You Won't Believe How Cheap It Was To Cook Thanksgiving Dinner In 1960

As a holiday, Thanksgiving has definitely evolved over time. According to Eat This, Not That!, certain traditional dishes aren't as commonplace as they used to be. Ambrosia Salad is one of them. It is a delicious salad filled with fresh fruits and citrus coupled with marshmallows that used to be very popular.

Another vintage pick? Red cabbage. It is especially a good addition to roasts. Another option that works well with roasts? Candied yams, of course. Bonus: They smell especially good during the baking process and can effortlessly add to the holiday spirit.

By the way, it's not just the Thanksgiving dishes that have undergone a transformation. The expenses have shot up, too! According to Self, the average cost of a traditional Thanksgiving meal is much higher than what it was in the 1960s. Wondering how much? Hint: The numbers are guaranteed to make you sit up and take notice.

As per Self, a Thanksgiving meal for 10 was somewhere around $11.65 in 1960. However, this has gone up by 565% over the years for an estimated cost of $77.52 today. Last year, these same costs were believed to be $74.92, which means there has been a 3.5% increase in one year. That said, people are definitely earning more money than they used to several years ago.

But it's hard to deny that the prices of basic ingredients required to prepare a traditional festive dinner are a lot higher than they used to be. For example, while you'd pay $3.06 for turkey in 1960, it's easily priced at $20.80 now. Even something as basic as mac and cheese (here are a few of our favorite recipes!) used to cost around $2.47 but is now approximately $15.74.  

If you're trying to find ways to make Thanksgiving a more affordable celebration, you should attempt to prepare your food at home instead of relying on boxed ingredients (via Yahoo! Finance), though you might be better off buying certain sides from the store. Also, lots of places offer discounts on essential ingredients before the holidays — usually a week before Thanksgiving. And the grocery store chain Aldi is trying to make Thanksgiving affordable. A combination of these hacks and techniques can help you make the best of this now-more expensive celebration.