Once upon a time, Sunday dinners held a sacred place in middle-class American life. They meant roasted meats, perfectly set tables, and the kind of family togetherness that felt effortless. Today, though, those rituals are fading faster than anyone expected. Life got busier, priorities shifted, and what once seemed essential now feels almost quaint. Let’s be real, Sunday dinner is not what it used to be.
Roughly 60% of Americans cook Sunday dinner at home in 2022, according to Morning Consult, but around 50% of American families rarely eat dinner together in the first place. That’s quite a contrast from decades past. Only 38 percent of Gen Zers who are now adults report that their family ate together regularly growing up. The question is not just why families stopped gathering on Sundays, but which specific traditions vanished along the way. Some of these customs might surprise you.
The Formal Dining Room Sits Empty
Remember when every middle-class home had a dining room specifically for Sunday meals? That room with the good furniture, the china cabinet, and maybe a centerpiece that no one was allowed to touch? In a 2017 study conducted by UCLA-associated researchers, cameras were used to monitor how often 32 dual income families used their dining room. It turns out that they weren’t used very often, as the dining table was normally covered in items like bills and toys that made it impossible for mealtime use.
Nowadays, families eat at the kitchen island, on the couch, or wherever feels convenient. Nearly 80% of designers working on new home communities report that dining rooms have become significantly less important over the past year, according to recent research by John Burns Research and Consulting and Pro Builder magazine. The formal dining room has become a relic, converted into home offices, playrooms, or just storage space. What was once the heart of Sunday dinner tradition now collects dust.
Setting the Table With Care Has Disappeared
There was a time when setting the Sunday table was a ritual in itself. Kids would lay out the good silverware, arrange cloth napkins, maybe even fold them into fancy shapes. Setting the table used to be a small but important ritual, as described by Chrissy Carter. Kids would be given the job of laying out the plates, silverware, and napkins, sometimes even folding the napkins just so. There was often a tablecloth or placemats, and occasionally a centerpiece – maybe a vase of flowers or a bowl of fruit.
These days, if families eat together at all, plates might go straight from the cabinet to the counter. No tablecloth. No coordinated napkins. Honestly, paper plates are not uncommon. The act of preparing the space for a meal has become an afterthought rather than part of the experience itself. It’s functional now, not ceremonial.
Saying Grace Before the Meal
Before digging in, many families would pause for a moment of gratitude. Saying grace was common, especially in religious households, but even those who weren’t particularly religious might take a moment to express thanks for the meal and each other. This tradition created a brief, collective pause that marked the meal as something more than just eating.
Today, that moment of reflection is rare. Families are rushing, distracted, or simply out of the habit. For many households, this tradition isn’t as widespread anymore, but some still make a point of sharing what they’re thankful for before eating, keeping the spirit of gratitude alive. The shift reflects a broader cultural change where meals are less about ritual and more about efficiency. Even those who maintain gratitude practices often do so privately rather than collectively.
The Multi-Hour Sunday Meal Has Shrunk
Sunday dinners used to take time. Not just the eating part, which could last well over an hour, but the entire experience from preparation to cleanup. The average family dinner lasted for a full hour-and-a-half 60 years ago. Today, the average dinner lasts just 12 minutes. That’s a staggering difference, one that reflects how dramatically our relationship with food and family time has changed.
Twelve minutes barely allows you to sit down, let alone have a meaningful conversation. The leisurely Sunday meal where stories were told and laughter filled the room has been replaced by quick, functional eating. People grab food and move on. I think this might be one of the saddest shifts because time together is what made Sunday dinner special in the first place.
Dressing Up for Dinner
Here’s one that might sound almost absurd today. Believe it or not, families often changed into nicer clothes for dinner, even if they weren’t expecting company. Sunday dinner was an event, and dressing for it signaled respect for the occasion and the people you were sharing it with. Men might put on a button-up shirt, women a nice dress, kids their “Sunday best.”
Now? Pajamas are perfectly acceptable dinner attire. Athleisure wear dominates. The idea of changing clothes just to eat with your own family feels unnecessarily formal, maybe even performative. Yet that formality once reinforced the importance of the meal itself. It set Sunday apart from the rest of the week in a tangible way.
Home-Cooked Meals From Scratch
Women now devote a little more than half the average time per day to cooking that they did in 1965, and men cook slightly more on average, The Atlantic reports. This shift reflects both changing gender roles and the reality that cooking from scratch takes time most families no longer have. Sunday dinners once featured roasts that cooked for hours, homemade sides, fresh-baked bread, and desserts made from family recipes.
