ALDI’s new Thanksgiving offer comes with a calendar detail worth catching before you head to the store.
On October 14, the grocer announced an ingredient basket it says can feed ten people for under $39. It includes a 16-pound turkey, classic sides and pumpkin pie ingredients, with no coupon or membership required.
The advertised prices end November 25, but three items arrive later:
Fresh cranberries: October 26
Farmer’s Choice turkey: November 4
Pumpkin pie mix: November 11
Prices for the remaining ingredients began October 14. ALDI says the actual total varies with location, selections and availability; delivery and service fees may also apply.
That makes the basket a useful reference for planning ahead. A shopping trip this week will still need a separate plan for those later arrivals. And your own menu may call for things outside the advertised list.
Put availability dates on your shopping list
Start with the dishes you actually want to serve. Beside each one, list what you already have and what you’ll need to buy. Put an availability date beside any advertised ingredient arriving later, so you don’t build this week’s shopping trip around it.
Then price your own list at your store. Include extra ingredients, drinks or delivery charges you expect to pay. Keep the guest count beside it, too: a basket designed for ten is a starting point for deciding what your household needs. You can leave out the dishes nobody wants.
You can keep ordinary dinners on your Foodoodle plan while you work out the holiday shop.
Hit reply: Think about your last grocery trip. What was hardest: choosing dinners, getting the quantities right, or using what you bought?