Walmart announced its 2026 Holiday Meal Basket on October 28: 26 items that Walmart says feed 10 people for $35, or $3.50 per person, sold in stores and as a one-click basket online through December 24. Walmart's own footnotes narrow that figure — the $35 covers the featured item prices only, additional fees of $0 to $19.95 may apply, and the price is not valid in Alaska, Hawaii, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico or Wisconsin.
- Status
- Available nowConfirmed by the company
- Brand
- Walmart
- Launch
- Prices valid October 28-December 24, 2026 (Oct 28, 2026)
- Last day
- available now through December 24, 2026 (Dec 24, 2026)
- Where
- US - Walmart stores nationwide, Online one-click basket at Walmart.com/HolidaySavingsBasket, Price not valid in AK, HI, OK, PR and WI
- Retailers
- Walmart
- Run
- Limited time
- Price
- $35 for 10 people; Walmart puts it at $3.50 per person — Walmart's own figure. Covers featured item prices only; additional fees of $0-$19.95 may apply; not valid in AK, HI, OK, PR or WI
- Size
- 26 items, including 17 unique products
- Walmart announced the basket on October 28, 2026: 26 items, including 17 unique products, for $35 — Walmart's own figure of $3.50 per person
- Prices are valid October 28 through December 24, 2026, so this promotion carries a published end date rather than running until stock goes
- The exclusion most coverage leaves out is in Walmart's own footnote: the price is not valid in AK, HI, OK, PR and WI
- The same footnote says the listed price covers featured item prices only, and that additional fees of $0-$19.95 may apply
- The turkey is a frozen Butterball at 97 cents per pound, the same price Walmart listed last year; the listing gives 10-16 lbs., serving 7-11
- Free Express Delivery on the basket runs through November 30, 2026 with promo code THANKFUL, a $35 minimum, and an order that includes Campbell's mushroom soup, Butterball turkey or Stove Top stuffing
- Walmart says the basket holds 18% more food items than last year's and costs 12% less for the same items, and calls it the lowest priced one-click basket in the program's history
- Walmart published no per-item price list beyond the turkey, so the $35 total is the only figure Walmart itself puts on the full basket
What it is
Walmart's Holiday Meal Basket is a pre-assembled holiday grocery list rather than a prepared meal: 26 items, 17 of them unique products, that a shopper can add to a cart in one click online or find marked in store. Walmart has run the program since at least 2022 and says it has saved customers more than $350 million over that period.
This year's version is built around a frozen Butterball whole turkey held at 97 cents per pound, with the rest split between national brands — Stove Top, Jet-Puffed, JIFFY, Campbell's — and Walmart's own Great Value line for the sides, the pie components and the rolls. Fresh cranberries, russet potatoes and sweet potatoes round it out.
The structured facts are the useful part: a stated price, a stated start, a stated end, a named turkey price, and a set of excluded markets. Walmart published all five itself, which is unusual for a grocery promotion and is why this page can state them rather than estimate them.
Why it’s getting attention
Holiday basket pricing is the one grocery number that gets compared across retailers every November, and Walmart says this year's is the lowest priced one-click basket in the program's history — 18% more items at 12% less for the same goods, by Walmart's own arithmetic. Grocery Dive reported that several grocers have announced Thanksgiving bundles under $40 this year, which puts Walmart's $35 in a crowded field rather than out in front of it.
The part that travels less well than the $35 is the fine print. Walmart's footnote excludes five markets from the offer and allows fees of up to $19.95 on top, and the free-delivery window closes almost four weeks before the basket pricing does.
What Walmart announced
Walmart published the 2026 Holiday Meal Basket from Bentonville on October 28, 2026. The release describes it as a complete holiday meal for 10 people at $35, which Walmart converts to $3.50 per person, sold both in stores and as a single online basket at Walmart.com/HolidaySavingsBasket.
Walmart puts the count at 26 items, made up of 17 unique products — the difference being quantities of the same item rather than 26 different things. Walmart calls it the lowest priced one-click basket in the program's history.
What is in the basket
Walmart names the contents in its release. The centrepiece is a Butterball frozen whole turkey, listed at 97 cents per pound in a 10-16 lb. size that Walmart says serves 7-11.
