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What time is Thanksgiving dinner?


fluffkin79

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I volunteered to make Thanksgiving dinner this year, so I get to pick the time. An earlier meal might mean getting a nap before the BF madness begins, but if we have a later dinner I could sleep later in the AM and just stay up. I'm used to having our big meal around 3pm (how did that tradition start?), but I'm leaning towards 5pm this year. What time does your family eat? If you could change it, what time would you make it and why?

 

Cooking the meal really isn't that big of deal for me. I have a husband and 3 kids so cooking homemade meals is pretty much a daily chore. Our Thanksgiving meal won't be much more complicated than what we eat every day. I'll make deserts and apps the day before so on T-day all I have to do is pop the bird in the oven, boil and mash some potatoes, mix up green bean casserole and stuffing, and make the gravy. I'll be feeding my family, one aunt, and 3 grandparents who barely eat. They all want to bring something, so I'm sure we'll have more than enough food.

 

I've never hosted this side of the family so I don't know how long they'll hang around after dinner, but the grandparents do wear out quickly. I don't know if I'll be able to get to sleep after dinner even if everyone goes home early, so I'm thinking of sleeping later in the AM and staying up for BF.

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Another thing to consider is: With the stores starting the sales earlier, is there anything you or your family will need to get in line for early? I know last year the lines for the bigger items at Walmart (xbox bundle, tvs, laptops) started forming around 5pm, and we live in a very small town.

 

Our family usually eats Thanksgiving dinner around 2pm. But we always have.

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I try to have it early but it never fails that I'm waiting on something to cook. We usually sit down around 2 or 3.

I think that's how my family got the 3pm lunch/supper. As a kid I remember being very hungry, but Mom kept kicking me out of the kitchen because dinner was "almost ready", for 2 hours! Now that I'm the mom, I want to help my kids out by serving our meal closer to our normal time (usually around 6:00). Being hungry in a house that smells like Thanksgiving is torture!

 

Unlike my own mother (who was awesome BTW, but always late), I'll have a quick lunch on hand for the kids - some hot dogs or something else we can get out without much effort.

Edited by fluffkin79
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Another thing to consider is: With the stores starting the sales earlier, is there anything you or your family will need to get in line for early? I know last year the lines for the bigger items at Walmart (xbox bundle, tvs, laptops) started forming around 5pm, and we live in a very small town.

 

Our family usually eats Thanksgiving dinner around 2pm. But we always have.

I probably won't be lining up for much, if anything. As a matter of fact I'd like to say that I could skip BF, but I know better! I have most of my kids gifts taken care of already, thanks to Target's toy clearance and other deals I've stumbled over. I'll probably be looking for the typical deals this year: video games, team apparel, household stuff for myself, girly stuff (think robes, slippers, makeup, etc.). If I miss it in one place, I can always catch it somewhere else. I won't be waiting in any long electronics lines. I might wait for a little while outside a store or 2 just before opening, maybe get to JCP early if they are doing the snowglobes again, but if this year's openings are like last year's I'll probably do a lot of shopping online, the venture out to B&M's for some "nice to have's". No pressure!

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We deep fry our turkey so we will put it in around 330 PM and eat around 5 PM. Then do pie around 630 PM and have some time to clean up and get ready to head out for BF...of course that depends on what time the stores open this year.
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Last year we had two Thanksgivings at our house. On Wednesday, we had my in-laws for dinner around 6:00 pm and then my parents came on Thursday for lunch around 1:00 pm. I hate eating at odd times, so when it's at my house, I make sure it's around our usual time.
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We have dinner at my house, and we have a small family (just my parents and my 2 brothers, plus me and the hubby and our 2 boys). We tell them to get here any time between 12 and 12:30 and we eat at 1:00-ish. We take our time with our meal, then spend the rest of the day visiting, eating desserts, watching football, looking at BF ads, eating again. They're usually ready to leave around 8:00, and then my brother and I get ready for a night of BF shopping. I can't wait!!!
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Only problem is the earlier it is the earlier I have to get up to put the turkeys in :(

Besides the flavor, one reason why I love dry brining my bird and then using Alton Brown's Roast Turkey recipe. A 14-pound bird only takes about a total of two hours in the oven. I do dry brine instead of using AB's brine recipe, but his brine is good too.

 

Watch the videos on the link, if you haven't seen the Romancing the Bird episode of Good Eats. Some great tips there.

And I disagree with AB about stuffing. It's great, when made in the crockpot instead of the bird!

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