Rising costs on Thanksgiving meals has some considering other options

BALTIMORE - Thanksgiving is this week, but that big family feast is more expensive this year, leaving many Marylanders looking at other options.

Now, will it be cheaper to spend the holiday at home or go out to eat.

But right now, filling your stomach costs an arm and a leg.

"Every single grocery store I've been to, the prices just keep going up and up and up and up," a Baltimore resident said.

From turkey to potatoes to pumpkin pie, Thanksgiving staples are more expensive this year.

"We're having a smaller gathering. I don't know if there's going to be a turkey, but that is traditional," another Baltimore resident said. "So maybe we'll have the turkey, but fewer sides or maybe fewer desserts." 

According to the Annual Farm Bureau Survey on Thanksgiving dinner, the cost of this year's classic Thanksgiving feast for 10 people is $64.

That breaks down to less than $6.50 per person, and that's a 20 percent increase from last year. 

"That kind of increase we recognize is a burden on some families, no question about it," said Roger Cryan, Chief Economist at the American Farm Bureau Federation. "General price inflation, it robs consumers and farmers of their buying power, and it leads into quite a bit of chaos in the macro-economy."

Cindy Lou's Fish House in Harbor Point offers a prix fixe Thanksgiving menu for $55 a person.

"You want to have a variety of things, and people have more dietary needs than maybe they had in 1955, when it was just mom and the turkey and these four side dishes, right?" co-founder Tony Foreman said.

Foreman told WJZ he has seen the culture change from eating at home to dining out on Thanksgiving.

"More and more," he said. "The outrageous amount of leftovers that could happen with a meal like this."

Foreman said going out to eat is more efficient and healthier.

"More appropriate to have the correct amount, and more healthful honestly," Foreman said. "Although I would miss the cold turkey sandwich (laughs)."

WJZ looked at more than a dozen Thanksgiving menus from local restaurants and catering companies, and prices ranged from $20 to $40 per person.

So, it is still cheaper to cook at home, and even better to just be a guest.