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With the holiday just weeks away, now is a great time to start prepping for Thanksgiving. Costs can vary wildly based on your number of guests, food preferences, and location, but realistic estimates for hosting Thanksgiving dinner typically range from $112 to $160. Because many consumers are feeling the squeeze of food inflation this year, cost-effective meal options will be all the rage. To this end, consumers have two affordable, all-inclusive meal deals to choose from, courtesy of America's premier discount grocery stores.
Both Walmart and Aldi are selling complete Thanksgiving meal kits for about $40. Both deals can feed up to 10 guests and come with all the Thanksgiving classics, such as turkey, potatoes, corn, gravy, and dinner rolls, plus side dishes and dessert. While other retailers like Costco and Sam's Club are featuring their own deals, they can't hold a candle to the value of Walmart and Aldi's respective Thanksgiving spreads. We've dug through these deals (and their fine print) to determine which offers the most bang for your holiday buck. While Thanksgiving meals from Walmart and Aldi definitely offer customers tons of savings, one option might be better suited to your needs.
What to expect from Walmart's Thanksgiving deal
According to Walmart's press release announcing its 2025 Thanksgiving meal, the store's $40 feast will ultimately run you less than $4 per dinner guest. That makes it the store's least expensive meal offer since 2022, the year Walmart first proposed an all-inclusive meal for the holiday. Walmart's offering contains 20 items, including both name-brand goods and store exclusives. Customers will receive a 13.5-pound turkey (priced at just $0.97 per pound) plus fried onions, dinner rolls, baby carrots, green beans, corn, russet potatoes, cranberries, cream of mushroom soup, turkey stuffing, gravy mix, mac and cheese, and pumpkin pie ingredients (pie crust, pumpkin puree, and evaporated milk).
Walmart takes much of the fuss out of its Thanksgiving deal via online ordering, which allows shoppers to select and pay for all of these items in one fell swoop. Once their order is complete, shoppers can elect to pick up the items in-store or have them delivered. If you've never used Walmart's delivery service before, you're in luck, as the chain is offering free express delivery to first-time customers. Along with this affordable Thanksgiving feast, the grocery chain offers other meal options, including prime rib and gluten-free selections (albeit at higher price points).
What do Aldi shoppers get with the store's Thanksgiving deal?
Like Walmart, Aldi's press release heralding its Thanksgiving deal boldly claims that it can feed a party of 10 guests for roughly $4 per person. Aldi also has all the classic holiday foods accounted for, starting with its whole turkey, which weighs in at 14.5 pounds on average and costs a mere $0.77 per pound. Other foods include stuffing, cream of mushroom soup, russet potatoes, sweet potatoes, baby carrots, cranberries, celery, yellow onions, green beans, chicken broth, Hawaiian sweet rolls, gravy mix, shells and cheese, French fried onions, poultry seasoning, and dessert ingredients (pie crust, canned pumpkin, evaporated milk, mini marshmallows, and whipped cream topping).
Aldi shoppers eager to save money on Thanksgiving can visit the store armed with a pre-made shopping list to ensure they snag all the items included with the deal. You can also visit the chain online and shop for goods there, but keep in mind that the dedicated Thanksgiving deal page features 25 items, whereas Aldi's press release claims that only 21 products and/or ingredients are included in the Thanksgiving deal. As a result, pricing may vary. If you choose to have the holiday meal delivered, just know that there will be an additional fee.
How do these two deals compare?
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At first glance, Walmart and Aldi's respective Thanksgiving deals look almost identical. Both come with cost estimates of roughly $4 per guest (though Walmart dips slightly beneath that figure), and both feature many of the same items. Worth noting is that Aldi offers a few more veggies, including yellow onions, celery, and sweet potatoes, as well as chicken broth, mini marshmallows, and whipped cream topping. As a result, you're getting more from Aldi for a negligible price difference. On the other hand, brand loyalists who are unfamiliar with Aldi and its mysterious ways may be put off by the lack of brand-name goods included.
Convenience is another consideration, and Walmart has Aldi handily beat in this department. Customers can order the entire deal from the store's website and have it delivered directly to their doors if they don't feel like picking it up. You'll also see the exact price for the meal deal when you're placing the order — our estimated fee is $38.54 when purchasing the deal from our local Walmart. And if you're a new customer, you'll save money on the delivery fee, making your Thanksgiving feast even more affordable. If you opt for Aldi, you'll be tasked with shopping for your own Thanksgiving groceries, either in-store or online. Aldi does offer grocery delivery, but it hasn't announced any discounts relating to its Thanksgiving feast.
Tips for choosing the best Thanksgiving deal
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For people already devoted to Aldi, the choice in Thanksgiving meal deals is clear. The store is known for offering high-quality products at rock-bottom prices, and its Thanksgiving feast exemplifies the chain's commitment to both principles. Aldi also bests Walmart in a few other areas, namely in produce quality. Because vegetables are a big part of these meal deals, freshness is a major consideration. And while Thanksgiving shopping can be harrowing, Aldi generally offers a more laidback and relaxed experience than Walmart, which customers often characterize as downright unpleasant.
Of course, shoppers can take advantage of Walmart's Thanksgiving meal deal without ever stepping foot inside the store, which makes it a good option for people who aren't beholden to a specific chain (as well as those who normally avoid the reputedly rambunctious chain). The possibility of free delivery makes Walmart's offer even more tempting, and the inclusion of name brands like Butterball Turkey, Campbell's, Stove Top, and Kinder's might make Walmart's Thanksgiving feast more attractive to some customers. The choice is ultimately up to you, but it's good to know that there's more than one low-cost Thanksgiving meal option floating around.