At a time when offline supermarkets appear to have backed off giving away free turkey, Amazon is debuting this type of promotion for the first time ever.
The online mega-retailer is leveraging its acquisition of Whole Foods to try to get more people hooked on Amazon Fresh by offering a free turkey with the purchase of at least $100 in groceries.
Safeway Promotions
This is similar to a promotion Safeway ran earlier this month — only the minimum grocery purchase ranged from $100 to $150, depending on location. The offer expired on November 14.
Last year, circulars for some local Safeway locations offered incremental discounts on turkey depending on how much groceries you purchased.
Between October 28 and November 8 in 2016, buying $50 in groceries at some Safeway locations got you a price of 70 cents per pound on the bird; buying $100 in groceries got you a small turkey — meaning under 16 pounds — for free; and spending $150 on groceries qualified for a 16-to-24-pound Honeysuckle turkey.
Look Beyond the Circulars
You might have to look beyond the printed circulars that supermarkets include in newspapers.
An often overlooked source of excellent coupons: grocery store receipts, which have promotions printed either on the reverse side or beneath the receipt itself.
The next time you go to the store, check your shopping cart for discarded receipts. If you’re really feeling adventurous, you could expand your search to the grocery’s recycling bins.
Share That Turkey
If you can’t swing the price of a turkey yourself, most likely you’re not going to be hosting your own Thanksgiving dinner anyway. If you haven’t yet received an invitation from a friend or family member for the holiday, start asking around now.
No need to feel bashful about it, either — people undersand the so-called Thanksgiving orphan phenomenon. If you post on social media explaing your situation for the holidays, you might get an offer.
But if you don’t get any bites this way, one more option could be to look around for potluck Thanksgiving dinners hosted by local religious groups or possibly other types of clubs. If you’re in any kind of recovery program, there’s almost bound to be a 12-step fellowship hosting a potluck Thanksgiving where you live.
Volunteer to Serve Turkey to the Poor
Speaking of fellowship, consider volunteering at a soup kitchen or charity that serves meals to the indigent on Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Stepping up to be of service to others around the holidays can be a life-changing experience. For parents, this can be a priceless way to instill good values at a time when kids are bombarded with materialistic messages.
Remember that the original spirit of Thanksgiving is gratitude: anything you can do that involves giving thanks may create longer-lasting memories than any money you might save on turkey.
Readers, what are your Thanksgiving plans this year?