The division of labor in my household is such that I do almost all of the grocery shopping. We agreed on this arrangement because 1. Tess despises going to the grocery store and 2. she travels a great deal during the workweek while I work from home exclusively.

Usually, I shop from a list of items we put together, but there are occasions when something catches my eye that is not on my list. I’m given this latitude for performing this task.

Monday, I bought a frozen turkey. It wasn’t on my list, but at 98 cents per pound it was cheaper than just about anything you could find in the meat department, even bologna.

Every year, Americans buy 45 million turkeys for the Thanksgiving holiday, but Tess and I are always Thanksgiving visitors and never hosts. So we didn’t need a turkey. And even if we did, Tess’s company provides all of its employees with turkeys.

But some deals are just too good to pass up.

So this year, we’ll have two turkeys tucked away in our freezer for future use.

With all of the angst over inflation, especially groceries, the price of turkeys this year is welcomed good news.

American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) economists estimate the average price for an 8-to-16-pound turkey at $1.27 per pound this Thanksgiving. Last year, the average price was an all-time high at $1.56 per pound.

There is more good news: The overall price of a traditional turkey dinner with sides is down, too. According to the AFBF Thanksgiving dinner is expected to cost 4.5% less than last year. With the holiday a little more than a week away, the survey finds the average cost of feeding 10 people on Thanksgiving Day this year will cost about $61.17, or less than $6.20 per person.

That’s cheaper than most combo meals at a fast-food restaurant.

Of all the holidays, Thanksgiving remains the most traditional. The scene around American dinner tables next Thursday will look like a Norman Rockwell painting from 80 years ago.

There have been some changes, though. Today, you can purchase Thanksgiving meals to go from many restaurants and grocery store delis.

There is no data on the popularity of Thanksgiving-to-go meals based on where you live, but I suspect that the appetite (forgive the pun) is lower here in the South than most places. I cannot imagine my mom being tempted by this option. It would be like making canned biscuits – an affront to her culinary dignity.

The preparation of the Thanksgiving meal is often an homage to family traditions – from which dishes are a part of the meal to how they are prepared. “Grandma’s recipe” or “Aunt Helen did it this way.” It’s a nod to those wonderful cooks of the past and the memories they created in their cluttered, chaotic kitchens.

You get none of that from a Thanksgiving-to-go prepared by some stranger in a hairnet mass-producing means in some grocery store deli.

Thanksgiving is also the one day a year people are still likely to “dress for dinner.” Women, particularly, want to look their best, which is why you see stories such as the one found in the current issue of Glamour Magazine with the headline “31 Thanksgiving Makeup Ideas That Pair Well With Pumpkin Pie.”

It seems absurd to me, but I bet Tess will read that story.

For men, the biggest concession made to holiday attire – if he, in fact, has any real say in the matter – is wearing pants instead of shorts.

No matter how simple or elaborate the Thanksgiving, it is always more than just a meal, even though it is the anticipated meal of the year.

Thanksgiving is an event, especially if it is home-made.

Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].

Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].

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