At HuffPost Good News, it's our job to make you happy. And with all the good spirits floating around at this time of the year, our holiday bag of tricks usually includes a slew of stories highlighting good deeds and random acts of kindness.
But this year, we decided to also include a story that leans slightly in the other direction -- we wanted to remind you (and ourselves!) just how easy it is to help a family that doesn't have the same comforts as the rest of us.
We often forget how much of a difference giving up even the smallest of indulgences can make. A $25 mani-pedi can seem like a necessary holiday luxury, but giving it up will mean 32 servings of stuffing for somebody else.
A $14.99 album on iTunes = one tablecloth
A $4 flavored latte = 5 cans of corn or cut green beans = 17 servings
A $25 blowout = nine 16-oz cans of cranberry sauce = 54 servings
A $45 pair of shoes = two 16-lb turkeys = 24 servings
A $25 manicure/pedicure = eight 25.8-oz boxes of stuffing mix = 32 servings
A $10 movie ticket = three 26.2-oz boxes of mashed potatoes = 102 servings
A $10 takeout lunch = five 15-oz cans of pumpkin pie filling = five pies
An $8 beer = one 27.8-oz container of ground coffee = 240 cups
One $5 magazine = two rolls of paper towels
An average cab ride in New York City* = one warm, snuggly blanket
We hope you all have a happy, healthy Thanksgiving!
*NYC cab ride was estimated from Penn Station to the World Trade Center.
Editor's Note: Costs were estimated based on Walmart.com prices.