Figures from a number of US supermarket chains are proving that the more traditional Thanksgiving roast has finally been usurped by its ready-prepared cousin, the turkey-to-go.

The US National Restaurant Association has revealed that around a third of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day meals will have been bought ready prepared. A spokesman commented: “Used to be you barely saw Mom’s and Grandma’s faces because they were in the kitchen all day. Now you can actually spend time with them during the holidays.”

This means the supermarkets have plenty to celebrate this season and many are revelling in the popularity of their ready-made meals, complete with all the basics and some of the trimmings. Turkey dinner sales at Kroger have increased dramatically over recent years, rising by 40% between 1998 and 1999 and are expected to double this holiday season. Similarly, the Orange restaurant chain in Calif saw takeout dinner orders shoot up to 20,000 this year.

And with increasing numbers of consumers turning in this direction, there is little chance that we will see the turkey to go-go.