Around it: Stove Top stuffing mix, fresh cranberries, fresh russet potatoes, fresh sweet potatoes, Jet-Puffed mini marshmallows, JIFFY corn muffin mix and Campbell's condensed cream of mushroom soup. The Walmart-brand half of the basket is Great Value golden sweet corn, cut green beans, French fried onions, brown gravy mix, frozen pie crusts, whipped topping, 100% pure pumpkin, evaporated milk, and brown and serve rolls.
Walmart also points shoppers to recipes at Walmart.com/HolidayFood.
What the $35 does and does not cover
The $35 is Walmart's own number, and Walmart qualifies it in the footnotes rather than the headline. Footnote 1 says the listed price covers featured item prices only, that additional fees of $0 to $19.95 may apply, that prices are valid October 28 to December 24, 2026, and that the offer excludes AK, HI, OK, PR and WI.
That last line is the part worth carrying forward: in those five markets the $35 figure does not apply, and Walmart does not publish what the basket costs there instead. Walmart's per-person figure of $3.50 also rests on an assumption it states — footnote 1 uses an average turkey weight of 13.5 lbs.
Beyond the turkey's 97 cents per pound, Walmart published no per-item prices, so there is no way to rebuild the $35 from Walmart's own figures.
The dates, including the one that comes first
Two deadlines run on different clocks. The basket's prices are valid through December 24, 2026, which is the date the page will be checked against.
The earlier one is delivery. Walmart is offering free Express Delivery on the meal basket through November 30, 2026, and footnote 4 sets out the terms: promo code THANKFUL, a $35 minimum, and an order that must include Campbell's mushroom soup, Butterball turkey or Stove Top stuffing mix. It does not apply to alcohol or prescription purchases, and Walmart notes the offer is subject to change or expiry without notice.
So a shopper buying in December still gets the $35 basket pricing but not the free delivery.
How it compares with last year, in Walmart's terms
Walmart frames the 2026 basket against the 2025 one two ways: 18% more food items, and 12% less for the same items. Both are Walmart's own calculations. The Butterball turkey is held at 97 cents per pound, the same figure Walmart published last year.
Grocery Dive, reporting on the announcement on October 29, said 96% of the basket's items carry temporary price rollbacks — a detail Walmart's release does not state, and one that matters because a rollback is by definition temporary. Grocery Dive also noted that several grocers have announced Thanksgiving bundles under $40 this year, without putting figures to them.
Common questions
- How much is Walmart's 2026 Holiday Meal Basket?
- Walmart prices it at $35 for 10 people, which Walmart states as $3.50 per person. Walmart's footnote adds that the figure covers featured item prices only and that additional fees of $0 to $19.95 may apply.
- When does the Walmart holiday meal basket end?
- Walmart says prices are valid October 28 through December 24, 2026. The free Express Delivery offer on the basket ends earlier, on November 30, 2026.
- Is the $35 price available everywhere?
- No. Walmart's own footnote excludes AK, HI, OK, PR and WI from the offer. Walmart does not publish an alternative price for those markets.
- How many items are in it?
- Walmart puts it at 26 items made up of 17 unique products, and says that is 18% more food items than last year's basket.
- What is the turkey, and what does it cost?
- A Butterball frozen whole turkey at 97 cents per pound — the same per-pound price Walmart listed last year. The listing gives a 10-16 lb. range serving 7-11, and Walmart's per-person maths assumes a 13.5 lb. average.
- How do I get the free delivery?
- Walmart's footnote 4 gives the terms: promo code THANKFUL, a $35 minimum, and an order that includes Campbell's mushroom soup, Butterball turkey or Stove Top stuffing mix. It excludes alcohol and prescription purchases and ends November 30, 2026.
Sources
Walmart · Press release · checked Nov 10, 2026
- The 2026 Holiday Meal Basket is $35 for 10 people, or $3.50 per person
- The basket holds 26 items, including 17 unique products
- Prices are valid October 28 through December 24, 2026
- The price covers featured item prices only and additional fees of $0-$19.95 may apply
- The price is not valid in AK, HI, OK, PR and WI
- Free Express Delivery on the basket runs through November 30, 2026 with promo code THANKFUL
- The Butterball frozen whole turkey is 97 cents per pound
- The basket has 18% more food items than last year and costs 12% less for the same items
- Walmart dishes up holiday meal dealReputable
Grocery Dive · News · checked Nov 10, 2026
- Grocery Dive reports 96% of the basket's items carry temporary price rollbacks
- Several grocers have announced Thanksgiving bundles under $40 this year