Even Thanksgiving turkeys are not immune to inflation.
Inflation-weary Americans should see the cost of a classic Thanksgiving dinner gobble less of their paychecks this year. That is because we are buying less of the meal’s centerpiece dish, turkey.
The price tag of the traditional holiday meal, which also includes cranberries, sweet potatoes and stuffing, dropped for a second consecutive year, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual survey released on Wednesday.
The average cost for a 10-person meal came to $58.08, down from $61.17 last year and a record $64.05 in 2022, Farm Bureau data shows.
That’s the good news. The bad news is the overall cost of hosting Thanksgiving is up, thanks to inflation. The typical host will shell out $431 on food, drinks and decor, a 19 percent increase from last year, according to a survey from Lending Tree.
What is on your Thanksgiving menu? Where are you seeing the biggest changes in food, drink and decor prices?
Home for the holidays
All three of our kids are coming home to New York for Thanksgiving this year – and they are traveling by train as well as by plane.
They will be in good company: About 1.7 million more people will travel this year from Tuesday, Nov. 26 to Monday, Dec. 2, compared to a similar period in 2023, travel group AAA says.
Americans are expected to set a new record for Thanksgiving travel, with nearly 80 million expected to hit the roads, catch flights and board cruises over the holiday period.
Betting on increased demand from Thanksgiving travelers, Uber launched “XXL” rides with extra trunk space this week. The ride-hailing company is trying to overcome a slowdown in its mainstay app-based taxi business.
Shop ’til you drop?
My inbox is bursting with holiday shopping deals. But it looks like it is going to take more than a few emails and app alerts to nudge shoppers like me to open our wallets.
Overall holiday shopping is expected to grow at the slowest pace in six years, with mobile spending accounting for 53 percent of online holiday sales.
To lure consumers, companies such as Target are cutting prices on thousands of essential and gift items ahead of the holiday season.
But inflation is still a big hurdle. Deloitte’s 2024 holiday retail survey found 70 percent of consumers expect to face higher prices this year, so they’re being especially frugal.
I’ve been eyeing some holiday items, but I’m also parking them in my online shopping cart, just in case better deals emerge.
