by Heather D. Reese

Now I love Thanksgiving and Christmas like the rest of the world... but I really love it in a frugal shopper way too! Grocery shopping and coupons make this the "happiest time of the year" (to the tune of Christmas music)

The first reminder that this wonderful time is approaching is when coupons for the necessity of my pantry start show up in mid October and it just gets better from there...

$3 off turkey, $1 off sugar or flour and more... you can stock your pantry and freezer for pennies on the dollar!

Here are the tips of the trade for holiday food shopping

Start with your newspaper- Keep all the coupons and the grocery coupon ads.

Match the coupons to the advertised sale prices. Remember to look for other specials like spend $25 and get a free turkey. If you have room in your freezer do this as many times as you have room for the turkeys... they keep for months in the freezer and think of all the meals you can make with a whole turkey!

This is the time to stock up.Good deals can be found and created on canned vegetables, gravy, milk, soup and more!. Look at the expiration dates on the items and buy as much as you have coupons and room for. Packaged meal products like stove top stuffing (.79 a box at Target right now and there are .50 coupons out there making it .29 a box) and instant potatoes and rice are offered at great sale prices and companies are issuing coupons for all these products. If you are a semi-homemade kind of cook then this is the best time to really stock up your pantry. Other deals you'll find are on things like frozen pies ( I normally can find these for $1.99 and then I use a $1 off coupon at a store that doubles and it's free) and canned broth. Even bottled water and soda are offered at a great savings... maybe not super bowl savings amounts... but that will be here soon enough!