Every year, without fail, we get calls in the days right before Thanksgiving from people hoping to order a holiday meal for the next afternoon. Sometimes we can help. Often, by that point, we genuinely cannot — not because we do not want to, but because a small kitchen cooking everything from scratch can only take on so much at once. Here is a realistic timeline that avoids that problem entirely.
4–6 weeks out: lock in your date
As soon as you know you need holiday catering, call and get your date and headcount on our books. We are not exaggerating when we say holiday slots fill up — we deliberately cap how many orders we take each season so that everything is cooked properly rather than rushed, and popular pick-up windows go first.
2–3 weeks out: decide on quantity
Our holiday special is one meat and two sides, including bread and cranberry sauce, feeding 8–10 people, with a choice of turkey and dressing, baked ham, or chicken. If that does not match your group size, tell us the actual headcount and we will help you size it — we would genuinely rather under-promise and get it right than have you over-order.
This is also the point to think about additions. Mac & cheese, greens and candied sweet potatoes are the sides that go first every year, so if you want them added beyond the standard package, say so now rather than the week of.
1 week out: confirm the order
All catering needs at least three days’ notice as a baseline, but for holidays we would push you to confirm everything — final headcount, pick-up time, any substitutions — a full week ahead. Details are much easier to change now than two days out.
2 days before pick-up: pay the deposit
A 50% deposit is required at least two days before collection. We accept cash and cards, not checks, and once the order is in the kitchen there are no refunds — which is exactly why we build the timeline this way, so nothing is a surprise on either end.
Pick-up day: come at your scheduled time
Orders are packed hot and ready at 937 Locklayer Street at the time you arranged. Bring more room in the car than you expect — catering pans are larger than most people picture — and get it home as soon as you reasonably can so it arrives at the table in the best shape possible.
Follow that timeline and a holiday order from Silver Sands is genuinely simple. Skip the first few weeks of it, and you are relying on luck.
Start the process. See our holiday catering details and the full catering menu, then call 615-780-9900 to book your date.