Hosting Thanksgiving can be stressful, expensive and time-consuming for hosts, though most of them think it's worth it.

Hosts will entertain an average of 11 dinner guests, spend an average of $251.11 on the meal, and buy an average of $83.23 worth of housewares like dishes, serving ware and decorations, according to LendingTree's 2018 Thanksgiving Survey. On top of that, the survey found that Americans will take an average of 1.8 days off work to host Thanksgiving, resulting in an average of $587.62 in lost wages.

Although hosting Thanksgiving dinner means extra responsibilities, the survey found only 18 percent of hosts are very stressed about it; meanwhile, nearly half of respondents (46%) showed no signs of being stressed at all. And despite the stress and financial strain, 76 percent say they love to host Thanksgiving dinner.

Among the most significant takeaways are the following:

• With an average of 11 dinner guests, Americans will spend on average of $334 to host Thanksgiving, or about $31 per guest.
• More than one in four hosts (28%) say this Thanksgiving will be a financial strain.
• 42% will take time off of work to prepare; of those taking time off, 56% will give up an average of $588 in pay to do so.
• 28% will charge credit cards or borrow money to pay for Thanksgiving, and over one third don't expect to pay it off right away.
• One in four hosts wish they had more help around the holiday, while one in ten wishes someone else was hosting the dinner altogether. Over one-half say they have stress around the holiday.
• Despite the stress and financial strain, 76% say they love to host Thanksgiving dinner.

There are ways to reduce the expense:

• Make it a potluck dinner.Asking guests to bring a dish could reduce costs and effort for hosts. Or, ask guests to bring beverages, like their favorite wine and spirits, a significant portion of overall dinner expenses.
• Create a realistic budget. It's important to know how much money is available to spend before spending any, especially with additional holiday expenses in the weeks ahead. LendingTree's Thanksgiving survey showed that most Americans aren't budgeting properly this holiday season:
  • only 24% have a strict budget for holiday spending.
  • 55% have a general idea of their budget.
  • 21% had no budget in mind at all.
• Stick to your grocery list. It can be tempting to buy all the treats you see displayed on the shelves, but if there is a clear list of what is needed, unnecessary expenses can be avoided.
• Buy generic and use coupons. Chances are, no one will notice generic-brand cranberry sauce at the store. Even fewer will fault the use of coupons or modifying the menu to take advantage of sales.
• Pay your bills early. Many Thanksgiving hosts (around 28%) plan to use a credit card to pay for dinner-related expenses, with 64 percent planning to pay it off in about a month and another 20 percent within two months. One approach is to pay the bills before doing holiday shopping (or put something toward the bills early on),  to not only alleviate stress, and avoid paying unnecessary interest fees.
• Consolidate your debt after the holidays. While it’s better to avoid going deep into debt in the first place, it's not uncommon to overspend during the holidays. Depending on the financial situation of the person, it may make sense to explore debt consolidation options. This can help pay off debt sooner by potentially reducing interest expense.