Grocery Sale Almanac: what to expect in November & December

Looking for the January through March 2011 edition of Grocery Almanac?  It’s here!

The “real world” is heading into the new season of winter, so that means it’s a new season for grocery store sales, too!  Here’s what we’ve seen in the past and will likely see in the future in the sales at our local grocery stores:

November and December traditionally see sales on items that people use a lot of during the holidays, such as:

• Baking mixes and frosting
• Sugar, flour, spices
• Chocolate chips
• Oil and butter
• Cream cheese
• Turkey and ham
• Stuffing
• Crackers and chips
• Canned soup
• Batteries

The actual holiday week sales tend to be somewhat lacking in rock-bottom deals.  There are usually good prices on turkeys and hams, but things like stuffing and butter are usually cheaper in the sales leading up to the holiday week.  So, if you see a good deal on somethng you’ll need for Thanksgiving dinner in the next couple of weeks, I would buy it rather than advising a “wait and see”.

Last year it also seemed like there were turkey coupons in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, but about a week before they all disappeared from the websites, so if you see a turkey coupon, I would print it now!  (There’s one for Butterball here and here, and we should get one in the November 7th inserts.)

Something we don’t often see sales on is pie filling, which is somewhat surprising considering how many pies are made at the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays!  So, I wouldn’t expect any amazing sales on pie filling – if you see it reduced even by 25%, I would probably consider that a deal.

Last year we saw chocolate chips for $0.49 per bag, five-pound bags of flour for $1.00, free cookie mixes, and brownie and cake mixes for $0.50.  Yes, lots of sweet stuff!

Related:

How the grocery rating system works

You can usually get great deals on canned soup in November through about February.  If you eat a lot of canned soup, I would start stocking up on deals even rated a “4” starting in January, as sales won’t be as frequent as we approach the end of winter.

Safeway is often a hot store to shop at in November and December, as they often do a catalina deal where you buy $25 of products and earn a coupon for $5-10 off your next order.  Here’s hoping they do it this year!

Well, there’s your Grocery Almanac!  What types of things do you plan on stocking up on at this time of year?