How to Host Your First Thanksgiving Dinner on a Budget

So you are finally out on your own and have generously offered to host Thanksgiving dinner this year. Your excitement builds as you plan the menu and prepare your home—until you realize all of your plans come with a price. Who knew that Thanksgiving dinner could cost so much? All is not lost, however, you can still host a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner even if you are on a budget.

Before you finalize your plans, you need to find out how many people will be coming. Get a firm count several weeks before the big day so you can buy enough food, and gather enough chairs and dishes.

If you are getting overwhelmed, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Your friends and family will most likely have no problem at all giving you any help you need. In fact, since this is your first time hosting Thanksgiving dinner, many of your guests will probably offer to help before you even ask.

What would thanksgiving dinner be without the food? Keep your menu simple for your first Thanksgiving. Not only will the food be easier to prepare, it will also be less expensive. Fortunately many traditional foods are on sale during the weeks before Thanksgiving, saving you even more money.

Whether you serve ham or turkey, plan on purchasing 1.5 pounds of meat per person to make sure there is enough food. As for the side dishes, some great, inexpensive choices are mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls, and pumpkin pie.

Because this is your first time hosting Thanksgiving, you may be surprised by how long it actually takes to thaw and cook all of the food. Make sure you read the recipes in advance and allow enough time to get everything ready before your guests arrive.

The turkey will take the most time to prepare and cook. Pull the turkey out of the freezer and put it into the fridge several days before Thanksgiving so that it can thaw. If you don't have time to thaw the turkey in the fridge, you can thaw it in a sink full of cool water. The length of time you will need to cook the turkey depends on the size of the bird. As a guideline, plan on cooking the turkey for 15-20 minute per pound, or until the turkey is 165 degrees in the center and 180 degrees in the thigh.

Allow enough time to make the side dishes as well. Some of the dishes may need to spend some time in the oven, and you won't be able to cook all of them at the same time as the turkey. While you are waiting for something to cook, you can start chopping and mixing the ingredients for the next dish to save time. Some things, like mashed potatoes, can even be made a day or two before and just reheated on Thanksgiving.

Consider asking your friends and family to bring some of the side dishes. You can make specific assignments or just give them a type of food to bring like a dessert, vegetable or bread. Accept any and all offers of help. Not only will you have less to do, you will have fewer things to purchase.

If you don’t have enough space in your dining room for your Thanksgiving guests, or you don’t have a dining room at all, you will have to make space elsewhere. You can push your couches to the side to make room for a table in the living room, or turn a spare bedroom or office into a temporary dining room. If the weather is nice, you could even set up your Thanksgiving dinner outside.

If you don’t have enough space in one room, you could divide the guests into two groups. For example, you could seat the children around your regular dining room table and the adult around the larger table in the living room.

Ask your friends and family if you can borrow some large folding tables and chairs if you don't have enough seats for everyone. You can also borrow table clothes and napkins so you don't have to spend any extra money.

Now for the dishes and flatware. If your Thanksgiving dinner party will be large, you probably don’t have enough nice dishes to serve everyone. If you have coworkers or friends who will be going out of town for Thanksgiving, ask them if you can borrow their dishes.

You could also ask your guests to bring their own. If you want to make sure the table settings match, ask them to bring white dishes; your table will still look cohesive even if the styles are different. If some of your guests don't have white dishes to bring, check with your other guests to see if someone has extra place settings.

You don’t have to spend much money on entertainment for your guests; just provide some board games and a movie or two. If your guests will be bringing children and you don’t already have toys on hand, be sure to provide something for them to do. Smaller children will play with blocks, cars or dolls, and a game system is a safe bet for older children. You can borrow these things from friends who have children or ask your guest to bring some.

Hosting your first Thanksgiving dinner can be stressful, but with some planning you can pull it off, even if you are on a budget. Don’t worry if everything is not perfect, your guests probably won't even notice and will simply be grateful that you offered to be the host. The point of Thanksgiving is to spend time with your family and friends, and they will appreciate all of your hard work.