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The basket is the dinner
Dad at Broke Dads Club
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Published November 6, 2026·Updated October 31, 2026
Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26. The stores already posted the dinner. You do not need a Pinterest menu and a second stop.
Walmart's basket is about $35 for ten. Aldi's list is under $39 for ten. Target's meal is $30 for six. Pick the list that matches the table, then close it.
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Reading: Pick the list that matches the headcount
Pick the list that matches the headcount
Walmart said on October 28, 2026 that its Holiday Meal Basket is 26 items for ten people, with a Butterball turkey at 97 cents a pound. The $35 is an estimate. The footnote uses a 13.5 pound bird and about 3.2 pounds of sweet potatoes at 88 cents a pound. A 16 pound bird moves the total a few dollars, not a second grocery trip. Prices run October 28 through December 24. The deal skips Alaska, Hawaii, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, and Wisconsin.
That $35 is the in-store number. Pickup or delivery can add a fee, from nothing up to $19.95.
Aldi said on October 14 that a classic meal for ten is under $39, no coupon and no membership. The list is a 16-pound Farmer's Choice turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls, cranberries, peas, carrots, celery, and pumpkin pie ingredients. It runs through November 25. The turkey starts November 4. Pie mix starts November 11. One trip on or after November 11 gets the whole list.
Target said on October 22 that its meal is $30 before tax for six, from November 8 through November 29, not in Alaska or Hawaii. The list is a Butterball up to 10 pounds, potatoes, cranberry sauce, the green bean casserole cans, stuffing, gravy, and two baguettes. There is no pie in that $30.
A house of four does not need the ten-person basket and another store. Target's six is the closer fit, and you will still have leftovers. A house that is actually feeding about ten uses Walmart or Aldi and stops.
$90 is an open list
PwC told ABC News, in a forecast shared around October 21, that a Thanksgiving meal might land near $90, with turkey up nearly 8% from last year. That is a private guess. PwC did not publish the item list behind it. The American Farm Bureau's 2025 survey put a classic dinner for ten at $55.18. Those two numbers are not the same meal, and neither one is a receipt.
The receipt you can use in the aisle is the posted basket.
If someone wants to bring a dish, one dish is a gift. A second menu is a second billSchool fees that hit after class starts.
Do not shop the dinner twice
The basket already has stuffing, potatoes, a vegetable, and, at Walmart or Aldi, a pie. The add-on aisle is a relish tray, soda, and "the kids will want something else." That pile is how a posted price turns into the forecast.
Write the store on the fridge before you park. If the bird is not in yet, wait for the day the list is actually the list. Do not pre-build a cart of stand-ins and then buy the basket too.
Getting there is a different cut. Seats versus the car is in four seats or one car. If you are staying home, this basket is the grocery version of that same decision. A normal week still uses the pair-the-nights plan in the $47 grocery weekOne week of groceries on a hard budget. If the visit is not happening, the short no is in explaining we can't go. The wider pattern, small adds that become a real bill, is the dad taxDad tax meaning: why kids make every bill bigger.
What you tell the kids
They will hear about someone else's three pies. You do not owe a speech about money.
If the cousins are not coming, say that in one line. A smaller table is Target's meal for six. It is still Thanksgiving.
Do it before the bird is in
Pick the store that matches the headcount, and text it before the group assigns you a second protein.
- About ten people, and your state is on Walmart's list: the $35 basket, in the store if you can.
- About ten people at Aldi: under $39, on or after November 11, when the turkey and the pie mix are both in the deal.
- About six: Target's $30, from November 8. If you want pie, buy one pie, not a second dinner.
The point
Broke does not mean broken. Ten people at about $35, or six at $30, is a real Thursday. The second cart is how a posted dinner becomes the $90 version nobody meant to ring up.
Quick answers
How much is a Thanksgiving dinner for 10 in 2026?
Walmart's October 28, 2026 basket is about $35 for 10, estimated on a 13.5 pound Butterball at 97 cents a pound. Aldi's October 14 list is under $39 for 10, including a 16-pound turkey, through November 25. Those are posted lists, not a forecast.
Is Target's $30 Thanksgiving meal cheaper?
Per person, no. Target's meal is $30 before tax for six, about $5 a person, from November 8 through November 29. Walmart's basket is about $3.50 a person for ten. Target fits a smaller table, and it does not include pie.
Why is the Walmart Thanksgiving basket not exactly $35?
The October 28 footnote estimates a 13.5 pound bird at 97 cents a pound and about 3.2 pounds of sweet potatoes. A heavier bird costs a few dollars more. Delivery can add up to $19.95. The price skips Alaska, Hawaii, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, and Wisconsin.
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