1 to 2pm. Then there is time for a walk before it gets dark. A piece of pie before bed. A piece of toast in the morning.
Do we have the same sister?
The rule when going to a meal at her house is 1) eat first and 2) bring food
It has become traditional at Christmas brunch to bring a huge number of egg rolls after my brothers went in search of liquor and learned the liquor sales laws had changed barring sales on Christmas, so came back with egg rolls.
Mid afternoon, 3 pm or so.
We begin the day with a neighborhood tradition we started 10 or so years ago - a game of football on our community beach. Lots of adult beverages flowing and some breakfast foods are shared. My boys, who are now college/h.s. age, seriously look forward to the game every year and never want to travel for Thanksgiving as a result. Old neighbors who have moved away come back for the game. We are finished by 11:30 or so, then I go home to finish cooking.
We usually eat late afternoon, around 4pm.
Everyone arrives between 2-3. Dinner between 4-5
We usually serve around 2 or 3. This gives some time to walk. I don’t like eating a big meal late in the day.
Between 1 and 1:30. My family always did it like that, so when I started hosting many years ago, I kept it the same. Although I wish I didn’t have to get up so early, I like everyone gone by 6 to 7 so I can relax.
Interesting how so many of us really look forward to that evening time when it’s all done!!! Even if we are not hosting!
We host and usually sit down about 4:30. Turkey trot and Turkey Bowl with a light breakfast in the morning. Apps and drinks about 3:00. This schedule works well for the littles that need to nap and for me, the cook! After dinner game playing begins and lots of fun conversation. The last guests usually leave about 10 or so.
We typically eat around 5-5:30, and after that go for an hour walk with the dogs. After the walk, we eat Dessert and play board games.
@shellfell, your post made me laugh. We normally go to my aunt’s, and she normally aims for 4, but it’s usually more like 5.
Last year my son requested it to be served so he could make the outlets around the time they open. I can’t remember whether we made it or not. We usually get there around 2, and have appetizers including crab dip (we are in Maryland), and then need a little breather before dinner.
6ish. We don’t eat most of the day. Something light for breakfast, some crudite beforehand. Save up for the big meal.
Early afternoon. Changing it up this year (and probably going forward) due to S and D’s inlaws. Alternating has gotten too hard for the out-laws (they just can’t seem to get it and too hard and silly to split the day) so we told S and D to join the spouse family and we will celebrate Friday with them. Fortunate that no one has to work.
We’ve been eating out for many years, so this year H, S2, D2 and I will be at a restaurant around noon. Home in time for the Lions game. Dessert later, and gear up for the Friday celebration!
4:00 doors, 5:00 food.
But because my family’s tradition involves lots of leftovers and we go to DH’s family, I’ll be making mini thanksgiving so that we can have a moderate amount of “leftovers” after.
I have to say that I often think there is A LOT of preparation for a Thanksgiving meal that often seems at ours to have most of the meal left on the table. SO. MUCH. FOOD. Really, I can’t eat that much! I mean I love food, I love to eat, but I cannot pile it in - nor do I want to!
That’s why I enjoy “2nd Thanksgiving” at 8pm. A few more bites of the most favored dishes.
It is a lot of food and work but I don’t find it complicated food to make and the beauty of yummy leftovers the next day means a day with no cooking. 
does anyone ever do buffet style or always sit down? We are setting up 2 long table (12 each)in parallel but won’t be enough for everyone to sit down, we could set up another table but it won’t be in the same room (we are a nosy and clingy bunch so who will sit at the lone table? Lol). Our friends ‘s kids will bring their SOs and my college freshman is bringing her roommate (can’t wait!). Hubby thinks we could just do the buffet style and we had done that before when we had too many people. But this year, idk, I haven’t seen my kiddo since August I want to make it really nice and perfect for her lol.
I’m so not a fancy person. Does it matter if it’s buffet or “sit down” - as long as everyone is sitting down decently close to each other with a plate???
We don’t all sit at one table - but we are all in the same room and the couple of tables interact. It actually can be more conducive to have dishes buffet style - leaves more room at the table too!
We serve buffet style but all sit at one table, even if we need to squish in, add a card table to the end.
How many people will you have in total, @Nhatrang?
We gather at my house and eat about 12:30 or 1:00 then play a card game then my kids usually have to go to their dad’s for dinner at 4 or 5 that evening. Of course the kids are not really hungry but they have to make an appearance.
When someone else is hosting, I hate taking a dish (or two or three) that is ready to be eaten at the appointed time, only to have to wait two hours before dinner is served. It really doesn’t do a dish justice to try to keep it warm for so long.