How much do you spend on food during the holidays?

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shartran
shartran Posts: 304 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Do you budget for the food you buy for Xmas or just buy whatever without any budget?

I usually just buy whatever I will be needing - and just deal with the cost, however I rarely host the x-mas dinner and bring a few dishes only to the party.

I might have a change of mind if I had to buy for 20 people though...what about you??

Replies

  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    $85 per person, per night, from Dec 15 until Jan 3.

    Just counting dinner.
  • samantha1242
    samantha1242 Posts: 816 Member
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    Just bought our christmas groceries today and spent just over $100.00 for 2 people (including baking supplies!).
  • 970Mikaela1
    970Mikaela1 Posts: 2,013 Member
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    500 for 6 people for Christmas eve and day. Crab and shrimp and smoked sausage. On Christmas eve. Ham and smoked brisket on Christmas day. Plus cheesecake,baklava,cookies, sweet potatos and other stu9.
  • CooCooPuff
    CooCooPuff Posts: 4,374 Member
    edited December 2014
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    I didn't even buy the main meals, and I've spent too much money and time on Christmas food. Cooking for other people sucks. :(
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,074 Member
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    dbmata wrote: »
    $85 per person, per night, from Dec 15 until Jan 3.

    Just counting dinner.

    ....$85 total per person, or every evening? Cause every evening over that span of time is $1,600 per person over two weeks, lol.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
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    Aside from Dec. 24-25, my husband and I are totally in our normal everyday meal planning/cooking/budgeting habits.

    Christmas Eve we are taking my mom out for a nice late lunch/early dinner at an Asian fusion place, it won't be that expensive, maybe $50 for all three of us. Later that night we'll snack on finger foods, pretzels & fudge which she provides, and probably a couple of alcoholic drinks we'll provide (not expensive).

    Christmas Day it's a family dinner and we will contribute deviled eggs and sesame green beans...maybe some cookies or banana bread too, if I have time to bake it this week. Those things are so cheap, that makes Christmas actually less expensive than a normal day for us.

    I would say during the month of December we spend about $200 on alcohol though, between attending BYOB parties, entertaining, gift giving, etc...and that's a pretty big change compared to normally less than $30/month on craft beer and the odd bottle of wine.

  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    missiontofitness wrote: »
    dbmata wrote: »
    $85 per person, per night, from Dec 15 until Jan 3.

    Just counting dinner.

    ....$85 total per person, or every evening? Cause every evening over that span of time is $1,600 per person over two weeks, lol.

    Yup. I was unclear though, that is what I budget. My wife would have a fit if I used said budget. :( So at the end of the season I turn what's left into silver.
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,074 Member
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    dbmata wrote: »
    missiontofitness wrote: »
    dbmata wrote: »
    $85 per person, per night, from Dec 15 until Jan 3.

    Just counting dinner.

    ....$85 total per person, or every evening? Cause every evening over that span of time is $1,600 per person over two weeks, lol.

    Yup. I was unclear though, that is what I budget. My wife would have a fit if I used said budget. :( So at the end of the season I turn what's left into silver.

    I was gonna say...I will pay for my flight to eat with your family this holiday season if that's the budget you're working with!

    Really though..I wonder how you could feed people for $1,600 a day for dinner.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    It's two of us, and I set that money aside in Q2-3 for use at the end of the year, and since we never use it all... we invest it in needed items, or gifts, etc.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    It is part of our normal grocery budget for that week. We aren't having guests or a giant feast. So maybe $20 for our Christmas meal for 3 people.
  • mygnsac
    mygnsac Posts: 13,413 Member
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    Just my dad and I, and we'll go out to a nice restaurant on Christmas. Probably be around $100.
  • TinaBaily
    TinaBaily Posts: 792 Member
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    I have a monthly food budget, and in the summer months and holiday months, I tend to spend more than I budget for, but spend less the other times. It all averages out, though. We will host Christmas dinner for 9 people here, and I still have a little money in my budget for the month, although I may find myself going over soon, but not by much. Our normal 3 person family "grew" to 5 for the next 3 weeks while our two sons are home from college for the semester/holiday break, so we'll be eating more food in the house than we have been.

    Our menu will include a ham shank, which I bought last Christmas and stashed in the freezer. I cost me .99/lb, so isn't super pricey and ham is delicious. With it we'll have several delicious side dishes that also are not pricey, but everyone likes them. Pies for dessert are going to be homemade, too.
  • sistrsprkl
    sistrsprkl Posts: 1,013 Member
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    I'd guess at least 1k, since we're entertaining a bit. My husband dropped 200 on a baking supply run last week. We're in the bay area so everything is $$$.
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
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    dbmata wrote: »
    It's two of us, and I set that money aside in Q2-3 for use at the end of the year, and since we never use it all... we invest it in needed items, or gifts, etc.

    Man...and I know you are getting all the good stuff, too. Mail me some!
  • jamie_lee80
    jamie_lee80 Posts: 176 Member
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    I have 3 meals at my house, lunch on Christmas day for my family, Dinner Christmas night for my friends and I am having a family gathering of about 20 people on Saturday. I spent $300 on groceries for those meals. I made a really good list this year though and tried to buy a lot of groceries at Aldi's to cut costs, plus I already had a turkey in my freezer that I will be making for the party on Saturday.

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