Celebrity Chef Melissa d'Arabian and Family Dollar Launch "Dollar Dinners For The Holidays" Contest

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Dec. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Family Dollar, one of the fastest-growing discount retail chains in the United States, is encouraging families to celebrate food, festivity and frugality this season with the first-ever Dollar Dinner for the Holidays Contest, launched this month.

With the help of cook and celebrity chef, Melissa d'Arabian, Family Dollar is asking consumers to submit and share their favorite dishes within the following categories: appetizer, entrée, side dish and dessert. Families can easily log onto www.familydollar.com to enter their thrifty recipes by selecting ingredients that can be found at local Family Dollar locations along with a cost range to show off their savings, for a chance to win various entertaining prizes.

Holiday spokesperson for the Company d'Arabian will help select the grand prize winner for Best Entrée, who will be awarded a private entertaining consultation with d'Arabian herself, along with a $500 Family Dollar gift card to put towards his or her next entertaining event.  Secondary winners for Best Appetizer, Side Dish and Dessert will receive a fifty dollar Family Dollar gift card to help with party necessities and essential food ingredients in the New Year. Each entrant will receive exclusive coupons and the opportunity for additional savings, just by submitting their favorite family recipe.  The contest offers a forum for consumers to exchange recipes, share holiday meal tips and find affordable meal solutions at their local Family Dollar.

"Family Dollar provides our customers all of the solutions for a special, yet affordable holiday and the Dollar Dinners For The Holidays contest was our way to encourage family and friends to share their value-friendly holiday gatherings this season," said Don Hamblen, Family Dollar Senior Vice President for Customer Marketing.

The grand prize winner, to be announced in early 2012, will benefit from ringing in the New Year with some tips on how to entertain on a budget without jeopardizing quality from recognized cook and celebrity chef d'Arabian.

A favorite tip of d'Arabian to save while entertaining is to be a bargain hunter during your shopping trips, even looking for deals on those items that aren't typically expensive.  She explains, "Holiday entertaining can be very costly, especially if you're hosting a large group at your home.  Stock up on basic ingredients and essentials like spices for flavoring, containers for storing leftovers and other value-priced items at Family Dollar and put your savings to better use."   

For more tips from d'Arabian and information on Family Dollar's Dollar Dinners for the Holidays Contest please visit www.familydollar.com or check us out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/familydollar or Twitter at @myfamilydollar.

About Family Dollar

For more than 50 years, Family Dollar has been providing value and convenience to customers in easy-to-shop neighborhood locations. Family Dollar's mix of name brands, and quality, private brand merchandise, appeals to shoppers in more than 7,000 stores in rural and urban settings across 45 states.  Helping families save on the items they need with everyday low prices creates a strong bond with customers who refer to their neighborhood store as "my Family Dollar." Headquartered in Matthews, North Carolina, just outside of Charlotte, Family Dollar is a Fortune 300, publicly held company with common stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol FDO. For more information, please visit www.familydollar.com.

Contact:
Joshua Braverman
Family Dollar
704-814-3447
[email protected]

Danielle Dussault
MSL Group
646-500-7685
[email protected]  

SOURCE Family Dollar