Thanksgiving Numbers; Turkey, Inflation, Treadmills and Politics

Montanans, as well as millions of other Americans, will be celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday on November 24, but behind all the turkey, cranberries, and stuffing, there are a vast number of statistics swirling around the holiday.

The financial website WalletHub and analyst Jill Gonzalez shared some fascinating numbers about what happens in the average American home on Thanksgiving.

Big Numbers for a Big Thanksgiving Celebration

“The average person’s spending over the five-day Thanksgiving period is around $301,” began Gonzalez. “So collectively, that's about $835 million which is the estimated amount Americans spend just on Thanksgiving turkeys each year and that's about 46 million turkeys. We're also seeing a lot of money spent on cooking those turkeys, and about $26 million just in the amount of property loss caused by residential building fires each Thanksgiving."

After your Post-Meal Nap, it's Time to Hit the Treadmill

We all know what happens with Thanksgiving dinner, with turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, dressing, and pumpkin pie, massive calories are consumed. Gonzalez even estimated how long it will take for the average person to work off all those calories.

“The average number of calories consumed on Thanksgiving per person is around 4,500, and that's 8.3 billion just from the turkey alone,” she said. “So if you are an average male in the U.S. to burn off 4,500 calories, you would need to spend nine hours and 27 minutes on a treadmill.”

To Avoid Heartburn, Don't Serve up Politics at Thanksgiving

Many who don’t have family nearby will gather with friends for Thanksgiving, but Gonzalez said most will be very careful to steer the conversation away from whatever might cause the most heartburn; politics.

“A lot of different people whether you're going to your family, or this year about 50 percent of people plan to attend a ‘Friendsgiving’ gathering,” she said. “But even more than that, 66 percent of people, that’s about two-thirds, are planning to celebrate Thanksgiving trying to avoid having to talk about politics.”

Gonzalez wrapped up the conversation by urging KGVO listeners and website readers to make Thanksgiving pleasant for everyone.

"Thanksgiving itself is actually going to cost a little bit more money whether you're traveling getting gas buying flip sides, even the food itself has gotten more expensive lately with function. So if you are doing a Friendsgiving make sure that you're not stuck doing all the cooking try to make it a potluck situation so that everyone can kind of chip in here. Certain things are more expensive than others. But of course, it comes down to being around your friends and family and what you're thankful for."

Click here to see the full WalletHub report on Thanksgiving around the USA.