This past Thanksgiving, I went to buy a farm-raised frozen turkey from our local meat market. This sucker was 21 pounds! It was enough to feed everyone coming and provide leftovers and plenty of stewing bones. And it was a whopping 115 Canadian dollars. I couldn’t believe how much the price had jumped in a year. Last year the same turkey size was 75 Canadian dollars. Buying everything from a grocery store for Christmas dinner can become expensive quickly. That is why making a farm-to-table Christmas dinner is a budget must when you are managing it.
Section 1: Planning Your Menu
Turkey dinner always seems to be the go-to for holiday meals but what if we homesteaders flipped the script a bit? What if Christmas dinner was made from what you have grown yourself or purchased from a reliable butcher? Based on what I have in my homesteading stash, here is what my plan would be,
- Ham was purchased from my butcher when we bought our processed pig. I would cook it on my smoker and cover it in a brown sugar glaze.
- French-style green beans and carrots for my vegetables, both of which I have canned.
- Potatoes from the fall harvest
- Stuffing made with homemade bread
- Apple and blueberry pies using apples from the orchard and blueberries from our freezers.
Little ingredients like butter, lard, and spices are things that I already have in my pantry. No extra grocery shopping for this Christmas dinner.
Section 2: Sourcing Ingredients
Here are some quick tips for sourcing ingredients:
- Utilize Your Homestead’s Bounty
- As I showed you above, it is completely possible to source your dinner from your homestead.
- Buy in Bulk for Pantry Staples
- I always have flour in my pantry. I buy enough to fill two 5-gallon buckets. I also always have sugar on hand along with butter. Utilizing what you already spend your money on is a great way to stay on budget.
- Preserve Foods Ahead of Time
- If you have a garden that is for more than fresh produce, you will likely have come up with a system for preserving your foods. However, what happens if you don’t get the yield that you were hoping for? Shop the sales in advance and buy in bulk. Tomatoes went on sale? Buy several pounds and process them. Apples in giant bags? Buy a ton and freeze them. That way, when the holidays come, you don’t have to travel to the dreaded grocery store.
- Go to your local butcher to buy your meat in bulk.
- We can buy whole cows and pigs from our butcher. That means that we never have to add meat to our grocery list. One pig, completely processed was only $600 Canadian. That’s only $50 a month for several meals a month of pork. It also means that we have meat in our freezers and ready for Christmas dinner. So much less stress.
- Go to your local farmers market.
- This is a great source of homegrown food for your Christmas dinners. You will be supporting locals as well as getting good food. This would also open up your options for a unique and memorable meal. If you’re going to spend the money, then spend it on quality.
Section 3: Recipes to Inspire
Here are three simple recipes to use to elevate your Christmas dinner on a budget. You can also find them on the Recipe Page
Resources
I never claim to know it all, of course. Here are some other great people who have some great ideas for budget-friendly Christmas dinners:
- Positively Frugal offers creative budget-friendly ideas, such as affordable party foods like deviled eggs, sausage rolls, and simple pasta trays like baked ziti or lasagna Positively Frugal.
- This Mama Blogs provides a range of budget meal ideas for Christmas, from slow-cooked ham with honey mustard glaze to festive salads This Mama Blogs.
- Life on a Discount shares several tips and recipes for budget-conscious holiday meals, such as using seasonal produce and making simple, hearty sides like mashed potatoes and casseroles Life On A Discount.
- Brooklyn Farm Girl offers recipes for budget-friendly dishes like ginger-cardamom spiced carrots and roasted Brussels sprouts Brooklyn Farm Girl.
- Accidental Happy Baker has a recipe for a delicious Old-Fashioned Wassail, a warm and festive drink that won’t break the bank This Mama Blogs.
Conclusion
Christmas shouldn’t be stressful. Our grocery lists don’t need to be long as we struggle with the Costco line that goes to the toilet paper at the back. Use what you already have and focus on what matters: Spending Christmas with your family.
