It was wonderful being with family but a drag to spend 5 hours on the road both for Thanksgiving and Christmas. One year we had them all up to our place and getting up early and doing all the cooking and hosting was infinitely more pleasurable than the driving.

When gathering as a family, we usually would aim for about 2 PM and eat closer to 3 by the time we had everything on the table - to accommodate those driving some distance and not wanting to be on the freeway late at night (and Mom had quit freeway driving altogether years ago). None of us had lived in the same city as my mother or same city with each other since the 70's.

DH drove so many holidays to try to make sure my mother had a good day, he's asked to stay home this year now that she's gone - and we are. He expects the rest of my family to conduct themselves as adults and consider his feelings 😁 We'll see. I haven't heard of any hurt feelings at least....

He has lots of family locally and we'll do some visiting over the next three or so days but we're eating here and I'm planning all his favorites. He's said he'd like to eat before the Seahawks game begins 5:15 - turkey and football in his own home is the treat he'd like to have.

Dinner, for me is 12pm, noon. Supper is a light meal at 5 to 6 pm. Lunch is something ate in the middle of the day, while at work. Sunday dinner, Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas dinner, and Easter dinner, were at noon. It was extended to 1 pm for time to get home from church if needed.

Now, whenever!

ETA: I get a shock at the English novels and shows having the main meal at 8pm! I am usually ready for bed, not eating at that time.

It varies depending on my kids and their schedules. This year DD has to work Friday so she would rather we eat earlier because she has to drive back to her place. One of the boys is hoping to visit his in-laws so that they can see his wife's siblings. Then we have various nap times to consider. I would prefer 5:30 / 6:00. This year it will be 3:00.

But as long as we can be together the time isn't important.

I always want to eat by 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. . It usually ends up being around 5:00 p.m. as per everybody else's schedule. I am not a late afternoon or evening eater on most days and my main meal is breakfast usually. I'm okay with 5:00 p.m. .

Ours will be earlier this year as my son and his gf have to drive back to CT on Thanksgiving for work on Friday. Aiming for 1 pm.

My SIL hosted for many years and it was always around 2:00, so now that I’m hosting I just automatically go with the same time. That way, we have breakfast, then usually I put out some nibbles around 1:00, and have the big meal around 2-3. That way, I can get my dad back to his place before it gets late. And we all end up sneaking more pie before bedtime.

We’re going to friends’ lake cabin and they plan to serve around 6pm.

Because the best part of Thanksgiving is the turkey sandwich at 8:00 pm, we eat at 1:00.

For many years I had a regular Mon-Fri job and ran a business that I worked every Saturday and Sunday. The business was closed 7 weekends a year (New Years, Easter, Mother's Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I didn't live near family and usually it was just my husband and I celebrating Thanksgiving. During those years I cooked Thanksgiving dinner while working from home on Wednesday. We ate Thanksgiving Dinner around 6 Wednesday night. Then I went to the mall and shopped all the Black Friday sales while the mall was virtually empty.

I wanted 4 days off in a row and didn't want to spend one of them cooking.

Now I live alone, but close to my siblings. I eat at whatever time the one who invited me to their home is serving dinner.

Usually 2:00 ish. i think oeople do this because Thanksgiving is such a large/heavy meal and most would not eat both lunch and dinner. i personally do not like to eat a big meal like that in the evening. YMMV

We are eating at 4 p.m. Have to be finished before the big game starts!

Our normal dinnertime is at 8, or 7:00 at the earliest. Thanksgiving has generally been at 3 PM, or 2:00 at the earliest.

I will leave the building if a big game is on the TV - the noise of it irritates me no end. I have no idea who will be playing, and I certainly do not care who wins - it has nothing to do with me.

We eat at holidays around 2-3pm. Why the odd time? #1To DECREASE the number of MEALS the worn out cook has to make! I am quite surprised by those who don't intuitively get that. We won't have a TON of cooking to do. I prefer to prep what I can and enjoy my company. Cranberries-two kinds/stuffing/mashed potato casserole/ gravy/pies all done. DH/DS grill/smoke our bird. I have to have my stuffing STUFFING not dressing so that was cooked in a bird earlier. It also enabled me to make delicious gravy with the drippings. #2 Since left overs will be eaten later after hours of cards/games I prefer they not be passed of as a meal. Everyone is on their own for a late supper/ snack . #3 We are snackers at heart so why not make it an official guilt free part of our celebrations!! To hold everyone at bay meal time #1DD will bring a kick a$$ charcuterie array. No TV watching in our home holidays. We take walks, play cards, make festive porch pots, visit our holidays away.

