How To Save Money on Holiday Meals and Baking Supplies

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I love the holidays. I love spending time with my family, and I really love hosting. Hosting friends, hosting family, throwing parties. I love it all. But it can also be quite expensive.

Between hosting dinners, attending potlucks, baking cookies, and buying all the “little extras,” food costs can add up fast. That peppermint bark ain’t cheap!

But just because the budget is a bit tight, that doesn’t mean you can’t host. With a little planning (and some smart shopping strategies), you can cut your grocery costs and still have parties and meals that are festive and affordable.

Here’s how to save money on holiday meals and baking supplies this season.

1. Start Stocking up Early

The earlier you start preparing, the more opportunities you’ll have to save. Grocery stores often start marking down pantry staples weeks before the holidays.

Look for Sales On:

• Flour, sugar, and baking mixes
• Butter and eggs (buy and freeze butter if you find a great deal!)
• Canned vegetables and fruits
• Broth, soup, and gravy mixes
• Pasta, rice, and stuffing
• Chocolate chips and baking spices

Buy a few extra items each week as they go on sale.

This helps you spread out the cost over time instead of facing one big grocery bill in December.

Pro tip: Pair store sales with cash-back apps like Ibotta or Fetch Rewards. You’ll get extra money back just for buying items you already planned to purchase.

Start saving with Ibotta or Fetch here

2. Do a Pantry Challenge Before the Holidays

Before the holiday rush begins, take a week in November to do a pantry challenge. That means you cook using what’s already in your kitchen.

This does two things:

1. It helps you use up older ingredients before they expire.
2. It clears out space for new holiday baking supplies and ingredients.

Challenge yourself to make creative meals using what you have on hand. You might discover new favorite recipes and easily save $50–$100 just by skipping a grocery trip or two.

3. Plan Your Holiday Menu in Advance

Impulse buys are the fastest way to overspend at the grocery store. When you plan ahead, you can shop smarter.

Here’s how to do it.

1. Write out your full holiday menu: everything from appetizers to desserts.
2. List all the ingredients for each dish.
3. Highlight items you can buy early (like canned goods or baking supplies). You can also buy items that freeze well.
4. Keep perishable ingredients, like dairy, meat, and produce, for your final shopping trip.

Early planning also means you can take advantage of sales as they pop up instead of paying full price when everyone else is shopping at the last minute.

Want to start planning? Get the Christmas Planner and start making your menu and lists now.

4. Know What to Stock up on Early

Some foods go on sale early and store well for weeks or months. Keep an eye out for these deals:

For Baking:
• Flour, sugar, and powdered sugar
• Baking powder and baking soda
• Chocolate chips, cocoa powder, nuts, and extracts
• Spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves
• Butter (freeze it!)

For Holiday Meals:

• Canned vegetables and soups
• Stuffing mix and gravy packets
• Broth or stock
• Pasta, rice, and potatoes
• Frozen pie crusts or rolls

By grabbing these items early, you’ll avoid paying higher prices later when supplies get low.

5. Bake Smarter, Not Bigger

It’s easy to go overboard when it comes to baking for the holidays. But scaling back doesn’t mean missing out; it means baking what you actually eat, not just what some influencer told you you need.

Choose 2–3 favorite recipes that everyone looks forward to, and skip the rest. This will save you money and time.

If you love gifting baked goods, make double batches of one simple cookie recipe instead of baking five different kinds.

Frugal tip: Stick with recipes that share similar ingredients (like sugar cookies, shortbread, and bars) so you don’t have to buy specific, expensive ingredients. It’s those fillings that make things add up!

6. Use Cashback and Rebate Apps

This is one of the easiest ways to lower your grocery costs during the holidays.

Apps like Ibotta and Fetch Rewards give you cash back on grocery purchases, often for things you’re already buying.

You can:

• Earn money just by scanning your receipt.
• Redeem points for gift cards or direct cash.
• Stack savings on top of store sales and coupons.

Using these apps regularly can add up to $50–$100 or more in savings throughout the holiday season.

Get started with money-saving apps here.

7. Don’t Forget Leftovers

The holiday meals don’t have to end in one night! Plan ways to stretch leftovers into new meals.

Think turkey sandwiches, casseroles, soups, or breakfast scrambles. Freezing leftovers in small portions also helps reduce waste and makes it easier to have quick meals on busy winter days.

8. Avoid the “Last-Minute Trap”

The biggest budget busters come from those “oops, I forgot” moments. When you realize you need an ingredient the day before a big dinner, you end up paying full price. Or worse, on a day when your regular grocery store is closed, so you need to go to the pharmacy and pay a fortune for a basic ingredient.

Avoid the panic by keeping a checklist of everything you’ll need and doing your shopping early. You’ll thank yourself later when you are super calm and cool and enjoying all your guests and food!