The Surprising Cost Of Thanksgiving Dinner At… Amazon.com!?

The Juice is trying to relax a bit the day before the Thanksgiving holiday. 

So, we figured we would switch gears and talk turkey. And a little money. 

Before we do that, a quick reminder to forward The Juice to a friend and tell them to subscribe to our newsletter for free. You can review our recent posts in The Juice archive. 

Our focus as we wrap up 2024 has been the burgeoning, ever-expanding and tantalizingly diverse alternative investment landscape. The playing field isn’t quite level, however everyday investors have never had such easy access to investments and investment strategies once only reserved for the 1%. 

The Juice will round out the year continuing to tell you what alts are, how they work and how to gain access. We’ll continue this right after the holiday weekend — on Monday — with another installment on alternative ETFs. 

Then, we start 2025 strong showing you how to construct a portfolio with just the right mix of traditional and alternative investments. We’re already mapping out the schedule and it’s chock full of detail, great investment ideas and more for beginners as well as established stock market nerds. 

But, Thanksgiving. 

And some good news. Apparently, the cost of a Thanksgiving meal this year is historically low. Data from the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), which represents U.S. farmers tells the story. 

• Thanksgiving dinner for 10 will cost you $58.08, a decrease of 5% from last year.
• Even with the year-over-year decline, that’s still 19% more costly than five years ago.
• The survey collected data across all 50 states and Puerto Rico on the following items: turkey, cubed stuffing, sweet potatoes, dinner rolls, frozen peas, fresh cranberries, celery, carrots, pumpkin pie mix and crusts, whipping cream and whole milk.
• The Thanksgiving staple — turkey — costs 6% less than it did last year. According to the AFBF, a 16-pound bird comprises roughly 43% of the cost of a Thanksgiving dinner for ten. Sort of like how the Magnificent Seven stocks dominate leading broad-market index funds. 

These numbers feel low to us. But maybe because we’re in Los Angeles.

And, many of us want to buy better stuff — better brands, better ingredients, better whatever — for special occasions such as holidays. But that’s a national average and it’s pretty manageable, despite inflation and less purchasing power. 

The big chain stores are offering pretty sweet deals if you want them to “cater” your Thanksgiving meal with prepared offerings. 

• Target: $20 for four people, including an “up to 10lb.”  turkey. 
• Aldi: $47 for ten people. 

Aldi says that its deal is lower than 2019 prices, while Target promotes its package as $5 less expensive than last year’s cost. 

• Amazon Fresh also has some deals on everything from turkey to sides, with extra savings for Prime members, in case you need some last-minute elements for your Thanksgiving meal. 

Which brings us to Whole Foods, once known as Whole Paycheck. 

If you go to Whole Foods, you know there’s no doubt that it has become less expensive since Amazon bought it in 2017. In part because it embraced the private label approach many other grocers have focused on to help bring prices down. 

The Juice tends to do most of our grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s. Thanks, in part, to private label brands it’s the least expensive supermarket where we write from in Los Angeles. We make a few stops at Whole Foods throughout the year, particularly around the holidays. Whole Foods has items, particularly meats, that you can’t find everywhere (definitely not at Trader Joe’s) and, often, they are of higher quality. 

When we left Whole Foods this week, they gave us a flyer for their prepared Thanksgiving offerings. And we have to say, we were surprised at the prices. While they’re higher than the bargain basement deals noted above, we thought they were pretty reasonable. Particularly for Whole Foods. 

Now, we’re making our own meal this year. But we have had prepared stuff from Whole Foods in the past. And it’s pretty good. 

Here’s a look at what a few things cost:

• A prime rib meal for 8 with asparagus, spinach and mashed potatoes, $259.99
• A turkey meal for 8 with a raw bird, green beans, mashed potatoes, stuffing and cranberry sauce, $169.99

Granted, more than Target, Aldi or parent, Amazon, but if you break these and other Whole Foods deals for the holidays down to the per person price, it’s not bad at all. Assuming Whole Foods provides decent value on this kind of meal, it’s probably your best option if you want something higher end without the hassle of cooking yourself or going out to a restaurant. 

The Bottom Line: The Juice hopes your turkey is moist and that the holidays are pleasant even if you have to deal with political tension. Our suggestion is to keep the conversation to the stock market because it goes up no matter who is in the White House. 

We’re back after the holiday weekend to continue with our aforementioned plan to close the year and kick off 2025.

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