Thanksgiving Part 1

Oh Yes…. this is part one.. of how many.. I have no clue.. But alas lets start my favorite time of year. Why? I love giving gifts and cooking.. hence thanksgiving and X-mas are my favorites. Ever. Well.. Halloween is up there too… and lets face it … leprechauns are kinda cute… ok ok ok.. Getting off track!

Normally Mr.Not Fully Paleo and I do Thanksgiving just the two of us { + Primal Puggle and Evil Primal Kitty }. However this year we’ve decided to pack up and ship off to my parents house! Super freaking excited. It’s a two-day adventure. We’re doing Turkey day then the next day Putting up the tree { Long Long Story} Anyhoo… I’m bringing / making a good amount of food…I want to make sure I’m getting the best deal for everything and buying smart, hence my million lists!
{ and yes… this list-making was all done while primal puggle snored next to me and Mr.Not Fully Paleo played Skyrim…. Didn’t you know this is how the cool kids spent their Saturday night?! lmao }

The main reason I’m showing you guys is because it’s mainly for the buying part and when to make it… If I hadn’t made out my list and gone over store circulars because of it with what I need in mind, I wouldn’t have noticed my sausages are on sale {plus I have coupon} and that onions and carrots are on sale this week. The stuff that doesn’t go bad fast I’m getting this week {extra butter, raw cheese, extra eggs {those are on sale too! woohoo} etc}…. whatever is super perishable I’ll get the tuesday before… But I really really want to be in and out…
The grocery store the week of Thanksgiving scares the bacon outta me!

Ok onto my visual presentation!
List #1

Is everything I need to bring to date {I’m probably going to add to it} And yes! If you look closely you’ll see club-crackers and canned Cranberry sauce on the list… It’s for my grandmother.. She loves that stuff.. and when it’s super on sale I grab her a few 🙂

List #2 & 3

It’s everything that goes into what I’m actually making over the two days.. with roughly how much I’ll need.. I was thinking I’d need 2 bags of onions for this.. but it turns out I’ll only need one same for carrots. This is going to prevent me from over buying..
I live in an apt.. It’s tiny.. My fridge is tiny.. I need all the space in that bad boy I can get.
I also realized I’ll need to buy some more spices, which I didn’t realize I was out of until I was looking over the list. That would have been beyond icky.. if I started cooking only to be out of Sage or basil… lmao

List #4 & 5

List #4 is what I need to buy that I don’t have on hand.. this is for what I’m making specifically {I’m going to have an overflow with almonds, spices, chocolate probably, etc… I so won’t complain!}

Also I have some coupons that if I use at walmart for random things { like razors and trial size products} will give me overage { Walmart is awesome and will give the difference back on your coupon if it’s worth more than the product!}. I’m going to use the overage from those coupons to grab a few of the things on the list and knock off the price a bit!

List #5 is so I don’t go crazy this time next week.. I’ve got it laid out.. If you’re planning a huge turkey-day really think about giving yourself a time line, with a shopping list and what to buy when. That way you’re not wondering if you bought sausages or almonds.. and  also so you space what cooking you can over a few days. For instance I’m boiling my eggs Tuesday and making my chocolate covered almonds then. That way Wednesday I’m not making everything. And yes, Monday it says to do dishes… my kitchen is getting one massive over haul that day!

 

So you’re either thinking I’ve completely gone off the deep end or you’ve gained a few ideas for this holiday season. The most important thing is to plan out what you’re making or bringing with you to someone’s house. That way you can look and see what’s on sale over time. To save yourself the most money.The holidays aren’t cheap, but it doesn’t mean I can’t save myself a few dollars here and there!