Interesting reading all the replies.

One other thing I am curious about-- DH says he remembers his mother having to wake up early to get the turkey in the oven so it would be cooked enough ..........they didn't have crowds for company....... so what am I missing? Google brought up various answers to how long to cook a turkey and at what temp so this is just one summary, but there wasn't much variation.

Even the larger turkeys listed 23 lbs show 5 hours,. This year mine is 17 lbs so 4 hrs in the oven. It doesn't seem challenging to get it in the oven by 11:30 to eat at 4, or noon to eat at 4:30 ish. ( allowing time for it to rest and be cut and all of that).

also... adding that we are big snackers as well and I think that if we spent too much time shacking (which we do) then no one is even hungry by the time the full meal is ready to be eaten.

We'll have cut up veggies, hummus, Annie's apricots with cheese and pecans, nuts, etc.

We always did our holidays around 1-2pm. But growing up, Sunday dinner was also always around 1pm and then we'd have supper in the evening. I can remember many years of going to visit Dad's parents for a big sunday dinner and then playing with my cousins who lived next door ....same cousins I'll be seeing tomorrow at noon. I'm happy we do that as I really don't like going to bed on a full stomach. It also gives us time to clean up after the meal instead of having to do that late at night. And it becomes an all-afternoon activity so we get a chance to sit and visit and relax and snack and enjoy each other's company.

I prefer to eat Thanksgiving dinner in the evening. You have all day to cook, and I like it to feel like a dinner party with wine and candlelight. We’re going to my father and and stepmother’s at 5:00, so I imagine we’ll eat at 6:00.

Sometime around 2:00 or 3:00. Always was that way when growing up and the same now.

My usual gathering, which I always enjoy, was canceled this year because of the host's recent surgery, so I accepted an invitation to my cousin's house. AFTER I accepted, I was informed that no traditional sit down dinner, more of a tailgate appetizer type meal because...big football game right at dinner time. UGH! I think it will still be fun; I can't possibly be the only guest who hates football/sports on TV and the obsession with it, so I'm hoping there will be other activities, if just conversation, away from the TV. I'm sure the food will be delicious, if not traditional. And I love my cousin and her kids, so there is that.

Well, football will be on our TV regardless of when we sit down to eat.

Go Niners.

We were never into football in our house, but when we did see it, Mom and I always watched for when one player would pat another on the fanny after a good play!

We've always had our Thanksgiving meals around 3 pm, regardless of how many people are at our house. Since we first got married (45 years ago) we have always hosted Thanksgivings for friends. We live too far away from family to travel for the holiday. This year it will be the two of us and one friend. We're making Cioppino since she's pescatarian. We plan to eat around 3:00.

Growing up, holiday dinners were always around 2 pm. Everyone was local other than an aunt who travelled from out of state and stayed at my grandmother's. When we first started going to DH's family for Thanksgiving it was even earlier--1 PM. Which was really difficult because we had a 2.5+ hr drive, young children, and had to bring a couple of side dishes plus a dessert. Fortunately they began to recognize how difficult this was and moved dinner to 4 pm. This year I am hosting Thanksgiving and dinner will be at 5:00. One of our kids has to travel 4+ hours to us on Thanksgiving day. And my 90 year old mother should really get back to her place by 8 pm. The one thing I have learned to accept is that the Holidays are much different than they were when I was growing up, and I just have to stay flexible.

My son, DIL, niece and her BF are coming over for breakfast before they go over to DIL's family for turkey in the afternoon. I'm making biscuits and sausage gravy, hashbrowns, and they are bringing a fruit tray I believe. We will eat around 10:30 unless they are late arriving as usual.

After they leave, I'll throw a turkey in the oven for the 2 of us to have for dinner. I'm going to make a double batch of turkey pot pie filling Friday morning and bake one over the weekend sometime. The rest of the filling will be frozen.

We love this recipe

Turkey pot pie filling

6:00 or so, a bit earlier than we usually eat. We have a small family, and no one lives close by, so everyone comes here the weekend before and stays until Friday, which are easier times to travel. The younger folk can work remotely and it's a very relaxed time, especially as I don't have to do any cooking. My son-in-law is a superb cook and loves to do it!

