My mom annually hosts Thanksgiving, the Super Bowl of my family.

About 25 people assemble for the feast. Mom invites whichever relatives she's associating with at the moment, plus close friends and random people. The list sometimes balloons to about 40. One year when the guest list surged past 40, we hired a catering company to help; another year a relative "borrowed" chairs from the quick-service restaurant he franchised to add last-minute seating.

For me, Thanksgiving is arguably the biggest day of the year.

For you, maybe not?

If turkey day isn't your thing, and you'd rather not surround yourself with oven-roasted meat, creamy sides, and sweet pies, there are alternate options.

One is from Shell Shack, the newbie at 2412 Washington Ave. Its full menu (and only its full menu) is available Thursday, which means while some folks have mashed potatoes and gravy, you can have a crab boil with corn and roasted potatoes. (You can also snack on some delicious crab tater tots while you're there.) Shell Shack is open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday, with the kitchen closing at 1 a.m. 

Heck, the late hours mean you can grab a cocktail after Thanksgiving night shopping. Everyone's a winner!

And if you are doing Thanksgiving and need plans: Here's some help, showing who's open Thursday and from where you can order take-out (if there's still time.)