The car pulls into the driveway, a bag gets dropped by the door, and the first thing the returning son or daughter smells is the dish that has been on the stove since morning. For plenty of parents, that moment is the whole point of the holiday meal.
A Talker Research survey of 1,000 U.S. parents whose adult children live elsewhere found that 87% planned to make their kids’ favorite meals during the holiday visit, according to the study published November 11, 2025. The survey was fielded October 8 to 15, 2025, and was commissioned by The HoneyBaked Ham Company, so the numbers describe the 2025 season, not this year’s.
The Favorite-Meal Promise
The 87% figure sits at the center of the survey, but the details around it show how much thought goes into the menu. Talker Research reported that 28% of the parents said their children had made special requests for the homecoming. Among those requests, favorite meals led at 72%, followed by favorite snacks or drinks at 46% and visits to old local spots at 18%.
Food also works as the invitation itself. The survey asked how parents encourage kids to come home: 26% remind them how nice it is, 19% welcome them with favorite foods, and 16% offer to send them back with extras. Another 69% said it is easy to convince their children to make the trip at all.
HoneyBaked CEO Jim Dinkins framed the findings around the table. “Making the home really feel like home means making sure there’s something for everybody,” he said, as quoted by Talker Research. The company, founded in 1957 in Detroit, sells hams, turkey breasts and ready-made side dishes, according to Wikipedia.
A Long Drive for Dinner
Not every adult child lives around the corner. The survey found that 54% of parents planned to have their children come home for the holidays, and those kids traveled an average of 596 miles. That is a long day behind the wheel, which makes the meal waiting at the end of it carry extra weight.
The quiet house is part of the story too. Talker Research found that 36% of parents said the home felt too quiet, and 35% said they often felt nostalgic for the years when their kids were younger. Those feelings echo the themes in things grandparents wish their grandkids knew, where time spent together often matters most, and families whose table talk runs long may enjoy the zodiac signs that tell the best stories at the family table.
Three Main Dishes and a Second Trip to the Store
The menu itself is ambitious. On average, empty nesters planned three main dishes, per the survey, and turkey at 66% and ham at 52% were the most popular. Two-thirds said they begin shopping weeks ahead for their children’s favorite foods, and 42% expected to shop for different foods depending on who their kids bring home.
That guest list can grow. Beyond their own children, parents expected grandkids (53%), a child’s significant other (42%), extended family (40%) and their own partner (36%). Four in five said it matters that everyone has something good to eat, whatever their preferences. Hosts juggling that many plates can pick up clever kitchen tricks for home cooks.
Even with weeks of planning, 56% expected last-minute store runs for forgotten food, and one in four expected at least two such trips. Cooks who want to cut down on a crowded oven can look at ways to free up the oven at Thanksgiving, and families with strong menu opinions will see themselves in Thanksgiving traditions that everyone pretends are not weird.
Sending Kids Home With Extras
One in six parents said they offer to send their children home with extras, and that is where food safety enters the picture. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service says leftovers should go into the refrigerator within 2 hours of cooking, or within 1 hour when the temperature is above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Large batches should be divided into shallow containers so they cool quickly to 40 degrees or below.
Leftovers keep in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days, according to the agency, and for 3 to 4 months in the freezer. When they are reheated, the target is 165 degrees Fahrenheit, measured with a food thermometer. The 2-hour limit keeps running on the road, so a long trip home is worth planning around.
What the Numbers Do and Do Not Show
A few cautions apply. The survey was online, it covered 1,000 parents, and it was paid for by a company that sells holiday ham, so the results show what parents said they planned, not what ended up on every table. It was also conducted in October 2025, which means the percentages reflect last year’s holidays.
Even so, the 87% figure is easy to picture. A parent who knows a child’s favorite casserole, pie or side dish often starts planning around it long before the first grocery trip, and the survey suggests that is common.
For families planning this season’s visit, Thanksgiving falls on November 26 this year, according to Wikipedia, which also notes that the holiday weekend is one of the busiest travel periods in the U.S. The survey’s main message is simple: kids who come home often come home with a specific dish in mind, and parents are ready for the request.
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
