Thanksgiving Costs a Few More Pennies This Year

Good news for Thanksgiving lovers the cost of classic holiday dinner, turkey, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie and most of the basic trimmings has only slightly increased.

The average cost of dinner for 10 is $49.48, a 28-cent price increase from last year’s average of $49.20, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

A 16-pound turkey will weigh in at approximately $22.23 this year, an increase of about 4 cents per pound, or a total of 66 cents per whole turkey, compared to 2011.

“Thanksgiving Dinner is a special meal that people look forward to all year,” said John Anderson, AFBF’s deputy chief economist. “Most Americans will pay about the same as last year at the grocery store for a turkey and all the trimmings. A slight increase in demand for turkey is responsible for the moderate price increase our shoppers reported for the bird,” he said.

In addition to the turkey, a combined group of miscellaneous items, including coffee and ingredients necessary to prepare the meal (onions, eggs, sugar, flour, evaporated milk and butter) increased in price, to $3.18. A dozen brown-n-serve rolls also increased slightly this year, up 3 cents to $2.33.

Milk, half pint of whipping cream, cubed bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, fresh cranberries, green peas, a 30-ounce can of pumpkin pie mix and two nine-inch pie shells were all found to cost less than in 2011.