It varies. We have started eating earlier because my sibling has limited peripheral vision, and no longer likes to drive in the dark. So it’s about 1 or 2 here.

This year at 1:30, as our daughter and her boyfriend will then be heading to his parents’ home later for a large family gathering dinner at 7PM or so.

MIL says 4:00, which means 5:00. Late enough to work around the toddler's nap, early enough that we are all gone before my in-laws are wanting to go to bed. They're getting of an age that events like this wear them out, even though we all cook.

1 pm the turkey should be done! We get up early every day...no sleeping in. My cat Aspen wants to be brushed exactly at 5:30am....so I'll be up early as usual stuffing the turkey. 🐈

Around 4:30; 5:00 latest.

We usually eat around 5-6pm for holiday meals.

I remember my first Christmas with dh. He was in the Navy and we were dating long distance. He had just been stationed in Hawaii and I was moving there to be with him. He is from the Bay Area, but I am from the East Coast. My last day of work was just before Christmas. I had never not been home for Christmas but for some reason also planned to spend Christmas with dh and his family. So I spent Christmas morning with my family then had an early afternoon flight to San Jose. I arrived late afternoon.

Little did I know that H's family is late for everything. Nothing is ever on time. For whatever reason I can't recall, dinner ended up being 9pm PST! It was midnight my time. I was exhausted! And his family tradition was to open stocking after dessert - by that point it was nearly midnight and I had been up for almost 24 hours (was up at 7am EST). I mean, who eats that late except Europeans!

That was not normal for them, but they do tend to eat on the later side, like not before 7m.

Things may have changed now that all his siblings had kids. I'm guessing they eat earlier now. We haven't spent Thanksgiving or Christmas with H's family since our kids were toddlers, over 20 years ago (we live on East Coast and they are all on West Coast).

My folks are coming over at 4pm tomorrow and we will eat around 5:30.

I must say, it was kind of nice to have a midday gathering. I had made or prepped most things yesterday, and peoples contributions to the day just needed to go into serving bowls, so this morning was just last-minute swiffer and vacuum for the one who is allergic to the cat, then popping the turkey breast into the oven and sautéing the nutmeg green beans and heating stuff up. Once everyone was here and put more stuff in the oven, DS made gravy using drippings and, don’t laugh, an Ikea gravy packet. DH rescued it (DS doesn’t quite manage the ”add slowly while whisking” part). and DH sliced the turkey.

There was time, but not TOO much. to socialize before dinner, spend leisurely time at the table, clear and rinse, and by 6 the kitchen was fairly clean, dishwasher was running, pots and pans rinsed, stacked, and waiting their turn, and I was watching Oklahoma! in my comfy chair.

I think I’ll advocate for the midday (well, early afternoon):feast again next year.

Our 4 p.m. target slipped to 5 p.m. when DSIL realized the turkeys he was smoking were cooking more slowly than planned. Nevertheless, his turkeys were delicious - and tender and juicy. DD just texted me this, which is too true

This has been very eye-opening for me. We eat Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners at the same time as all our other dinners. Around 7. Yes, I guess we go to bed with full bellies but as far as the dishes go, the men all pitch in and take care of packing away leftovers and washing the serving dishes and cooking pots and pans while the ladies "retire." That usually means another glass of wine or two! Once the company leaves, I unpack the dishwasher, reload it and head to bed.

We did eat a bit after 4 and all was deeelish along with wonderful company.

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving.

1000 polled

We eat holiday dinners at 6-ish, the same time we eat regular dinners. As long as it’s at my house, it will stay that way. I was able to prepare everything, besides the turkey, and take a bike ride before guests arrived.

The NYT’s Eric Kim recipe for Green Bean casserole was a big hit, scored 5/5.

The only leftovers that remain are a few pieces of pumpkin roll and clementine cake. I sent nephews home with the leftover food.

I’ve already decided Xmas dinner with include Gingerbread Yule Log, from Smitten Kitchen. Have to make the most important decision first, now I’ll work backwards to plan.

We too had a leisurely schedule. Partly because it was just us five, which I felt a bit guilty about but since we switch off between CT and ME for ThxG it's not as if we have really established a routine. Everyone helped and on the day of all I had to do was make the turkey (breast) and the mashed potatoes. The former in a Staub in the oven (works perfectly) and the latter in a slow cooker (thumbs up, very easy and they stay warm).

