By special feast I mean a unusually big and specially planned dinner. Could be traditional Turkey and Dressing or whatever food the family prefers.
I’d guess the percent of families is down? We have an aging population and the traditional nuclear family has been declining for quite some time.
The fast food places and restaurants seem to think nearly everybody is home stuffing themselves on a six course Thanksgiving meal. We went out this afternoon in search of a meal and it’s a wasteland out there. One closed place after another. It looks so bizarre seeing all those empty parking lots and dark buildings. Our two choices in this city of 400,000 came down to Dennys or Applebees. We both got Grand Slams at Dennys. My wife and I didn’t feel up to cooking today and we certainly paid a heavy price. We used to get a decent Thanksgiving meal at cafeterias like Lubys or Furrs. Both out of business in LR now. Buffets at Ryans had Thanksgiving food but Ryans went out of business several years ago.
So, what is the estimated average for home cooked, Thanksgiving meals in the US?
I’d guess maybe 60%? Which means 40% of us ate a bowl of soup at home or settled for Dennys.
I assume you mean what percent eats rather than prepares a home-cooked meal. I’d think a large fraction are with extended family where maybe only one family is doing the preparing. I read somewhere that 88% of Americans ate turkey for Thanksgiving. Now some of that is not home-prepared and some at home do not have turkey, but I’d think the answer to your question is about that – something in the 80s.
I am not sure there are stats on such questions or any way to compile them accurately. Are you interested in the percent of households that cook some sort of Thanksgiving or the number of individuals that attend one? Those numbers aren’t the same because it is a communal holiday. A great many people travel to someone else’s home for Thanksgiving.
Your question reminds me of the question I ask my Jehovah’s Witness officemate every Thanksgiving, Labor Day and Memorial Day. They don’t celebrate holidays and he is very serious about it yet he gets the day off just like everyone else. I always point out that it is almost impossible not to “celebrate” those holidays. Anything you do (or don’t do) qualifies because there is no standard. You would have to work a normal day and fast all day to avoid celebrating Thanksgiving and even that would be a special counter-observance. He is a nice guy and takes it in stride but I think he still believes there are some special rituals that everyone else is doing that he has to avoid.
When I was growing up, my family just had better steak than normal because my parents don’t like turkey. Does that count?
My wife and I are in the aging population. Relatives dead. Kids off to college. Nobody but my wife and I. We aren’t going to prepare a huge Thanksgiving meal for two people. I’d assume most people in a similar situation feel the same way.
A restaurant serving a full Thanksgiving meal would be a great choice. But good luck finding one.
It’s like the restarants think everybody is home having a banquet.
That’s why I wondered what percent of the US is preparing elaborate meals on Turkey day.
What percent of the population has a special meal at Thanksgiving? Either at their house or at relatives?
Or if it’s easier. What percent do nothing special on Thanksgiving? Eating at any restaurant they can find open or heating up something at home?
I thought there would be a rough estimate. Like 70% gather for a holiday meal and 30% do nothing special. I’m just making up numbers because my Google skills aren’t working today.
I had people from ten different households at my house today. And they were all family of some sort. Other people have Thanksgiving dinner with friends. Eating at restaurants on holidays must not be popular in your area, because around here everything that’s not fast food or a pizzeria is open, even Applebees. Most restaurants have a special Thanksgiving menu. But “40% of us ate a bowl of soup at home or settled for Dennys.” Nope- most of the people who didn’t have a feast at someones house and didn’t want to/couldn’t find an open restaurant had a regular Thursday night dinner, whatever that might be. You ended up with a choice of soup or Denny’s because you didn’t plan ahead - you’re in Little Rock, right? http://littlerock.about.com/od/festivals/tp/tpthanksgiving.htm
Everything from Golden Corral to hotel restaurants to a brunch.
We ate wonderful Thanksgiving meals at Lubys for the past three years. But the last location in Little Rock closed two months ago. There used to be four Lubys in the LR metro area.
We called around and the few places open didn’t have anything special for the holiday. So a Grand Slam was the best option.
Next year I’ll plan on steaks and baked potatoes for Thanksgiving. Easy to cook and minimum mess.
