What time do you start Thanksgiving dinner?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Meal is at noon (or 1 pm at the absolute latest). Second meal/leftovers around 6 or 7 pm.

I'll never understand the crowd that serves the holiday meal at 2 or 3 or 4. If you don't eat at that time of day on a normal day, why do you want to eat at that time on a holiday?

Because a holiday is not a normal day. Especially a holiday that 100% revolves around sharing food with family and friends.

We have breakfast at 8 or 9, nothing too heavy. Then light snacks and appetizers between 11-1. By 3 or 4, we're ready for a real meal. Then we have time to clean up, walk around the neighborhood, let dinner settle a bit, then have dessert and maybe some leftovers as a late night snack over a card game.

But not all families are together the entire day. Some come just for the meal and dessert. So eating at two is very odd. It throws off everybody’s day.

[Anonymous]

Cousin is hosting. We'll probably arrive around 4ish for apps. Tradition is kids will finish making the homemade dinner rolls and those will be baked.

Dinner around 6ish, plus a half hour. At this point, there were plenty of apps, plenty of drinks, so no one is too worried about dinner time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Meal is at noon (or 1 pm at the absolute latest). Second meal/leftovers around 6 or 7 pm.

I'll never understand the crowd that serves the holiday meal at 2 or 3 or 4. If you don't eat at that time of day on a normal day, why do you want to eat at that time on a holiday?

Because a holiday is not a normal day. Especially a holiday that 100% revolves around sharing food with family and friends.

We have breakfast at 8 or 9, nothing too heavy. Then light snacks and appetizers between 11-1. By 3 or 4, we're ready for a real meal. Then we have time to clean up, walk around the neighborhood, let dinner settle a bit, then have dessert and maybe some leftovers as a late night snack over a card game.

But not all families are together the entire day. Some come just for the meal and dessert. So eating at two is very odd. It throws off everybody’s day.

If the timing doesn't work for your family, that's fine, eat at whatever time does work for your group.

My whole extended family likes the mid afternoon timing, so that's what we do. We actually used to eat later, like 7pm, but have gradually moved it up over the years and everyone is happy with our current schedule.

There's no right or wrong here.