It was a beautiful, sunny and warm day so we took a walk on the beach and through the dunes with the dog. Then we came back and played cards and had pear martinis and cheese and crackers while the turkey cooked.

We recently took a bunch of old kids stuff to Goodwill and my DH was amused that Woody was on top (he rescued him) so in homage we all watched Toy Story 2 after dinner. Not sure I had ever seen it before, though I have heard it many many times on road trips (remember the SUVs with the drop down screens?). So clever and charming!

PS I love Smitten Kitchen. However I like chocolate icing on my Yule logs so they look like logs. Meringue mushrooms dusted with cocoa powder are such fun to make!

https://www.seriouseats.com/meringue-mushrooms-recipe

Random dinner musings:

There might have been an excess of sodium judging by our guzzling water the rest of the evening.

This is the one day each year I wish I had two ovens.

A 6-lb. chicken should rest a good 30 minutes.

The pumpkin pie recipe on the Libby's can is still good, esp. if you sub brown for white sugar and add extra ginger.

Heating the milk and butter before adding to mashed potatoes is overrated.

There's no excuse for not making your own cranberry sauce. It's so easy and the sweet/sour is a delight.

We watched the game during dinner. Go ahead and judge.

There's no excuse for not making your own cranberry sauce. It's so easy and the sweet/sour is a delight.

I'm the only one who doesn't want the horrid jello-kind with the indentations from the can. I blame DH's side of the family.

Bunny, you are so right about the cranberry sauce. My boys started making it (a day or two before) when they were about 12.

And my brother, who doesn’t really cook more than steak, can handle Stove Top Stuffing, which I will gladly take. I love stuffing and, I confess, like Stove Top, but other than from the Pepperidge Farm bag which I don’t think counts as from scratch, and I have never made it from scratch and don’t plan to. I’ll gladly eat someone else’s homemade, though.

I have made many thousands of meringue mushrooms in my baking career. Early on when my business consisted of only me i had an order of 1500 for one client. All the dusting cocoa flying around felt like it would lead to black lung disease.

We ate at 5’ish yesterday ( on the early side of normal). My sister who hosted made lobster tails in addition to turkey breast and the traditional sides. For vegetarian me that was very enjoyable.

Mtn, you could pretend the log is a birch log. But, the recipe also says you can use regular chocolate (chips or bar).

But now I’m inspired to see what our very French bakery will have in the way of Yule logs for Christmas.

Due to various scheduling requests from the kids we opted for dinner at 2:00 instead of 3.

It was a great decision. Everything was ready on time, the food was delicious and we ended up sitting around the table for hours enjoying the conversation. Surprisingly the 3 granddaughters (ages 4 1/2, 2 1/2 and 2) all sat together at the end of the table and happily amused each other with minimal input from parents.

It was especially nice since this coming Christmas DS, DDIL and 2 DDs will be in California for the holidays visiting her side of the family.

Always noonish for us. We have the big meal, watch the game, then snack on leftovers later in the evening.

We won yesterday (Cowboys), but the real treat was Dolly doing the halftime show! She’s just amazing. :)

Anyway, I do most of my prep work and assembling of dishes the day before, so Thanksgiving day is calm. It’s all ready to go in the oven or on stove, and DH cooks the turkey in the separate roaster oven.

I heat my mashed potatoes in the Crock-Pot, too. It’s such a time saver.

I forget a crock-pot is a heating device. I had just enough counter and stovetop to pull this off. My cats have been eating on the peninsula since DD and animals moved in, and I had to put their stuff away for most of the day.

bpath, yes, the cranberries can be made days ahead of time. Easiest thing of Thanksgiving.

Making the gravy base ahead of time was a huge time and mess saver. All I needed to do was add the deglazed pan drippings and voilà.

Oh, I don’t care if it doesn’t look like a log, I also skip the white chocolate bark. I‘ll just call it a Swiss Roll.

I bought a can of cranberry sauce for my Mum, but she is in the hospital so I didn’t open it. It will keep for the next 25+ years, so maybe we’ll open it next year. I use the back of the package recipe for the whole berry sauce, but I decrease the sugar.

I heat my mashed potatoes in the Crock-Pot, too

These aren't heated in it, they cook in it -- 3 hours. So easy.

Ahh, yes, the can of jellied cranberry. My DH and dad must have it. I’ve been serving it for 25+ yrs, but have never actually tasted it myself.

I slice and serve it in a vintage crystal dish, but think I’ll order this for future dinners: