Mark Consuelos Is Trying to Convince Kelly Ripa to Serve Thanksgiving Dinner at Lunchtime: ‘Think About It!’

Mark Consuelos has a delicious idea for Thanksgiving this year — but Kelly Ripa won’t bite.

During the Friday, Oct. 25 broadcast of Live with Kelly and Mark, Consuelos, 53, tried to convince Ripa, 54, to have an earlier Thanksgiving. The debate is a hot topic in their home.

“Survey said 42% of Americans agree that food should be served somewhere between 1 and 3,” said Consuelos, reading from a news story. Ripa chimed in: “That’s called lunch!”

“29% like to chow down between 4 and 5. And 14% like to eat between 5 and 7 p.m.,” Consuelos added. “Because that’s when dinner is served!” said Ripa. “And if you don’t like it, then you host Thanksgiving for a change. How about that!”

Consuelos then proposed a new schedule for Thanksgiving this year to cater to their children,Michael, 27, Lola, 23, and Joaquin, 21. “Since our kids are older now, they wake up later and when they’re visiting, they’re home and it’s kind of a rolling wakeup. 9, 10:30 — they really kind of maybe get a light breakfast in,” he said. “So, if we had lunch, the people that didn’t eat that much… your appetite between 1-3, that’s when you really want to chow down and have a massive meal.”

“Then what happens is, your leftovers go in the refrigerator and at dinner, when they’re hungry, you just point at the refrigerator. That’s what we’re eating. Well, that’s what you’re eating. And then we’re done. So it’s kind of like one meal [all day],” he said.

The Riverdale actor also alluded to being exhausted by cleaning up after a late Thanksgiving dinner. “Would you consider like a 1-3?” he asked Ripa. “Not say deciding, would you be open to considering, this year we call it Thanksgiving lunch. Like, a lunch. Can we maybe think about it? We have time. Don’t give an answer right now! But just like think about the evening…”

Ripa had the perfect response to Consuelos: “Do you know what I’m going to do? I am going to think about it. I’m going to think about it in the way that you’ve taught me to think about things, when you say, ‘I’ll think about it.'”

The longtime talk show host addressed the audience, jokingly announcing that if anyone wanted to come to their house for Thanksgiving, there would be two servings. “There’ll be the brunch contingent, and they’ll have their meal. And then I’ll be serving elegant Thanksgiving dinner at dinnertime,” she said.

Ripa takes Thanksgiving very seriously. In November 2023, she spoke about her “no phone” policy for Thanksgiving dinner. “You know what I’m doing? I’m taking out the basket. I didn’t want to do it but I’m going to be forced to do it. I’ve got a phone basket,” she said.

Ripa is open to some new traditions. In 2021, Ripa and her son Michael cooked potato au gratin for the first time on her talk show. “It’s a creamy, cheesy potato that’s thinly sliced and crispy on top that my kids for years and years have begged me to make,” Ripa said at the time.

“Now that they’ve left the house and I have time to read the Food section of the New York Times, I was like, ‘I should make this. It seems like something I can do.’ So we’ll find out if our holiday tradition can become a thing.”

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