It reminds me of the first Thanksgiving dinner my brother-in-law attended. He came from a background where things were done "properly" and with a lot more "decorum" than my family observes.
So, Thanksgiving dinner itself at 1-ish was normal. Everyone sat around the table and ate. So far, so good. Everyone declared that they were beyond full and "would never be able to eat again". Everyone wanders off to take a nap, go for a swim, watch a game on TV, etc.
Come about 4 p.m., the usual nom-noms start. One guest decides she is a bit peckish and "just wants a bite". She gets a plate and gets a snack out of the refrig. Pretty soon, a couple more get hungry. One just wants a piece of pie to "hold him off til we eat again". One is ready for a full meal and fixes a plate.
By five, several are hungry again and start getting everything out of the refrigerators. Food is put out in the kitchen and more and more wander in to fill their plates with varying items. Some are eating in the dining room, some are out on the patio, some are in front of the TV. Some still aren't hungry. They'll eat later and take a chance that their favorite things will still be there.
Brother-in-law is HORRIFIED! "You mean we're not sitting down together at the table???" Nope, we're not sitting down together at the table. Anybody who wants to sit down at the table is perfectly free to do so. Everybody else is fine with the usual activity. Some are leaving and there's one or two who actually show up now because they were Thanksgiving-ing at somewhere else. They're ready to eat again. Everybody's milling around and the dogs are hopeful. Very hopeful.
It's now 8 p.m. and the third shift is getting hungry again. At this point, people are standing in front of the refrigerators with a fork in hand to spear the last deviled egg or just get a chunk of cold dressing....for the road...
Anyway, that's how we used to do it. Sadly, now we don't do Thanksgiving in the same spot anymore, not even the same state. In some cases, not even the same country. Everybody goes off in different directions.
I miss it. I really do.