With Thanksgiving coming up next week and Christmas just around the corner, grocery stores are going out of their way to make sure that you set your holiday table from their shelves. That means steep discounts on everything from candied yams to figgy pudding.

Well maybe not figgy pudding, but they are baiting shoppers with loss-leading deals on turkeys, stuffing, green beans and everything else associated with these fall meals.

Supermarkets make these foods cheap in order to get shoppers through the door to buy higher-priced goods like wine and produce (which typically isn’t marked down as much as boxed good), as well as build brand loyalty with customers.

So take advantage of these offers to stock up in a major way on all of these non-perishable and frozen food items to feast for many months to come.

Recognize though that timing is also important. Most of the low prices hold up until the day of the holiday, and while you might expect them to drastically fall after that, you would often be wrong. It’s very common for stores to immediately raise prices on traditional holiday foods to their normal levels right after the holiday has passed. On other items, they may lower them to clear inventory.

So the best strategy involves clearing room in your pantry and freezer, checking the sales circulars coming out this week and shopping both before and after the holiday to take advantage of every deal on the table.

Just remember that it’s not a deal if you don’t like the food, or keep it so long that it spoils. Even canned goods have an expiration date. Stock up on things you would get even if they weren’t on sale, and you’ll be a happy holiday shopper.

Last warning; don’t pull out the plastic to buy in bulk unless you can pay off the balance at the end of the month. Paying interest on food is a bad way to get out of debt.