guests.

37. Don’t forget about your oven’s convection feature

Some ovens have a convection feature. This circulates heated air around whatever you’re cooking.

This makes it cook a little quicker.

Not only is this convenient (who doesn’t want to save time on Thanksgiving?), but it also cuts energy use by around 20%.

Save money on Thanksgiving decorations

Aside from food, another costly aspect of Thanksgiving is the decorations.

From centerpieces to garlands, the price of decorating your home can be high.

Here are a few easy ways that you save money on Thanksgiving decorations this year.

38. Make the decorations yourself

Making your own decorations is definitely the best way to go.

And don’t worry; you don’t need to be super crafty to make them.

There are tons of easy decorations that you can make yourself, and they’re cheap to make too!

Check out this article for a few ideas.

Here are a few more tutorials for cheap and easy DIY Thanksgiving decorations:

• 35 Ideas for Easy Thanksgiving Decorating
• Best 25+ Cheap thanksgiving decorations ideas on Pinterest
• 5 Quick and Cheap Thanksgiving Decorating Ideas

39. Visit the dollar store for supplies

We mentioned above that making your own decorations is one of the best ways you can save cash.

And, it’s fun too!

But, of course you need supplies to create them.

And, you want the price of those to be low; otherwise, what’s the point of making your own decorations?

One of the best places to shop for decorating supplies is at dollar stores.

Dollar stores feature craft paper, art pens and plenty of other art and craft supplies for just a $1 each.

Plus, some stores, like the Dollar General offer coupons and other deals that can save you even more.

And, of course, the dollar store can be a good place to pick up a couple of readymade Thanksgiving decorations at a bargain price.

If you don’t have one near you, check out our list of online dollar stores.

40. Look outdoors

From pine cones to the fall leaves, you can find so many great items in nature.

These can be used to create beautiful Thanksgiving decorations, like centerpieces for your Thanksgiving table.

Sourcing items from nature to decorate with is one of the best ways to save cash, because it’s entirely free!

41. Print out decorations

One of the easiest ways to save money on Thanksgiving decorations is to print them out.

Online you can find dozens of templates for a plethora of Thanksgiving decorations, like:

• Banners
• Table decorations
• Gift tags
• Menus

Here are a few great resources:

• 50 Thanksgiving Ideas (Free Printables)
• 31 Printable (and Free!) Thanksgiving Templates
• Free Thanksgiving Printables

42. Buy decorations for next year

Imagine if you could buy Thanksgiving decorations for just 10% of what they normally cost.

It would be great wouldn’t it?

Well, you can get your Thanksgiving decorations for up to 90% off, simply by purchasing them after the holiday is over.

In the days that follow Thanksgiving, stores slash the prices of decorations by about 70% to 90%!

If you don’t mind storing stuff in your home, this is one of the best ways that you save money on Thanksgiving decorations. (This tip actually applies to all holiday decorations!)

Save money on Thanksgiving entertainment/activities

Entertainment/activities are an important part of Thanksgiving. But, they can be costly if you’re not careful.

Many people pay to go to the movies or to attend a big football game, but this is pretty costly.

Below, we’ve put together a few ways that you can have fun this Thanksgiving, without spending a ton of money.

43. Stream movies

Prices for cinema tickets in the U.S. are now at a record high.

The average ticket costs around $8.73!

Take your whole family to the movie theater and you end up spending a lot!

So we recommend that you skip a trip to the movies, and stream some films at home instead.

The cost of a basic Netflix subscription is just $7.99! That’s lower than the cost of a single movie ticket. And you get access to hundreds of movies.

The best part is, Netflix offers a week long free trial. So you could watch movies for free.

Another great streaming service is Amazon Prime Video.

You need to be a Prime member to access it, but through it you get tons of movies.

Amazon Prime has a free trial too – and it’s 30 days, which is pretty generous.

44. Go for a hike

On Thanksgiving, consider going for a walk, even if it’s just for ten minutes.

It’s a fun activity that the whole family can participate in.

And, it’s entirely free!

Plus, studies show that walking after a meal aids digestion and can help to lower blood sugar levels,

So, you have fun with the family, save money and improve your health at the same time!

45. Get crafty

If you have kids, then you probably know how expensive it is to try to keep them entertained on Thanksgiving.

But, rather than taking them to the movies, or other expensive activities, try an arts and crafts session instead.

Craft projects are a great way to keep the kids entertained after dinner.

Here are a few easy craft projects you should try:

• 20+ Easy Thanksgiving Crafts and Activities for Kids
• Thanksgiving Crafts for Kids
• 33 Easy Thanksgiving Crafts for Kids

46. Play Games

Another free thing you can do this Thanksgiving is play games.

It could be video games on your Xbox or PlayStation or traditional board games.

Both are fun and the whole family can participate. It’s an interactive way for all of your guests, from the kids to the grandparents to have fun.

Or you could play something like charades or the Post-it game.

Here’s how the post-it game works:

• You and each of your guests write a name of a well-known figure on a Post-it note. This can be any figure, from an actor, to a politician to a cartoon character.
• Then, you each trade your Post-it with another person in the group.
• You stick the post it on your forehead so that everyone but you can see the name written on it.
• Then, each person in the group has to guess what figure they are by asking questions.
• These must be “yes” or “no” questions, like “Am I over 40 years old” for example.

This game is a lot of fun and you and your guests will laugh as you each attempt to guess who you are.

Plus, it’s so inexpensive. You just need some pens and pad of Post-it notes.

And finally, a bonus tip…

47. Use a cashback card (it doesn’t have to be a credit card!)

At Thanksgiving, no matter how much you budget, you still have to spend some cash.

So why not get some of it back in your pocket?

We mentioned cashback apps above, in the dinner section.

But, you should also check out cashback cards.

Cashback credit cards or debit cards give you money back when you make purchases using them.

Here are a few cashback credit cards:

• Discover It Card
• Chase Freedom Unlimited Credit Card
• Citi Double Cash Card
• American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card
• Bank of America Cash Rewards Credit Card
• American Express Blue Cash Everyday Card
• Fidelity Rewards Signature Visa Card
• Capital One Quicksilver Card
• US Bank Cash + Signature Visa Card

But, credit cards aren’t your only choice.

Target, for example, offers a debit card that gives you cashback at its stores.

It’s called the Target REDcard (the retailer does have a credit card version too, so make sure you opt for the right one)

And Amazon.com now offers a service called Amazon Prime Reload.

Prime members get 2% back when they transfer funds onto an Amazon.com gift card.

So if you put $100 onto your Amazon card, you’ll get $2 extra to spend.

Closing thoughts

Here’s the deal…

You DON’T have to spend a lot of money to have a good Thanksgiving!

As you can see, there are plenty of ways that you can have a great Thanksgiving on a budget.

Whether you’re hosting dinner or flying out to have dinner with your long distance relatives or friends, you can still enjoy turkey day, without spending a fortune!

Just follow these simple tips and hacks on how to save money on Thanksgiving.