Here’s When You Should Go Grocery Shopping for Thanksgiving to Avoid the Crowds This Year

Thanksgiving is full of family bonding opportunities, including that stressful pre-feast trip to the grocery store. But figuring out when to go to the grocery store for your Thanksgiving shopping can be tricky—at least if you want to maintain your holiday cheer.

Fortunately, data from Google Maps can help. Keep reading for the best and worst times to go grocery shopping to prep for Turkey Day, plus a few extra shopping tips that just might save you time.

When to Shop for Thanksgiving

If the Monday before Thanksgiving is not ideal, depending on your schedule (and when you want to start Thanksgiving meal prep), consider shopping any of these times during the week of Thanksgiving:

• Monday, an hour before the store closes
• The Saturday before Thanksgiving, right when the store opens
• The Saturday before Thanksgiving, an hour before the store closes
• Tuesday or Wednesday right when the store opens

No matter what day you end up going, we recommend shopping either first thing in the morning or late at night to avoid the crowds.

The Worst Times to Go Thanksgiving Shopping

Don’t plan on going the morning of Thanksgiving without confirming your store will be open first. We ranked the worst days and times to go shopping the week of Thanksgiving from the absolute worst to still pretty bad:

• Thanksgiving Day all-day
• Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon
• Tuesday and Wednesday evening
• The Saturday before Thanksgiving during the afternoon
• Tuesday and Wednesday mid-morning

Thanksgiving Shopping Tips

Prepping for Thanksgiving can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. Follow these tips to reduce your stress and make T-day enjoyable for everyone, including yourself.

Make a Timeline

Having a Thanksgiving checklist can be the difference between success and failure for this holiday. Here are some guidelines for your holiday shopping timeline.

• Starting about a month out, asses what you’ll need for the big day. Research recipes (if you’re planning something new) and go through your cabinets to see what staples you have on hand.
• The weekend before Thanksgiving, buy your fresh ingredients. They should keep until Thursday, but if you have produce that you know spoils quickly, hold off. If you’re making a frozen turkey, take it out of the freezer and put it in the fridge to thaw.
• Monday or Tuesday before, start on your sides and desserts. This includes mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, greens, and pies.
• The day before is a good time to start decorating, decluttering, and cleaning. If you can, set your table early, so you don’t have to fuss with it on Thanksgiving. Brine your turkey if you’re planning on preparing it that way.

Plan Ahead

The key to avoiding crowds and having the best possible Turkey Day is to plan ahead for your Thanksgiving dinner. Make your grocery list, pick a quieter time to go grocery shopping, and make an efficient trip.

If you’re ordering food from a local restaurant or dining out for your feast, see if you can put in your order or make a reservation now—the last thing anyone wants on Thanksgiving is a sudden change of plans because of overcrowding.

The absolute best time to start shopping for Thanksgiving actually begins weeks ahead of the holiday. Shop in advance for non-perishable items and anything that will stay fresh until Turkey Day.

Here’s a list of Thanksgiving groceries you can purchase way ahead of time to prepare for the big feast:

• Seasonings and spices
• Canned pumpkin
• Pie crust (if you don’t plan on making it yourself)
• Marshmallows
• Cream cheese
• Fried onions
• Butter
• Canned cranberry sauce
• Flour
• Sugar
• Chicken broth
• Oil
• Meat thermometer
• Cookware
• Foil
• Beverages

Check If Your Store Is Busy

For a sense of how crowded your go-to store is, you can also check the “Popular Times” information on Google Maps—and even see real-time info on how crowded it is. If your grocery store, restaurant, or any other location seems crowded, you can change your plans.

To do this, follow these steps:

1. Go to your Google Maps app or search “Google Maps” in your browser and select the website.
2. Type in your grocery store name in the search bar, and select your location of choice.
3. More information on that location will appear. Scroll down until you see the section titled “Popular Times.”

From here, you can select a day of the week and see how busy they are at each hour of the day. It will also have a “LIVE” red box, and beside it will say how busy they are in real-time.

Utilize Curbside Pickup

Nowadays, curbside pickup is just about the easiest way to get groceries, and many grocery stores offer this service for free. Simply add what you need to your online cart, checkout, and then drive up at the time designated for your order. Then, the grocery clerks will bring all your groceries out to your car.

If you are one who does not enjoy the crowds, this may be the best option for you. Plus, with this option, you can better keep track of what you have in your “basket” and even see your running total—so you won’t have any surprises at checkout.

Stock Up on Extra Ingredients

To avoid having to make multiple trips to the store, buy a few extra ingredients. There’s nothing worse than realizing you have one too few pie crusts or are short a few eggs. Consider getting additional ingredients such as an extra gallon of milk, a few more sticks of butter, and another tin of fried onions. It never hurts to have a few extra ingredients in your fridge, and stocking up on them can save you a stressful trip to the grocery store the day before the big feast.