Are the days of standing in line for an hour to check out at the grocery store and waking up at 5am on Thanksgiving to prepare a full feast fading? According to OpenTable, Thanksgiving restaurant reservations are up 13% year over year, with more and more families choosing to either dine out or grab takeout for Turkey Day.
Err, Aren’t Restaurants More Expensive Than Eating at Home?
Here’s the irony: People aren’t choosing restaurants because they’re cheaper. In fact, restaurant prices are rising faster than inflation and way faster than groceries, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But that doesn’t mean grocery prices come without a punch to the gut.
Tariffs, immigration crackdowns, and wild weather have pushed the cost of basics higher — posting some of the fastest price jumps in three years. The vibe right now is: “Everything is expensive, so I might as well let someone else wash the dishes.” Even though restaurants cost more, the idea of not having to peel potatoes for four hours is apparently priceless.
Takeout Over Turkey
Not everyone wants to sit in a dining room next to strangers who are also escaping the burden of basting a turkey. Some are going à la carte — literally.
Olo, a restaurant catering platform, says Thanksgiving orders are up nearly 100% year over year. People are placing giant, pre-made meal orders, driving them home, and calling it a day. And despite high grocery prices, the American Farm Bureau says the overall cost of a Thanksgiving dinner has actually fallen for the third year in a row — down 5% per person.
Retailers like Aldi, Amazon, and Walmart are slashing prices with aggressive meal deals, often by quietly shrinking what’s included or swapping name brands for house brands — or, in Walmart’s case this year, reducing the basket size. Savings exist, but so do cut corners.
Why Are Americans Choosing Restaurants for Thanksgiving?
Eating out for Thanksgiving has traditionally been the move for small households, travelers, or people who simply want to avoid the emotional gamble of serving turkey to a crowd. But this year feels different. Americans are exhausted — financially, mentally, emotionally. And while cooking at home is technically cheaper, it comes with a cost no one can afford anymore: time, effort, and the risk that your sweet potatoes get judged by a cousin who brought nothing but drama.
Restaurants offer one thing the grocery store doesn’t: a sense of relief. No chopping. No math. No oven-management gymnastics. No three grocery store trips because you forgot poultry seasoning. Again. Even if it costs more, it feels easier.
How to Survive Thanksgiving Without Going Broke
This is where we plant our flag.
If restaurants are too pricey and groceries are still painful — and everything is somehow getting more expensive even when it’s allegedly getting cheaper — how do you avoid financial misery this Thanksgiving?
A few actually-helpful, zero-fluff ideas:
• Mix-and-match your meal. Buy the turkey on sale, outsource the sides you hate cooking, and skip anything that requires a blowtorch or a hand mixer.
• Avoid overpriced “holiday” versions of regular foods. The moment something gets branded as “Thanksgiving,” its price mysteriously jumps. Stick to generic brands, unless you’re extremely loyal to a particular canned cranberry blob.
• Look for last-minute deals. Restaurants slash prices and open extra reservation slots the week of Thanksgiving. If you’re going to eat out, book late, not early.
• Don’t cook for people who aren’t bringing something — anything. Time is money, groceries are money, everything is money. If someone wants a seat, they can bring rolls.
More Thanksgiving Stories on Cheapism
- People Are Charging Family Members for Thanksgiving Dinner — Yup, it’s true. We take a look behind the rising trend of charging Thanksgiving covers.
- 1 in 5 Americans Will Spend Less on Thanksgiving This Year, Survey Finds — We’re cutting corners where we need to, folks.
- How a Cheap Box of Baking Powder Could Save Your Thanksgiving Meal — Why one expert calls it ‘a safety net for your kitchen.’
