Cost of Thanksgiving Dinner – Personal Finance Applied Math Consumer Math Lesson

Description

Make personal finance fun and festive with my Cost of Thanksgiving Dinner lesson! Students learn practical consumer math skills while planning and budgeting for a traditional Thanksgiving meal. This engaging, real-world activity challenges them to calculate the total cost of a Thanksgiving meal for six guests using grocery store tags, product labels, and pricing formulas — all while reinforcing critical thinking and smart money management.

Perfect for Personal Finance, Financial Literacy, Applied Math, or Family & Consumer Science classes, this lesson blends consumer math and creativity for a memorable classroom experience.

✅ Perfect for 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades (Middle School thru High School alike).

⭐ Learning Objectives – Students Will Learn To:

• Calculate the cost of a traditional Thanksgiving meal using (included) store tags and product labels.
• Students learn to navigate store shelf tags and product labels to make smart consumer math/consumer spending decisions.
• Use formulas for cost per serving and unit price to make informed consumer decisions.
• Calculate the total cost of Thanksgiving dinner for six guests.
• Apply cost-analysis skills to real-world shopping scenarios.
• End the lesson by designing a creative tablescape for their Thanksgiving dinner.

❤️ Why Teachers Will Love This Lesson

• No Prep Required: Ready-to-use Google Slides file that easily converts to Microsoft PowerPoint.
• Fun, Seasonal, and Engaging: Combines math, economics, and creativity for a lively classroom activity.
• Practical Life Skills: Reinforces budgeting, comparison shopping, and financial decision-making.
• Flexible Use: Great for In Person, Sub Day or Remote Learning. Perfect for a 60-minute class period as part of a holiday-themed financial literacy/applied math/consumer spending unit.
• Teacher’s Key Included: Makes grading quick and easy.

✅ What’s Included

• 21-page interactive Google Slides digital activity (or easily convert to Microsoft PowerPoint)
• Cost per Serving & Unit Price Formula Guide
• Student Reflection
• Teacher’s Key
• Teaching Duration: ~60 minutes

🚀 NO PREP! Saves you time while bringing real-world financial literacy to life — with a holiday twist!

⚠️ Please Note: Students DO NOT need access to shopping website for this activity, All information required is included in the resource file.

This activity is slightly different than my Cost of Christmas Dinner activity.