Denver 7: Thanksgiving meals expected to be cheaper this year

November 15, 2023

The estimated cost of a Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people will be 4.5% lower than a year ago, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the American Farm Bureau Federation.

The AFBF’s analysis looks at the cost of Thanksgiving staples, such as turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a veggie tray, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and coffee and milk.

The AFBF said providing enough food for 10 people with plenty of leftovers would cost $61.17 this year, down from $64.05 last year, but up from $53.31 in 2021.

Many Thanksgiving staples are less expensive than a year ago. The largest decrease was for the price of whipping cream, which saw a 22.8% drop. After the cost of turkey rose 21% between 2021 and 2022, turkey prices have declined 5.6% in the last year. 

Other staples, such as stuffing mix, pie crusts, frozen peas and milk, are also cheaper. 

Americans should also have an easier time affording Thanksgiving meals, as average weekly earnings are up 3.2% in the last year, as of October, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

But economists seem divided on the topic.

“We have recovered very nicely from the pandemic shock. I think more people are getting jobs, the labor market is doing well,” said Kishore Kulkarni, a professor of economics at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

“It seems like every day you hear about consumers commenting about how the prices in the grocery stores are higher, there’s fewer goods, and it really doesn’t look better than it did last year,” said Maclyn Clouse, a professor of finance at the University of Denver. “Consumers will remember last year, just how much of a big increase last year was. If things are close to last year, they’re still going to consider it to be very high-priced.”