The 5 Best Costco Buys for Thanksgiving Dinner

If you're hosting for Thanksgiving, now's the time to start gathering your favorite recipes and stocking your kitchen with all the items you'll need to pull off an amazing meal. While you could run up a tab on your grocery credit card to load up on Thanksgiving dinner staples, you may want to try Costco first. Here are a few low-cost items to consider picking up.

1. Ocean Spray Craisins

Whether you're using them as a salad garnish or as part of a side dish, dried cranberries fit into a host of Thanksgiving dishes. Right now, Costco is selling a 64-ounce bag of Ocean Spray Craisins for $9.99 online (your price might be lower at your local Costco store). At just $0.16 an ounce, you won't have to feel guilty about snacking on some during your Thanksgiving Day prep.

2. Idahoan Real Premium Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes are generally considered to be a staple item at Thanksgiving dinner. But let's face it -- unless you have a really awesome recipe or use a boatload of butter, there's a good chance you're going to end up with a heaping pile of leftovers. As such, why not go the instant mashed potato route and save yourself the hassle? Costco is selling a 3.25-pound box of Idahoan mashed potatoes for $10.99 online. It's gluten free and has enough product for a whopping 65 servings.

3. Del Monte Canned Corn

Is your famous sweet corn casserole the highlight of your Thanksgiving meal? You can buy a 12-pack of Del Monte brand canned corn for $12.99 online at Costco, or check out your local warehouse club for what's likely to be even more savings. In fact, this item is only available on Costco.com for two-day delivery, which means you'll need to meet an order minimum of $75 to avoid a shipping charge.

4. Dixie Ultra 10-1/16" Paper Plates

Nobody who hosts Thanksgiving wants to spend the next bunch of hours afterward washing dishes. So even if you're someone who's normally environmentally conscious, you may decide that Thanksgiving dinner is going to be served on paper. If so, now's a good time to scoop up a pack of 186 Dixie plates.

They're high in quality, so you can pile on the food without them leaking or caving in on you. At a price of $20.49, you're looking at just $0.11 per plate -- though once again, this item happens to fall into the two-day delivery category if you're ordering it online.

5. Swanson Chicken Broth

You may need chicken broth as a base for a number of your Thanksgiving side dishes, from stuffing to sweet potato souffle. Costco is selling a 12-pack of Swanson chicken broth for $7.99 online as part of its two-day delivery program. This particular broth has 33% less sodium than Swanson's regular chicken broth, so it may be a good bet if you have people coming for dinner who need to be mindful of their salt intake.

Whether you're excited to make Thanksgiving dinner or are growing increasingly stressed about it by the day, Costco has great prices on a host of staple items you might need to pull off the big event. It pays to head over to your local store this week to see what's in stock (and how much cash you could save). Or, order your staples online, but do so quickly to make sure you don't run into issues with shipping delays.