How much will hosting Thanksgiving cost you?

Every November the American Farm Bureau Federation prices a classic Thanksgiving dinner. In 2025 it came to $55.18 for ten people, about $5.52 a head, and $77.09 once ham, potatoes and green beans were added. In the Northeast the classic menu was $60.82, according to the New York Farm Bureau.

That's a useful floor, not your receipt. The survey's list is turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls, peas, cranberries, a veggie tray and pumpkin pie with cream, bought at the best prices volunteers could find. It doesn't include appetisers, a vegetarian main, drinks, a second dessert, or the three days of breakfasts and lunches for the people sleeping in your spare room.

Say you're hosting fourteen. Your sister-in-law's family drives in on Wednesday night and leaves on Sunday, two guests don't eat meat, and someone always brings a bottle but never a dish. The dinner itself is one line of that bill. The calculator below has a line for each of the others, so the number you budget for is the one you'll actually spend.

Where the extra money usually goes

• "Bring something" turns into wine. Ask for a named dish instead: "Could you do the green beans for fourteen?" gets you a side; "bring whatever you like" often gets you a bottle and a box of chocolates.
• The days either side. Guests who arrive on Wednesday need dinner on Wednesday. Write down every meal from arrival to departure before you shop, not just Thursday.
• Two shops instead of one. The second trip, for the thing you forgot, is where impulse spending happens. A full list a week ahead, with a short top-up list for fresh items, keeps it to one big shop.
• Buying for one day. Extra chairs, a bigger roasting tin, a second set of glasses. Ask to borrow before you buy, and note what you bought so you don't buy it again next year.

Asking family to chip in, without it feeling awkward

In some families everyone brings a dish as a matter of course. In others, asking for help with costs feels like a criticism of the guests. You know which family yours is. If it's the second, being specific and early usually works better than a general request in November.

Something like: "We'd love to have everyone again. Could you two take care of the pies and the wine this year? And since you're staying the weekend, shall we do the Friday takeaway on you?" It names the help, gives people something easy to agree to, and doesn't mention money directly.

If you're also deciding whose house you go to next year, the holiday rotation planner lays out five years of Thanksgivings and Christmases between two families.