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TikTok Video Shows You Can Make a Dollar Tree Thanksgiving Dinner for Just $20

November 27, 2024

A recent TikTok video has gone viral for its heartwarming effort to give people a chance at making a substantial Thanksgiving dinner at home for a modest $20. The video has so far attracted a whopping 1.2 million likes, as well as nearly 8,000 comments — most of these praising the TikToker’s innovative frugality and ability to whip up a hearty holiday feast on a shoestring budget.

How To Make a Thanksgiving Dinner From Dollar Tree for $20

In the video, Dollar Tree Dinners (real name Rebecca Chobat) walked through her local Dollar Tree, grabbing all of the required items from the shelf while also giving the discount retailer kudos for having such a broad selection of Thanksgiving-related goods.

@dollartreedinners
$20 Dollar Tree Thanksgiving Dinner! The ingredients: Swanson Chicken broth $1.25 (Optional ingredient, can be omitted) Kraft Ranch $1.25 Italian seasoned breadcrumbs $1.25 Kraft Mac & Cheese $1.25 Turkey Stuffing Mix $1.25 Idahoan Original Mashed Potatoes (the unflavored big bag) $1.25 Pioneer Roasted turkey Gravy mix $1.25 Dried cranberries $1.25 French style Green Beans (Could also swap for frozen) $1.25 2 cans of turkey $2.50 Milk $1.25 Margarine $1.25 Sugar cookie mix $1.25 Werther’s Chewy Caramel candies $1.25 Apple Pie filling $1.25 Total cost $20 Optional extras to add on if desired: Large casserole dish $1.25 (for making the casserole and easy clean up) A Block of Cheddar cheese (for the mac & cheese balls) $1.25 Extra packet of sugar cookie mix (for the caramel apple cookie bars) $1.25 The menu: Appetizer: Mac & Cheese Croquettes with Ranch for dipping Dinner: “Best of Thanksgiving” Casserole Dessert: Caramel Apple Cookie Bars #dollartreefood #dollartreegroceryhaul #dollartreethanksgiving #thanksgivingonabudget #budgetholidaymeals #howtoeatforcheap #feedafamily
♬ original sound – Dollar Tree Dinners – Dollar Tree Dinners

The items detailed in the video, all priced at $1.25 each, were:

A can of Swanson chicken broth (optional)
A bottle of Kraft classic ranch dressing
A container of Colonna Italian-style bread crumbs
A box of Kraft Mac and Cheese
A box of McTrader stuffing mix
A packet of Idahoan instant mashed potatoes
A packet of Pioneer turkey gravy
A packet of Ocean Spray dried cranberries
A can of Del Monte French-style green beans
Two cans of Harvest Creek diced turkey
Two packets of Pillsbury sugar cookie mix (one optional)
A package of Werther’s Original chewy caramels
A can of Mother’s Maid apple pie filling
A quart of Marcel’s Modern Pantry 2% milk
A block of Imperial margarine
A block of Casa del Sol cheddar cheese (optional)
A Cooking Concepts copper baking tray (optional)

With these in hand, Chobat proceeded to make mac and cheese croquettes, a turkey dinner casserole, and caramel apple cookie bars.

https://www.tiktok.com/@dollartreedinners/video/7440573659586022702?embed_source=121374463%2C121468991%2C121439635%2C121433650%2C121404359%2C121477481%2C121351166%2C121331973%2C120811592%2C120810756%3Bnull%3Bembed_masking&refer=embed&referer_url=abc6onyourside.com%2Fnews%2Foffbeat%2Ftiktok-20-dollar-tree-dinner-goes-viral-ahead-thanksgiving-cincinnati-twenty-dollars-social-media-diet-budget-friendly-options-canned-turkey-offerings-consumer-inflation-families-hunger-chicken-broth-ingredients-list-provided-money-saving-hacks-tech&referer_video_id=7440547071171628334

Response From Fans Unanimous in Praise

With the shopping video attracting over 8.6 million views so far and the preparation videos each racking up several million views on their own, it’s clear that Chobat’s frugal Thanksgiving dinner videos have garnered a massive audience. Praise rolled in from most commenters, most notably from fellow content creator Caleb Cooks, as ABC 6 reported.

Stating he’d seen a single mother with three children in tow picking up the items Chobat had promoted in her Dollar Tree Thanksgiving video, Caleb Cooks delivered a simple but heartwarming message to Chobat.

“I want her to know that her videos are helping people,” Caleb Cooks said.

For her part, Chobat responded to Caleb Cooks’ praise with modesty and appreciation.

“I don’t have the words to describe how I’m feeling today. I think the closest I can come to is that I’m humbled, and I am honored although I don’t really think that fully encapsulates it,” Chobat said.

“Thank you, Caleb, for posting your story about a single mom at Dollar Tree who was there shopping my Dollar Tree Thanksgiving dinner, and how it was how she was going to be able to provide Thanksgiving dinner for her family this year,” she added.

With money being a cause of great stress for 45% of Americans at the moment, per Forbes, it’s clear that even the small things — like an affordable and hearty Thanksgiving dinner — are important to share.