Thanksgiving meals show how America has changed — and what still unites us
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Thanksgiving is often presented as a holiday of unity, but it has also become a microcosm of the country’s fractures.
What ends up being served for Thanksgiving dinner, who shows up — or not — and whether politics is mentioned, may reflect broader shifts in ideology and culture. At the same time, Thanksgiving still aims to bridge divisions and highlight the magnificence of the great American experiment launched centuries ago.
One example is the food Americans choose to eat at Thanksgiving and how they prepare it.
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Takeout and dine-in options have become more widely adopted during contemporary Thanksgiving celebrations, with a study from restaurant software company Popmenu revealing a 42% increase from 2024 in the number of people who plan to order from or dine at a restaurant this Thanksgiving. Costs were one of the main reasons for the change, as was the desire to spend more time with family and not worry about cooking.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump pardon the National Thanksgiving Turkey Gobble in the Rose Garden of the White House, November 25, 2025. (Evan Vucci/Associated Press)
The length of time spent at the table can also be very revealing.
In 2018, university researchers analyzed smartphone location data and determined that “politically diverse” Thanksgiving dinners tended to be significantly shorter than dinners involving a family of like-minded individuals. The study, conducted in 2018, showed that the average dinner was 30 to 50 minutes shorter at tables full of politically diverse people, while a study measuring the same in 2020 found that politically diverse dinners were on average about 24 minutes shorter.
Meanwhile, other Thanksgiving 2025 survey data, released by YouGov, found that 19% of Democrats expect to have political arguments at the dinner table, compared to 9% of Republicans.
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President George W. Bush traveled to Iraq in 2003 to meet with troops without the public’s knowledge. (Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images)
It’s hard to say overall whether Thanksgiving dinners have become longer or shorter, but according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, people typically spend about 128 minutes on meal preparation and cleanup, 89 minutes on eating and drinking, and about 148 minutes on socializing, according to a long-term analysis conducted between 2003 and 2015.
According to the National Turkey Federation, 94% of Americans plan to celebrate Thanksgiving.
The group added that 87% of those celebrating the holiday say turkey is part of their holiday tradition, and 74% plan to serve a whole bird.
An archival photograph of President Gerald R. Ford carving a turkey at Camp David on November 25, 1976. (Gerald R. Ford Library/National Archives)
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However, simultaneously, other findings from turkey producer Jennie-O indicated that there is a growing openness for less traditional Thanksgiving meal options, which the group says shows that a “blend of old and new is redefining what Thanksgiving dinner looks like across America.”
The turkey products brand noted that 55% of Americans are “willing to try Thanksgiving recipes from different cultures,” including through side dishes.
Even the treatment of turkeys used for presidential pardons has changed slightly over the years.
In the early 2000s, featured turkeys were sometimes anonymous or treated more anonymously, but more recently it has become common to give turkeys names and humanize them a bit. This trend also reflects a shift toward better care for pardoned turkeys over the years.
