What time do you eat Thanksgiving "Dinner"?

[Terri_A]

The Thanksgiving Appetizer Menu got me curious...when do you serve "dinner" on Thanksgiving???

[jphilg]

Cocktails at 5 or 5:30, dinner around 6:30 or 7. We're an evening-celebration family on both sides, probably since we all enjoy each other a little more once the sun sets over the yardarm, if you catch my drift.

[Peweh]

5ish? We're a card playing family... so usually we go to an early afternoon card game and then Thanksgiving dinner breaks out around 5!!

[TraditionsGirl]

We try to plan for around five, but who knows what happens, it ends up being about sixish.

[tyroleancutie]

hopefully we sit at the table around 6pm-ish

[jadenegro]

My grandmother likes to host and usually says be ready to sit down at 1:00. Sometimes we are close to that but usually end up sitting down around 1:30. We won't get up until about 3, which drives my DH crazy. She just does the turkey and then we all get assigned a dish to carry in. It would be fun to do apps around that time and dinner later though!

On another note, my in-laws do not plan a time at all. They still don't know when they are having t-day. But I'm told, sometime tuesday through saturday.

[tea4one]

My time wasn't listed as I usually eat before noon.

[vbak]

I am planning on 4:30 this year, but we'll see. May be someone should secretly set the clock ahead an hour.

[Goin' Coastal]

We try to plan for around five, but who knows what happens, it ends up being about sixish.

exactly what we do!

[Terri_A]

I guess I didn't say what I do! We have appetizers for and early lunch...around 11:00 or so they come out. The dinner is served around 3pm. We're done by 4, clean up is over by 5 and by 7pm someone is usually asking about leftovers!!!

[veschke]

One of the nicest things about hosting the holiday is getting to do things exactly the way I want to. :-) We have appetizers in the early afternoon, and eat dinner around 5 or 6. This gives me plenty of time to potter about in my kitchen, my in-laws can play with their granddaughter, and there is no real post-dinner "now what do we do?" period.

[Robyn1007]

Obligitory others here. I have had Thanksgiving dinner at so many different places, different parts of family, with friends or when I do it that I can't remember what times any more. I'm sure I'll be told sometime this weekend when to show up this year and I know we ate at the same house last year but can't remember for the life of me what time it was.

[Hammster]

I selected 1pm. The way it works is we go to DW's Stepmom's house for Thanksgiving. I always bring whole berry cranberry sauce (homemade of course) and New Orleans style bread pudding with 2 sauces. (One rum sauce, one lemon sauce) It's a potluck style dinner. Her daughters make the turkey (I get the honor of slicing it). And sometimes we also deep fry a turkey there. Sides come from all the family members. Homemade noodles are made for chicken and noodles.
We get to her house around 11 or noon and there is already food around. Such as veggies and dip. Potato chips, crackers, cheese. Munchy type things. Then around 1pm the real food starts to appear on the tables. Everyone helps themselves as there are way too many people to just sit down and eat. There can be 20 -30 people show up from noon till 3 pm. It's quite a deal.

[raka1214]

This year we are having to plan on eating at noon to facilitate a few of our guests going to other's homes - no big deal for me - that means I actually get to enjoy my leftovers!!!!!

We've also planned for dessert at a friends house around 6-7 and cards throughout the afternoon so it's going to be a GREAT day!

[memartha]

I celebrate with DH's family and they eat early (2-4 pm usually). I would prefer eating later... once you're done, it's kind of anti-climactic, and I always get hungry later.

That being said, my father was SUCH a curmudgeon, he would raise a loud stink if anyone dared serve him dinner before 7:30 pm any day of the week, holidays included. I don't want to be that stubborn, so I go with the flow.

[Varaile]

We're sitting down to eat sometime between 1 and 2. A lot of my family travels so this gives everyone time to arrive in the morning and leave later in the afternoon. That and this is when we've always eaten.

[donleyk]

I went with 5 although this has been just recently. It used to 6 or after but since I started pulling the turkey when it reached 170 degrees it's inched up My DM has a real fear of underdone meat to where it was so dry it was awful. It got better for a while when she bought the turkey with the pop up thermometer but we've gone to just breasts lately so I watch it.

[funnybone]

I voted OO since it's only the 4 of us this year and it depends on that day and when everyone is feeling hungry. I'm thinking about 5 pm is a good time.

[LaraW]

I voted 6 pm - we have 3 little kids at dinner this year, and dinner time is dictated by their schedules for bedtime. We may try to get dinner on the table more around 5:30, but we'll see.

[tamawrite]

We're having a cinnamon-roll and fruit salad brunch at around 10 a.m., then dinner about 4 p.m.

I'll bring some appies to keep the men happy while we play cards in between times.

[Meganator]

I voted o.o. - whether it is at my mom's, my sister's, or my house, we are a "whenvever it's ready" family...that usually works out to sometime between 4 and 6 pm.

[stacy7272]

I voted 2:00PM since that's what my mom always tells us and what she aims for but I'd say we usually end up eating around 3:00PM which always drives DH crazy (although he prepares for that now).

If I were hosting I would serve dinner around regular dinner time, or just a bit earlier, like 5:00PM.

[zwieback]

I voted for 2:00. I'm having some friends drive in on Thursday, so it'll really depend on what time they get here. I guess it'll depend on if the turkey is done by then, too. This will be only my 2nd time making a turkey, so we'll see.

[JanetJ]

I've been told that dinner will be at 2pm this year, which is great since we are traveling with a baby so we'll be able to eat and visit and still be home before it throws off her bedtime schedule. Last year when we hosted we ate about 3-330pm.

[shscharles]

It's always at our house...I sit out bagels, salmon, cream cheese, cereal for the kids, fresh fruit, juices, etc in the morning...people drift in from Tuesday until Thursday morning. Apps go out about noon and we shoot for dinner about 3 or so. Everybody brings "what ever it is that it's not Thanksgiving without' and we usually end up with between 18 and 22, about half staying until Saturday morning. I love TG evening...picking on the turkey...plenty of time to clean up, go for a walk, and crash with a cognac. The next morning it's a strata (Thanks, Bob!) more fresh fruit I've frozen this summer, and a breakfast smoorgasbord.

I love Thanksgiving! I can't wait!

[VictoriaL]

I've scheduled apps to begin around 11:30, the pumpkin gnocchi is to be served at 1, the butternut soup at 1:30, and the main buffet at 2. Of course, like every special meal, it will probably run late... that's just me

[Sami]

We eat about 5 because we will have 4 little children and so need to be done for their bedtimes. Since i cook a 20-24 lb turkey, it takes most of the day to cook, so i couldn't serve at 1:00 unless i stayed up all night.

I made cinnamon rolls for Thursday morning and let everyone eat cereal id they wish. Haven't figured out appetizers yet, but I did bake my pecan pie today and froze it.

I love the holiday, since most of the country celebrates it.

Sami