Planning a classic Thanksgiving? Surprisingly, the meal will cost you less than it did in 2024

The impact of President Trump's economic policies, including tariffs, has raised concerns about the prices of essentials during the holiday season. But it seems Thanksgiving meals are not going to be affected by that. Turns out that the price of a classic Thanksgiving meal has come down this year in comparison to the previous year. It consists of a 16-pound turkey and sides like stuffing, rolls, sweet potatoes, peas, cranberries, and pumpkin pie ingredients. According to a CNBC report, it costs an average of $55.18 nationwide.

The study was conducted by the American Farm Bureau Federation, which organisation has derived these figures from an annual price survey which was conducted earlier this month. Shoppers across all states volunteered for the survey. Different households prepare different Thanksgiving meals, but there are a few staple items, like the turkey, the stuffing, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, and a few others. Therefore, it was not too hard to ascertain what an average American shopper would pay to acquire these items.

The $55.18 average cost of the Thanksgiving meal shows a dip from $58.08 last year. In fact, this is the lowest it has been since 2022, when the meal reached its highest ever price of $64.05. It is still not as low as it was in 2020, when an average meal cost $46.90.

Another reason why this year is seeing comparatively lower Thanksgiving meal prices is that retailers are bearing some of the losses. It is no secret that prices in general have gone up, and consumers are doing whatever they can to cut spending. Therefore, ahead of the holiday season, retailers decided to shoulder losses when it comes to the turkey. At an average price of $21.50, that is by far the most expensive item in the meal.

But one cannot have a Thanksgiving meal without turkey. Therefore, several retailers marked frozen turkeys as ‘loss leaders’ ahead of the holiday season. This prepares them for the losses and is also a great way to ensure customers come into their stores and spend on other items that can turn a profit for the seller. It is a bigger risk this time around than in years prior, as turkey prices are up 75% from 2025.

This is due to the avian flu that has culled the turkey population, which has led to higher production costs. In spite of this, big supermarket chains like Walmart are selling turkeys for as low as $0.98 a pound. As per an analysis by Purdue, this is less than half of the estimated average retail price of the bird for this month. Prices of the sides, however, vary in different stores and different regions of the country.

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