Thanksgiving is a week away. I am sure many of you already have menus planned and groceries purchased for the big day. Around the blog world there are numerous posts teaching us how to save money this Thanksgiving. If you have read my blog for any period of time, you know I am all about saving money. But, Thanksgiving is not one of those times. I don’t believe you should charge Thanksgiving on your credit card, but I do think Thanksgiving is a time for giving and sharing, and sometimes that means spending a little more than normal.
There is one way we save money on Thanksgiving. Usually we spend Thanksgiving with family or friends. Gone are the days when everyone shows up empty handed, or perhaps with a bottle of wine, and the host buys, prepares, and serves all the food. I like to be a good hostess, but this is the holiday for potluck! Eating with a large group means more food, but it also means more people to purchase food. If you are hosting a group this year ask people what their specialty is and have them bring it to share. Even single guys can pick up a package or two of rolls if they don’t cook.
That is the end of my tightwad tip, now on to what I think is most important about this holiday season. Thanksgiving and Christmas are a great time of year to bless others who might not be as fortunate as yourself. Think of people you know who might not be able to afford any kind of “Thanksgiving” meal and invite them to share a meal with your family. Think of the young soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who can’t afford to fly home to see their family, or perhaps they are unable to get time off. A fresh home cooked meal beats dining in the galley any day. Perhaps there is a single mother in your church that would be blessed not having to cook a Thanksgiving dinner and manage small children. Perhaps there is an elderly neighbor who will be spending Thanksgiving alone. These are just a few examples, but I think I have made my point.
While it might feel a bit awkward to invite a non-family member or perhaps someone you hardly know into your home, it won’t take long for everyone to feel at ease. It might cost a little more to add an extra plate at the table but think of it as an investment. Not only are you investing in the lives of others, you are also investing in the lives of your children. They will see the generosity of their parents and carry that with them into adulthood.
If you truly cannot afford feeding another mouth this Thanksgiving may I suggest a replacement dinner? Everyone enjoys turkey, gravy and mashed potatoes, but they aren’t necessities. For many years we had a make your own pizza party every Thanksiving. I made the crusts and had bowls of toppings set out for people to top their pizzas. It was fun and the people who shared these memories with us still talk about our Thanksgiving pizza with a twinkle in their eye.
There is a time and place for saving money. Use your coupons and watch the sales to get the best deals on all those Thanksgiving goodies, but don’t forget to bless others too.
For more frugal musings visit Crystal’s blog.
We have opened our home many a Thanksgiving or Christmas and thoroughly enjoyed it. We have met new people and truly enjoyed the opportunity to share our home and holiday with friends, friends of friends, family of friends…once we even had an ex-husband of a friend.
You can often find people at church (or work if you work) who are planning on spending the holiday alone and would probably love to spend it with someone!
What a great post. It’s so true – everyone has something to give, even when money is tight – perhaps your single sailor guest can fix computers or play piano wonderfully! The important thing is to make sure that no one has to go through the holidays alone.
Twenty years ago, a young couple was stationed overseas – their first tour – and no one thought to invite them for Christmas Eve. They were in off-base temporary lodging, and all they had to eat that night (because in rural Europe, no restaurants are open on Christmas Eve) was stale Christmas cookies from their Air Force flight holiday party. Not the best way to spend your first Christmas Eve together. Fortunately, someone from the young husband’s office invited them over for Christmas dinner – they hardly knew each other – but you can just imagine how good that meal tasted after stale cookies for dinner the night before!
I’ve never forgotten my friend’s story. In her honor, I try to reach out to people I know here with no family close by, and now we have an eclectic Christmas “family” that spends every Christmas Day together. (My daughter’s godfather’s parents live near here…imagine my surprise when I found out they had no one to share Christmas with!)
This is the time to reach down into your heart and open your home to a stranger who needs welcoming. I know your kind gesture will be appreciated, and you’ll be blessed in return. My friends have never, ever forgotten the kind couple who fed them real food on Christmas.
Thanks, Toni, for reminding us that we’re all called to welcome the stranger and reach out to those around us.
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By the way…we spend every Thanksgiving with this couple, 20+ years later. They’re dear friends. We all know what it’s like to be young and far from home…in fact,that’s how I learned to cook. We had a bunch of single friends that used to meet at our neighbor’s home (gourmet cook). When he left our base, I took over cooking for the guys. They didn’t die…maybe they wanted to…but I felt honor-bound to live up to Dave’s reputation. Fortunately, things improved. For a long time, though, I could only make pasta and marinara sauce for ten or more people!
Great post. I agree about inviting those that have no place to go. Our family did this when I was growing up and I try to do it today. Thanks for the great thoughts.
For the first time ever, we are not hosting or attending dinner with family or friends. We are volunteering at a local church that is serving Thanksgiving dinner to people in need. We will be helping to set up for several hours on Wednesday and then serving on the cleaning crew for most of the day on Thursday. We are looking forward to it.
When my husband was in the Marines for 4 years we use to invite a handful of single guys over to join us for Thanksgiving. They were always so grateful to have somewhere to go and for a home cooked meal.
What a great post.
Excellent idea! We are spending Thanksgiving with my husband’s rather large family. There will be at least 25 people there- all spending the night too! Everyone is contributing something
I believe the more the merrier. I wouldn’t mind having more mouths to feed if that means I get to spread the cheer and lift someone up who needs it.
As usual, a thought provoking post. Thank you.
As a retired army wife, I’d like to thank you for the suggestion to remember single military members who might not be able to go home for Christmas. When my husband was in the army, we always invited any single person or couple who couldn’t go home for the holidays to spend them with us. Even if the invitation is turned down, the thought will be appreciated more than you can know.
Now that we are retired, we’ve extended those invitations to include anyone we know who wants to come celebrate with us. I can guarantee that this has enriched our life far more than simply a meal shared.
My mom has ALWAYS invited people to TG who don’t have any family to go to , or any place to be
My mom is like that 
The more the merrier at her house 
I love traditional TG food. Turkey is one of my favorite meals
And I love preparing it, but I also like being guest too 
Thank you for this post. I really enjoyed it!
My husband and I have decided that when our youngest daughter is a little older we want to spend our Thanksgiving serving those that are not as fortunate as we are! Our oldest 2 daughters think that is an awesome idea!
I too agree that Thanksgiving should be traditional. I do always try to find the best deals on turkey and ham because otherwise they are rather expensive but other than that we keep it traditional!
Many blessings!
Naomi
I never liked turkey as a kid; they made me a hot dog every thanksgiving lol! Now the only reason I make turkey is so many of us are allergic to everything but plain meat & veggies. So, as has been our typical, it’ll be us, very plain steamed organic veggies, & my free turkey from shopping enough lol, that they say doesn’t have any additives in it (hopefully!). Maybe I’ll actually make one special squash dish if I feel adventurous, but it’s kind of a blessing to keep things simple for us these days.
Enjoy!
Thank you for your warm and thankful post… I am so thankful for having such a wonderful person come into my life and for loving my son and giving him (and us) such a blessed life. Wish we could share a bit of everyday with you guys! Enjoy your friends and give hugs to everyone from us…
Hi – Just found your site somehow, probably twittermoms, love your site. It’s nice to find fellow Jesus seekers. I’m so thankful for all our military families. We have an air force base not far from our home and many of our friends are either currently in the air force or are retired from the air force. It’s definitely an interesting lifestyle. Talk to ya later
Anyone out there who knows how I can Invite a service man or service woman
for Thanksgiving Dinner would be great as I have always wanted to know as to how to go about It.
Thanks so much for any help
and Happy ThanksGiving to all !