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Thanksgiving dinner will be expensive this year but there are ways to save money on it

Buying everything for a Thanksgiving Day feast is enough to give someone heartburn before taking a seat at the table.

The main attraction is one of the worst offenders. Turkey is up about 28% this year according to the federal government.

Baking won’t very sweet either. Eggs have risen about 30% and butter is up 26% year to year.

These price hikes are on shoppers’ minds outside a grocery store in Westwood.

One woman told Boston 25 “Groceries have been going up like crazy. Eggs, milk, bread. . .expensive! Fruits, even turkey . . .expensive!”

An older woman agreed it’s a crazy situation, exclaiming “it’s the worse I’ve seen in all these years.”

Chef Dan Charbonneau, a culinary instructor at Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical High School in Lexington, said a memorable meal doesn’t have to be too expensive as long as a host develops a plan ahead of time.

“If you write a menu and then create a shopping list and stick to it, that would be one way to really streamline your purchases, and how much food you actually produce.”

Sticking to a list can help a shopper avoid impulse purchases.

Julie Ramhold, a consumer analyst at www.dealsnews.com, said shoppers should be open minded about generic alternatives to brand name products.

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