Though Black Friday is notorious for starting the Christmas spending season, another day may have consumers in Louisiana reaching for their wallets — Thanksgiving.While an American Farm Bureau Federation survey indicates the price for a traditional Thanksgiving feast decreased since 2008, estimates suggest the national average for preparing Thanksgiving dinner will be $42.91 — a price Jeanette Tucker, human ecology professor, said can sometimes be higher in Louisiana. Tucker has been working with the AFBF for more than five years to conduct the Louisiana portion of the survey. “Typically, the cost of food in Louisiana — particularly in Baton Rouge — is less than the national average,” Tucker said. “[But] the market basket that we’re collecting data on is the traditional Thanksgiving dinner and not the Louisiana Thanksgiving dinner.”Louisiana Thanksgiving dinners are often more “bountiful” feasts, which Tucker said sometimes includes gumbo and oyster-laden stuffing.More than 200 shoppers in 30 states work with the AFBF to compile an informal survey of the prices of a traditional Thanksgiving meal for 10 people, including a 16-pound turkey, three pounds of sweet potatoes, fresh cranberries and pumpkin pie mix, according Stefphanie Gambrell, domestic policy economist for the AFBF.The national average cost for a 10-person meal is down from $44.61 in 2008, according to AFBF’s Web site. The 2009 national average is higher than the 2007 average, which saw one of the highest increases since the survey’s beginning. And the 2009 numbers mark the largest year-to-year price decrease seen in this survey since before 2000, Gambrell said.  The stores surveyed in Louisiana included national big-brand discount stores, national chains and independent grocers, Tucker said. The total price is based on the lowest-priced Thanksgiving items, not including sale prices.”Whenever our shoppers do the survey, we don’t have them use any coupon prices,” Gambrell said. “There’s still a definite possibility for prices to be even lower … Whenever you’re preparing the meal yourself, you putting the labor into it just save a lot of money.”Traditional Louisiana Thanks -giving feasts also includes potluck dinners which typically feature each family member or attendee bringing a couple of dishes to Thanksgiving dinner, which Tucker said can also significantly decrease the cost per person.—————Contact Lindsey Meaux at [email protected]