From travel times to top side dishes, these are the biggest Thanksgiving trends
Millions of Americans will ponder the best time to hit the road, search for store hours to pick up that extra bottle of wine or even try to determine which state enjoys the tastiest sides on Thanksgiving.
This year, Google did the legwork to find the top trends on turkey day using data from Google Maps to provide insights for the places people visit during the holidays. Through the interactive trend forecast, users can find results tailored to their state, day of the week and even time of day to plan their holiday weekend accordingly.
Whether you're in Alaska searching for a bed and breakfast or touting your love of stuffing in the Northeast, here are some of the most popular trends, according to Google.
Food and drink trends
Thanksgiving is all about the feast and Google found a way to help the large majority of Americans who need help navigating to a variety of food and drink-related locations throughout the holiday period. Plus, the trends also turned out results on the most uniquely popular foods in each state.
Popular Thanksgiving sides by state
Best time to leave the house for food, drinks and fun
Check out more trends and search to see how your state compares to others during the holiday here.
Bakeries: The best time to visit a bakery is on Tuesday at 7 p.m. (least crowded). The worst time is on Wednesday at 2 p.m. (most crowded).
Grocery stores: The best time to visit a grocery store is on Tuesday at 9 p.m. (least crowded). The worst time is on Wednesday at 5 p.m. (most crowded).
Liquor stores: The best time to visit a liquor store is on Tuesday at 10 p.m. (least crowded). The worst time is on Wednesday at 5 p.m. (most crowded).
Movie theaters: The best time to visit a movie theater is on Tuesday at 11 a.m. (least crowded). The worst time is on Tuesday at 6 p.m. (most crowded).
Shopping centers: The best time to visit a shopping center is on Thursday at 7 a.m. (least crowded). The worst time is on Wednesday at 5 p.m. (most crowded).
Entertainment search trends
From football to movies, the holiday weekend is filled with entertainment options. With the trends mapping, Google found the most popular specific types of entertainment venues and activities in each area.
Traffic trends
Avoid traffic before Thanksgiving: At a national level, we see that the day before Thanksgiving between 3 and 4 p.m. is the worst time to hit the road, but traffic clears up significantly by 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning.
Avoid traffic after Thanksgiving: To avoid any foul moods after Thanksgiving, try your best to avoid the Friday or Sunday afternoon rush and leave in the morning instead, like around 6 a.m. on Sunday, when there are significantly less cars on the road.
Other holiday weekend trends and tips
Getting to your destination:
Search along your route: The holidays often mean one thing: epic road trips. If you’re on the road and realize you need to make a stop -- say you’re running low on gas or forgot that bottle of wine -- you can use Google Maps to search for gas stations, stores or other places along your drive so you can tackle your to-do list without going out of your way.
Share your ETA: No one likes cold turkey! Let friends and family know when they can expect you by sharing your live location and ETA with just a few taps.
Explore the area:
Find hidden gems using the Explore tab: If you’re heading home for the first time in a while or traveling to a new city, Google Maps can help you find the best restaurants, sights to see and events happening in your area.
Don’t get lost: If you’re exploring on foot, Live View can help you figure out which way to walk with arrows and directions clearly overlaid on the map.
Get more done:
Save time: Avoid the crowds by using the Popular Times feature to see when holiday destinations like grocery stores, shopping malls, movie theaters and bakeries are the most busy.
Google News Lab, Google Maps and Polygraph collaborated to create Mapping Thanksgiving -- which analyzed search trends across the country for times between the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and Black Friday.
