Campaigning for President, Donald Trump promised to end inflation and lower prices on necessities. In a lead-up to Thanksgiving, he announced that he had succeeded and that the proof was that the 2025 Walmart Thanksgiving dinner basket was 3% cheaper than the last year of the Biden administration. Trump claimed turkeys, dinner rolls, frozen vegetables, stuffing, gravy mix, fresh cranberries, and pumpkin pies all cost less.
Comparing the 2024 and 2025 Walmart Thanksgiving meals suggests that Trump might have declared victory over inflation too hastily. Walmart’s 2024 Thanksgiving basket featured 29 items and served eight people for $55. The 2025 basket only includes 22 items and is supposed to serve ten people for $40, but it is probably dieters because the portions are significantly smaller. In 2024, the Walmart basket included a 16 pound turkey for $0.88 a pound or about $14. The 2025 turkey is cheaper at $13, but it is only 13.5 pounds which means it feeds fewer people and costs $0.97 a pound.
The 2024 basket included a pecan pie and ingredients to bake your own pumpkin pie, but the 2025 basket eliminated the pecan pie. The 2024 basket included russet potatoes and sweet potatoes, but there are no sweet potatoes in 2025. The number of 10.5 oz. cans of Campbells Cream of Mushroom Soup used for making the stuffing dropped from 2 cans to one can. Miniature marshmallows, corn muffin mix, onions, celery, and cranberry sauce are also gone from the 2025 basket, however it does include fresh cranberries if you plan to make your own sauce.
We don’t know the cost of the White House or Mar-a-Lago Thanksgiving dinner or where Donald Trump will be eating. On Facebook people complained that in the past you got a chintzy Thanksgiving dinner for $300 a plate at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
In case you don’t want a Walmart Thanksgiving, these New York City restaurants offer a special Thanksgiving meal and some will deliver. In Manhattan, Citarella has a turkey feast with all the extras for four people for $75 each. A meal for eight will cost $500. At Hard Rock Café a Thanksgiving dinner for ten costs $400 but deserts are extra. Carmine’s has a 16-pound turkey for $150 but everything else is extra. Golden Corral offers a Thanksgiving buffet for $15 per adult. As a turkey-less option you can get Donald Trump’s favorite dinner, 10 McDonald’s Happy meals for about $80.