Eventually we’ll have an extended family with grandchildren to visit. But that’s a few years away.
Nah, the decision to open or close is purely a business decision. Restaurants in my city mistakenly think people still want to prepare Thanksgiving dinner at home or visit family.
They’ll start opening if their market statistics indicate more consumers want to eat out on Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is kinda meh to us, and we’re a two-person household. I’d rather stay around the house, but I had to go somewhere. So I went on a two hundred mile circuit today, and I know I had about five options for a traditional dinner had we simply been able to go to a restaurant. There’s the casino buffet, two state park resorts, two privately owned family restaurants and probably some I didn’t know about. Plus, there’s always the Waffle House or numerous Chinese restaurants and maybe a few Mexican places. All of that is within 30 miles of me, and I’m in a fairly rural area. I noticed two McDonald’s open that I passed today. Both had drive-thru lines out to the road.
I cook a turkey about four times a year, they’re fairly cheap and keep well in the freezer. They’re great freshly cooked, and you can make several things from the leftovers, and my dogs love the leftover leftovers. I hate making a big 200 mile trip like I did today on a holiday–there’s not much shopping to be had. If I go 100 miles away, I’d like to make the trip count by coming back with something interesting. Black Friday crowds do not count, and I believe the shopping is becoming the new focus of the holiday.
And it’s not like we don’t see the people we spend Thanksgiving with several times a year. So I think all of those factors are leading people to move away from feeling obligated to be traditional on Thanksgiving. I think the big emphasis is at least on obtaining a satisfactory meal that you enjoy, not necessarily one composed of certain items or even consumed with particular people. I still don’t have the numbers the OP asked for, but I do think people are becoming disillusioned with all the culinary effort that we used to put forth to celebrate Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving can be incredibly depressing after you’ve outlived your family. I have so many great memories of big family Thanksgivings. I try hard not think about them now on the holiday. It can tear you up inside if you let it.
We can’t afford to fly our daughters home for Thanksgiving and Christmas. They’ll be here for Christmas and that’s something to look forward too.
Here’s a list of 22 stores that don’t open on Thanksgiving.
None of them are restaurants, so your reasoning is flawed. Hell, Publix would actually benefit from the home-meal cookers because it allows the amateur chefs to come pick up some last minute ingredients. More likely, businesses of all kinds are staying closed on a holiday that is specifically intended to be spent with family. You’re just bitter.
In my city I could probably have found a dozen restaurants serving Thanksgiving-style meals, and another dozen serving non Thanksgiving-style meals (Chinese, etc.) without difficulty.
Having said that, most everyone I know had a traditional TG meal at home, whether with family or a potluck with friends, etc. (I personally attended two of the latter.)
I used to do a big Thanksgiving dinner. I even used my wedding china. But now, the step kids are grown and for various reasons no long spend holidays with us, the in-laws have passed away, and it’s just the two of us. I still cooked a turkey breast roast, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and sweet potato pie. I’m going to have to be creative with the leftovers, thank goodness for Google, I’ve got a few good ones picked out.
My brother cooked the big Thanksgiving dinner today, for his family and his in-laws, including my recipe for stuffing/dressing, which is actually my long-ago boyfriend’s mom’s recipe but has somehow become “our” family recipe. I love the idea that someday my nephews may prepare my stuffing recipe for their families. (My SIL’s a vegan, so the traditional Thanksgiving meal preparation falls to my brother.)
Over here, the big family-get-together day is Christmas. Many people do travel to a big family feast, but with all the changes in family structure it can be difficult. You have two or more sets of in-laws - so you alternate year by year. You have three children and nine grandchildren and your house is far too small to have them all at the same time.
I know that some young couples get sick of spending much of the extended Christmas holiday driving round from relative to relative and give it up altogether in favour of staying at home, or flying off to somewhere warm where there is a staff to do the heavy lifting. Bear in mind, that for a significant proportion of the population Christmas is just another holiday, and many businesses close down between Christmas Eve, and the day after New Years Day.
This Christmas my wife and I will be having smoked salmon and scrambled egg as a treat for lunch, and then off to the pub in the evening where they will be serving turkey sandwiches.