The Cost of Your Thanksgiving Meal in 2023

Down From Last Year’s Record Costing Turkey Dinner

This year’s Thanksgiving dinner will cost less than last year’s record-breaking price tag, but not by much. Last year’s average cost was $64.05, with this year’s average cost at $61.17. That’s a whopping 4.5% degrees. Hurrah! I’ll take any price reduction I can get.

Turkey Production Was Up, Driving Down the Price of Turkey

The price of turkey helped lower the cost of this year’s Thanksgiving dinner. The average price for turkey is $1.71 per pound, down 5.6% from last year. The cost of a half pint of whipping cream was the most dramatic price change, down 22.8%. After that, a 12-ounce bag of fresh cranberries was down 18.3%. As you can see from the chart below, several other items were down in cost, but only by a few percentage points. On the upside, 1 dozen dinner rolls was up 2.9%, a 30-ounce can of pumpkin pie mix was up 3.7%, 3 pounds of sweet potatoes up .3%, and a 1-pound veggie tray of carrots & celery was up 2.3%.

So, What Can You Do To Minimize the Effects of Inflation and Supply Chain Problems?

Start your shopping early. Start now! Just because prices are already up, they will likely go even higher as we get closer to Thanksgiving. More importantly, some items like fresh or canned cranberries may not be available closer to the big day.
Share some of the costs with family and friends. You don’t need to eat the entire bill if you invite friends and family. Instead, ask Aunt Jen to bring the Brussels Sprouts and Brother Glenn to bring some dessert pies. Not only will it take some pressure off you with preparing the feast, but it will also bring down your total meal costs.
Don’t cook as much this year. In our house, we always cook way too much to give friends and family doggie bags filled with leftovers so they can make turkey sandwiches with stuffing and cranberry sauce over the weekend while watching football. So, this year, you will cut back a little.
Get your paper goods now. We are huge Costco fans, so we’ll pick up as many items as possible, like paper towels and fizzy water, now while the supply lasts.
If you order your turkey from a Farmer’s market or your local supermarket, get your order in as soon as possible.
And don’t forget those fun items like turkey candles, Thanksgiving napkins, placemats, or even some fun salt and pepper shakers.
And don’t forget the wine. If you serve wine with your Thanksgiving meal, why not pick up something special like a lovely Pinot Noir before the shelves are empty?
Look for deals, especially now. Check your local papers to see what sales they are running now. We are not big coupon cutters, but this year I may start picking up flyers at the local markets to find some deals on items we’ll need for our meal.

What Does the American Farm Bureau Federation Say?

According to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 2023 annual survey, prices are down this year, but not by much. Their survey shows prices are down 4.5% from last year’s record-high average. How do they come up with these prices? They are the average costs found by a group of 230 volunteers in 38 states who went around and checked prices in various grocery stores. Here is a comparison chart between last year and this year.

Item	2022 Price	2023 Price	$Difference
Sweet potatoes, 3 lbs.	$3.96	$3.97	+.01
Whipping cream, 1/2 pint	$2.24	$1.73	-.51
Milk, 1 gallon whole	$3.84	3.74	-.10
Pumpkin pie mix, 30 oz.	$4.28	$4.44	+.16
1-pound veggie tray (carrots and celery)	$.88	$.90	+.02
Green peas, 1 lb.	$1.90	$1.88	-.02
Cubed stuffing, 14 oz.	$3.88	$3.77	-.11
16-pound turkey	$28.96	$27.35	-1.61
Fresh cranberries, 12 oz.	$2.57	$2.10	-.47
Pie shells (2)	$3.68	$3.50	-.18
Rolls, 12	$3.73	$3.84	+.11
Misc. ingredients	$4.13	$3.95	-.18
TOTAL – Classic Dinner	$64.05	$61.17	+2.88

Ham, 4 lbs.	n/a	$18.02	n/a
Russet potatoes, 5 lbs.	$3.64	$3.57	-.07
Green beans	$1.97	$1.99	+.02
TOTAL – Classic + 3 Items	n/a	$84.75	n/a