Thanksgiving Day provides a wonderful opportunity to celebrate and spend time with loved ones. While Thanksgiving can be a time of great celebration, it can also be a time of great stress. When the family budget is stretched and Christmas looms on the horizon, it can seem like a daunting task to make Thanksgiving both special and frugal. With a bit of planning and creativity, Thanksgiving can be a fun, budget-friendly event.

Food:

• At this time of year, grocery stores are really competing for your business and many will offer a free turkey with a certain purchase amount. The purpose of this kind of promotion is to get you in the door to do all your shopping, but by purchasing only those items that are on sale you will get the best value for your dollar.
• The cost of an entire Thanksgiving meal can be significant, so consider inviting your guests to bring their favorite Thanksgiving side. With no less than one weeks notice, tell your guests you will provide the main dish (traditionally turkey or ham), drinks, and a dessert. By allowing them to provide part of the meal, you will save yourself time and money, and your guests will get to enjoy their favorite dish.

Decor:

• Rather than purchasing a full set of new Autumn themed linens, focus on adding just a few accent pieces to go along with neutral colors you already own.  Adding a few orange pieces to the tans, browns, yellows, or reds can create that Autumn feel without breaking the bank.
• Let your children help make the house more festive. Most of us remember the ever popular "hand turkey" from our elementary years. Set your kids up with construction paper, glue, and some yarn and let them create their own unique art.

If serving a large meal just just isn't in your budget, don't let it get you down.  Instead, take this opportunity to spend a holiday helping someone less fortunate by volunteering at a soup kitchen. Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the blessings in our lives, and there may be no better way to
celebrate those blessings than by blessing someone else. 

Tiffany is a special contributor to the Arvest Bank blog, providing her insight and opinions on personal and family finance issues.