Today, takeout, meal kits, and pre-prepared foods have replaced much of that labor. On an average weeknight, about half of millennials say they cook dinner from scratch, compared with roughly 70% of baby boomers. Even when families do cook on Sundays, they’re reaching for shortcuts. There’s nothing wrong with convenience, of course, especially when life is hectic. Yet something is lost when the smell of a slow-roasted chicken no longer fills the house on a Sunday afternoon.
Dessert as Part of Every Sunday Meal
According to Retro Dee, pies, cakes, Jell-O, or fruit salads were common, and sometimes dessert was as simple as cookies or pudding. Having dessert wasn’t reserved for special occasions – it was part of the everyday dinner ritual. Kids especially looked forward to dessert, and it often became a bargaining chip – “Finish your vegetables, then you can have dessert.” Homemade treats were the norm, and recipes were often family favorites passed down through generations.
Now, dessert feels optional, sometimes even indulgent. For most families now, dessert is more of an occasional indulgence, but the tradition of a nightly treat made dinnertime a little more special. The shift away from routine desserts reflects broader concerns about sugar, health, and diet culture. Still, it removes one more element that made Sunday dinner feel celebratory rather than mundane.
No Screens at the Table
The dinner table was a device-free zone, mostly because there weren’t many devices to begin with. Even when television became popular, it was understood that the TV would be turned off during dinner. The focus was on conversation and being present with one another. This wasn’t a rule that needed enforcing because the technology simply wasn’t there to compete for attention.
Fast forward to 2025, and screens are everywhere. Nowadays, it’s common for phones or tablets to sneak their way onto the table, and the idea of a “no screens” rule can feel old-fashioned. Having the television on during dinner has declined over the past decade: In 2009 a third of respondents to a CBS poll said the TV was “always on,” whereas in 2021 fewer than one in five respondents said so. That’s a positive shift, though phones have largely replaced televisions as the primary distraction.
Inviting Neighbors and Friends Spontaneously
It wasn’t unusual for families to invite neighbors, friends, or even unexpected visitors to join them for dinner. Hospitality was a point of pride, and there was always a way to “stretch” the meal to feed one more person. The phrase “there’s always room for one more” captured the spirit of the time. Sharing food was a way to build community and make everyone feel included.
That kind of spontaneous generosity is rare now. These days, spontaneous dinner guests are less common with busier lives and smaller dining tables. But the tradition of open doors and generous hospitality is remembered fondly by many. Meals are scheduled, planned, sometimes catered. The idea of just showing up at someone’s house for dinner feels intrusive rather than neighborly. Our sense of community has contracted along with our Sunday dinner traditions.
The Big Sunday Roast
It typically consisted of a roasted meat, roasted vegetables and potatoes, gravy, stuffing and bread. The Sunday roast was a staple of middle-class dining, a meal substantial enough to feed a family and maybe some guests, too. It required planning, skill, and time. The centerpiece was usually beef, pork, or chicken, cooked slowly and served with all the trimmings.
This tradition has largely vanished from regular practice. Sure, some families still do a big roast for holidays or special occasions, but the weekly Sunday roast? That’s become uncommon. Families now prefer quicker proteins, simpler preparations, or meals that don’t heat up the house for hours. The ritual of carving meat at the table, passing around heavy dishes of potatoes and gravy, feels like something from another era.
Passing Dishes Family-Style
There was a particular rhythm to Sunday dinner: dishes were placed in the center of the table, and everyone passed them around, serving themselves. It was communal, interactive, and required a certain amount of coordination. You had to wait your turn, say “please pass the potatoes,” and make sure everyone got their share before taking seconds.
Now, meals are often plated individually in the kitchen, if they’re plated at all. Buffet-style serving or grabbing food as you go has replaced the choreography of passing dishes around a table. This change might seem minor, yet it alters the dynamic of the meal. Passing food required interaction, eye contact, communication. It was a small but meaningful way of connecting with each other.
The Slow Cooker Sunday Tradition
This led to a still-present phenomenon: Crock-Pot Sunday dinners. Before going to church, someone can fill a Crock-Pot with all the ingredients for dinner and let it cook all day. When the family gets home from church, they already have dinner prepared. The slow cooker became synonymous with Sunday dinners for many middle-class families, particularly those who attended church services. It was practical magic: prep in the morning, return to a ready meal.
While slow cookers are still popular, the Sunday-specific ritual has faded. People use them throughout the week now, not just on Sundays. The connection between Sunday, church, and the slow cooker meal has weakened as church attendance has declined and Sunday has become less distinct from other days. The slow cooker endures, but its role in the Sunday dinner tradition has diminished significantly.
