家常便饭取代了豪华大餐；宅在家里取代了飞机出游；还有一些人连火鸡都打算省了。在经济危机笼罩下的第四个感恩节，什么都在涨，一些美国人计划省着过节。然而对许多家庭而言，这个节日可不能被省掉。

Some are holding potluck（百乐餐） dinners instead of springing for the entire feast. Others are staying home rather than flying. And a few are skipping the turkey altogether.

On this the fourth Thanksgiving since the economy sank, prices for everything from airline flights to groceries are going up, and some Americans are scaling back. Yet in many households, the occasion is too important to skimp¹（节省） on. Said one mother: "I don't have much to give, but I'll be cooking, and the door will be open."

Thanksgiving airfares are up 20 percent this year, and the average price of a gallon of gas has risen almost 20 percent, according to travel tracker AAA. Still, about 42.5 million people are expected to travel, the highest number since the start of the recession.

But even those who choose to stay home and cook for themselves will probably spend more. A 16-pound turkey and all the trimmings（香肠原料肉） will cost an average of $49.20, a 13 percent jump from last year, or about $5.73 more, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation², which says grocers have raised prices to keep pace with higher-priced commodities.

In Pawtucket, R.I., Jackie Galinis was among those looking for help to put a proper meal on the table. She stopped at a community center this week seeking a donated food basket. But by the time she arrived, all 300 turkeys had been claimed.

So Galinis, an unemployed³ retail⁴ worker, will make do with what's in her apartment. "We'll have to eat whatever I've got, so I'm thinking chicken," she said.

Then her eyes lit up. "Actually, I think I've got red meat in the freezer, some corned beef. We could do a boiled dinner."

Galinis has another reason to clear out her apartment's freezer: Her landlord is in the process of evicting⁵ her and her 3-year-old son. The unemployment rate in Pawtucket, a city struggling with the loss of manufacturing jobs, is 12.1 percent, well above the national average.

Carole Goldsmith of Fresno, Calif., decided⁶ she didn't need to have a feast, even if she could still afford it.

Goldsmith, an administrator⁷ at a community college in Coalinga, Calif., said she typically hosts an "over-the-top meal" for friends and family. This year, she canceled the meal and donated a dozen turkeys to two homeless shelters. She plans to spend Thursday volunteering before holding a small celebration Friday with soup, bread "and lots of gratitude⁸."

"I think everybody is OK with it," she said. "They understand. Everybody is in a different place than they were a year ago."