{"id":31369,"date":"2015-11-24T14:19:11","date_gmt":"2015-11-24T21:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/2015\/11\/how-to-host-thanksgiving-on-a-budget\/"},"modified":"2015-11-24T14:19:11","modified_gmt":"2015-11-24T21:19:11","slug":"how-to-host-thanksgiving-on-a-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/how-to-host-thanksgiving-on-a-budget\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Host Thanksgiving On A Budget"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Image<\/a><\/p>\n

Image via Woo Home<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

By Sarah Christine Davis<\/a> on November 23, 2015<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

This article<\/a> is brought to you by Uloop<\/span> and Kaplan. \u00a0Search Uloop<\/a><\/span> for student housing, college roommates, sublets, part-time jobs, internships, tutors, and campus news.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

As we delve deeper into adulthood, many of us are beginning to host our own Thanksgiving dinners<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s because your family wants to travel to your college town or because you and your family live too far away from each other to visit for just a day or just because you\u2019ve got a knack for hosting, you or one of your friends will inevitably find yourselves hosting Thanksgiving dinner one year or another.<\/p>\n

For grad students who can barely afford to eat out on the weekends, cooking an entire decadent full meal<\/a> for a large group of people is an understandably daunting task.<\/p>\n

However, there are several simple ways to make this task easier so that you and your guests enjoy an immaculate Thanksgiving despite your smaller budget.<\/p>\n

Read on to learn about some of the ways that you can use your business school skills to host a great Thanksgiving on a budget.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be afraid to ask for help.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If even The Beatles admitted that they get by with a little help from their friends, you shouldn\u2019t be afraid to do the same thing this Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n

Whether you want to have a potluck Thanksgiving where everyone brings their own dish \u2014 a risky decision, but one that saves you tons of money \u2014 or you simply want a friend or two over to help you cook before everyone else arrives, teamwork is a surefire way to save you both money and stress.<\/p>\n

You can also ask friends and family<\/a> to temporarily donate items that you may need, such as silverware, serving plates, or lawn chairs in the event that it\u2019s nice enough to sit outside (and because having too much seating for your guests is better than not having enough).<\/p>\n

My Home Ideas<\/a> suggests that you can \u201chit up friends and family who are heading out of town [because] you know they won\u2019t be using their plates and silver pieces during the holiday.\u201d<\/p>\n

If that\u2019s not an option or you simply want to do this all by yourself, consignment shops such as Goodwill almost always carry a variety of silverware at a low cost that you can use just for the holiday.<\/p>\n

But if you\u2019re going to go to Goodwill, go as soon as possible \u2014 this is a secret tip that many Thanksgiving hosts<\/a> keep in mind this time of year!<\/p>\n

Use your imagination and what you already have to decorate.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You don\u2019t need to go all out when decorating your house for Thanksgiving, but a few holiday decorations here and there or perhaps a nice-looking painting in the dining room will surely add a touch of cheer to your place.<\/p>\n

Candles, festive table runners, and small trinkets are little things that can make a big difference in your home or apartment this Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n

You can also use craft supplies that you have lying around to create cute Thanksgiving decorations<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This is an especially good idea if you have younger children coming over who undoubtedly will get bored with the adults\u2019 grown-up conversations. While the food is cooking and the adults are chatting, kids can create decorations to hang up or place around the table.<\/p>\n

Check out this page from Woo Home<\/a> that features a variety of DIY Thanksgiving decorations, from the most silly kid-friendly crafts like a turkey made out of a pine cone to more classy adult-friendly crafts like a Thanksgiving garland or candles made out of green apples.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be afraid to take a less traditional route.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s na\u00efve to think that you\u2019ll be able to fit 25 people in your tiny home or apartment. There\u2019s no need to buy new furniture or even new folding tables.<\/p>\n

Plenty of companies rent out folding tables and chairs to customers who need extra seating. Slap on a tablecloth and suddenly you have extra seating on the low!<\/p>\n

While folding tables aren\u2019t incredibly conventional or necessarily attractive, keep in mind that it\u2019s perfectly fine for you to steer away from the traditional and towards a more casual setting<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You can also accept the fact that it\u2019s fine for people to stand and sit around on couches<\/a> or outside. You don\u2019t need to have that picture of Thanksgiving that comes to mind of tons of people sitting down at a long dining room table.<\/p>\n

You are the host, after all: you can decide to host a casual Thanksgiving!<\/p>\n

Remember to have fun.<\/strong><\/p>\n

While this is easier said than done, it\u2019s a good thing to keep in the back of your mind during planning and hosting. Thanksgiving only comes once a year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the one time of year when you are encouraged to stuff yourself with turkey, green bean casserole, and apple pie. It\u2019s also one of the few times per year when so many of your loved ones all congregate in the same place.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t take it for granted!<\/p>\n

For more college news, and to search for off-campus housing, tutors near campus, and jobs for college students, go to Uloop<\/span>.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post How To Host Thanksgiving On A Budget<\/a> appeared first on Business School Insider<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Image via Woo Home By Sarah Christine Davis on November 23, 2015 This article is brought to you by Uloop and Kaplan. \u00a0Search Uloop for student housing, college roommates, sublets,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":120,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"1","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,558,243,940],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gmat","category-kaplan-blog","category-blog","category-gmat-prep-gmat","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/120"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31369\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}