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Personally, I would hate to drive three hours to someone's house to be served store-bought Thanksgiving dinner. I think it's fine if you aren't having guests, but if you have relatives coming a great distance, you should make an effort. At the very least, prepare the turkey in your own oven, and purchase the sides. A kitchen on Thanksgiving Day should smell like someone has been cooking in it.
Purchase the turkey dinner somewhere good like Central Market (sorry all ye non-Texans, it's awesome!) but plan to do a side or two and dessert at home to get the kitchen smelling good. CM is a great place to pick up some fancy cheese and bread to serve with your wine appetizer.. It'll cost ya though!!
Do you have Cracker Barrel where you are? They do a Thanksgiving meal you can pre-order and pick up to go. The meals serve 10 and are $99.99. They require 24 hours notice and you can customize your order. Read more here: https://www.crackerbarrel.com/to-go/celebrations
By the way, Cracker Barrel has other options at other price ranges. Visit their page.
Personally, I would hate to drive three hours to someone's house to be served store-bought Thanksgiving dinner. I think it's fine if you aren't having guests, but if you have relatives coming a great distance, you should make an effort. At the very least, prepare the turkey in your own oven, and purchase the sides. A kitchen on Thanksgiving Day should smell like someone has been cooking in it.
As I said in my original post, we have good reasons for it: my family is only staying one day (by their choice,) my wife rarely cooks, I will be only one week post-op shoulder surgery, and our kitchen is extremely small. Per other people's suggestions, we have looked into Central Market and Cracker Barrel and their dinners look very appealing. They are only slightly more expensive than HEB, better tasting, and I think one or the other will fit the bill quite nicely.
Last year I went to a group holiday party, we are talking 60 people. In years past we all brought something to contribute to the cause. It was decided to go with premade from one of those ham places that are well known.
They were late in delivering the food, and when it came, everything was frozen except the rolls. It was suppose to come at the very least, room temperature. It was horrible. These small trays of side dishes that we had to try to cook, and hams and turkeys that had to be thawed (they were pre-cooked, but cold) We had the oven going, the microwave going, and one person who worked nearby went to pick up 2 office microwaves to help. We had to rotate dishes from oven to microwave and vs versa. It was truly a mess! It was totally their fault, they admitted they didn't pull the order until right before they were set to deliver it. Imagine 60 hungry people packed in a house and having the oven going, opening and closing it constantly, Live and learn, I guess!
I know you aren't having as many, and I'm sure it will all be perfect. I was at Fresh Market the other day and they were sampling their turkey, dressing and cranberry sauce, and it was delicious. I've had Publix in years past and that was good too.
Every year one of my friends have the Thanksgiving Orphans over. LOL, the first time I heard that said, I truly thought she was having orphans over for TG, and thought "Bless Her Heart," (being that I am now living in the South), that's so sweet of her. She meant it was for all of us who have no where to go. And this tradition has been going on for the last 4 years, and so appreciated as well by us who have no local family and are staying in the area. But, we all do bring something to contribute, and we always have a wonderful TG.
To each and every one of you who reads this thread, have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!!
Went to a friend's house one year and she did a pre-cooked meal, but she got it from a restaurant, versus a grocery store. I don't know if you have any restaurants that would do that around you, but it is something to consider.
My son, one Thanksgiving, when he couldn't come home for it, had Thanksgiving in Goose Creek, SC (he was stationed there - not sightseeing ) with his roommates who didn't go home either. They got the whole kit and caboodle at a regular grocery store. I asked him how it was, and he said, "Mom, we had already killed a six pack before we unwrapped anything - it was FINE. We think." So I don't know if that's a ringing endorsement, per se, but it can be very good, depending on where you source it.
I think downing the six-pack was the response to having to spend the holidays in friggin Goose Creek lol. At least they're a short drive from downtown Charleston and can continue the fun there!
Scooby, maybe you should invest in a turkey fryer? I've heard fried turkey is delicious and it only take a fraction of the time. Most of the side dishes could be made a day or two before. I almost bought a fryer but then there wouldn't be that great gravy for the left overs. No hot turkey sandwiches with mashed potatoes and gravy? NOOOOOOO!
My mom would never do this. However I'd be open to it if I was hosting but I'd make a few extra sides. I am a great cook too but Thanksgiving is a lot of work and my mom's been doing it over 30 years.
I've had good luck doing takeout from the same restaurant each year, either the day of or the day before. They deliver but I go get it. There's a "fine foods" place that also does take out (not sure about delivery) and they put on a good meal, too. I've never ordered a TG meal from a grocery store chain so I have no idea if they are good around here.
The only thing I need to remember is to get enough for turkey sandwiches.
Could always go a little more basic on the meal itself. I know most Thanksgiving dinners are huge, with a variety of 15 or more dishes, but for the last few years my wife has always had to work through Thanksgiving so we've done smaller meals here ourselves so that we can still enjoy it, but at the same time cut down on the cooking and cleanup for myself since I am the one who makes it. We opt for a ham instead of turkey, easier to toss that into a crockpot and slow cook overnight than do the bird, and we ourselves don't care as much for turkey so there ends up being a lot of waste, even with a smaller bird. I then do my home made mashed potatoes, gravy for that, corn and a noodle dish that my wife really likes that her mother used to make when she was growing up, grab some brown and serve rolls and good to go. Pie is either gotten after the fact when we can visit with family, or we just buy a premade. Still a little bit of work, and fair amount of cleanup, but must less overall than the typical multidish mess on Thanksgiving.
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) with his roommates who didn't go home either. They got the whole kit and caboodle at a regular grocery store. I asked him how it was, and he said, "Mom, we had already killed a six pack before we unwrapped anything - it was FINE. We think." So I don't know if that's a ringing endorsement, per se, but it can be very good, depending on where you source it. 
