This holiday season, many Stateline shoppers are thinking as much about the dinging of cash registers, as they are the ringing of Santa's sleigh. So when it comes to buying ingredients for this week's Thanksgiving feast, less is more.

"I'm just trying shop as cheap as I can this year because I don't have that much money, I'm laid off," says Thanksgiving dinner shopper Anthony Golden.

Fellow shopper Pat Marino adds, "You have to shop for the best bargains today."

That's becoming easier this year, since grocery stores are adjusting prices to match shoppers' tight budgets. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, the average Thanksgiving meal, from turkey to pie, will cost a family of ten just under 43 dollars. That's a decrease of $1.70 from last year.

Turkeys are down 44 cents to $18.65 on average and you can knock off a nickel for cranberries. A fresh batch is now down to an average $2.41.

Since many people are shopping less right now, it's important for grocery stores to make a profit during the holidays. So local markets like Valli Produce in Loves Park are enticing shoppers with a variety of sales.

"We have a special on our turkeys right now. You spend $30 or more and you get 59 cents a pound for a turkey," says Valli Produce Supervisor Pam Manning.

In another cost-saving move, shoppers say pot luck dinners are the way to go.

Marino says, "Years ago I never did that, you know I did everything and didn't want anybody to bring anything. But now everybody helps."

And that family unity runs far deeper than the bottom line.

"The heart and soul and getting family back together during the hardships is something you really want to concentrate on at this time," says Thanksgiving shopper David Morgan.

Golden adds, "We all get together and as long as everybody got something to eat it makes me feel fine."

Families we spoke to also plan to cut back their Christmas shopping. One woman said she's spending half what she normally does, another couple plans to buy presents late using after-Christmas sales.