Thanksgiving week isn’t just about turkey, football, and arguing with family members who can’t cook. For delivery drivers, it’s one of the most profitable weekends of the entire year — if you know how to play it. Between Instacart, DoorDash, Uber Eats, Amazon Flex, and grocery orders flying everywhere, this is prime time to stack your bread.
Here’s the ultimate Thanksgiving Weekend Strategy to help you maximize every app, every hour, and every mile.
🍗 The Thanksgiving Eve Hustle (Wednesday)
This is one of the busiest grocery delivery days of the entire year. People forget ingredients. People ain’t trying to go back into Walmart. People refuse to stand in a 90-minute line to buy nutmeg.
Best Apps:
- Instacart – absolute goldmine
- DoorDash (DashMart, grocery, and convenience store orders)
- Amazon Flex (mid-day blocks go FAST)
Strategy:
✔ Work early afternoon → late evening
✔ Prioritize big carts, high-tip customers, and “heavy pay” Instacart batches
✔ Stick to wealthier neighborhoods and areas with Whole Foods or Sprouts
✔ Turn on multiple apps — multi-app is your best friend today
✔ Avoid stores like Walmart during peak madness unless tips are crazy
People panic-shop the day before Thanksgiving. You want to be online when they panic.
🍽 Thanksgiving Day: Quiet… but Sneaky Profitable
Most drivers assume Thanksgiving Day is dead. Nah — it’s weirdly profitable if you know where to look.
What People Order:
- Forgotten ingredients (Instacart, DD, UE)
- Booze deliveries (Uber Eats, DashMart)
- Last-minute dishes
- Fast food for people who don’t cook, live alone, or don’t celebrate
Best Times to Work:
- 10AM–2PM → grocery and convenience
- 5PM–9PM → restaurant and fast food orders
Apps Worth Running:
- Uber Eats (usually surges)
- DoorDash (low driver supply = high demand)
- Instacart (small batches, but fast)
Pro Tip:
Work only the spikes — Thanksgiving is about short bursts of action. Don’t sit out there for 6 hours of slow time unless your market is unusually active.
💸 Black Friday: The REAL Money Day
Everyone is outside shopping. No one wants to cook. People are tired, impatient, and hungry. This is one of the top DoorDash & UE days of the year.
Best Times:
- Breakfast rush: 7AM–10AM
- Lunch madness: 11AM–3PM
- Dinner surge: 5PM–10PM
Top Apps Today:
- Uber Eats (usually has the highest surge multipliers)
- DoorDash
- Amazon Flex — stores are overloaded with packages
- Instacart (not as crazy, but steady)
Strategy:
✔ Hang out near malls, shopping centers, Best Buy, Target, Kohl’s
✔ Avoid the parking lots you can get trapped in
✔ Decline low-paying orders — demand is crazy, you can be picky
✔ Stay near fast-casual spots that can handle volume:
- Chipotle
- Panera
- Chick-fil-A
- Panda Express
- Five Guys
You’re basically feeding an army of exhausted shoppers.
🛍 Black Friday Weekend (Saturday & Sunday)
The mall traffic stays insane. Families still don’t want to cook. And people who traveled for Thanksgiving are still in town ordering food.
Expect:
- High volume
- Great tips
- Lunch and dinner rushes every day
Apps to Prioritize:
- DoorDash
- Uber Eats
- Instacart (especially Sunday morning restocks)
- Flex if you want guaranteed block pay
Best Times:
- 11AM–2:30PM
- 5PM–9:30PM
💰 Cyber Monday: Sneaky Good for Amazon Flex
Most drivers forget about Cyber Monday, but Flex drivers know the truth:
Cyber Monday is a package explosion.
If you can land a block, take it. Apps like Uber Eats are also busy because people are tired from the weekend and order food while working.
Best Apps:
- Amazon Flex 🔥
- Uber Eats
- DoorDash
📦 Best Holiday Apps Ranked (Thanksgiving–Cyber Monday)
- Instacart (Thanksgiving Eve) – absolute monster
- Uber Eats (Black Friday) – surge city
- Amazon Flex (Cyber Monday)
- DoorDash (All weekend)
- Instacart (Thanksgiving Day + Weekend)
👑 DashPimp’s Holiday Money Moves
Do these things and you’ll outperform 90% of drivers in your market:
1. Run 2–3 apps at once
Maximize your decision-making. Decline trash.
2. Stay out of traffic traps
Mall areas are great for orders but terrible for parking lots. Hover near them without entering the chaos.
3. Look at weather
Cold weather = no one wants to leave the house.
4. Prioritize repeat customers
Holiday tippers are generous — and predictable.
5. Track your market’s sweet spots
What’s busy at 11AM in July might be dead on Black Friday. Adjust fast.
🔥 How to Make the Most Money Possible
For the maximum bag, do this exact combo:
Wednesday: Instacart heavy
Thursday: Short shifts – convenience + UE/Doordash dinner
Friday: UE all day, DD evening
Saturday: DD/UE lunch and dinner
Sunday: Instacart morning, DD/UE night
Monday: Flex morning/afternoon block
This is the blueprint.
🏁 Holiday Hustle Wrap-Up (aka “Secure the Bag Season”)
Thanksgiving weekend is not the time to “see how it goes.”
It’s the time to plan, strategize, and maximize your income like a real hustler.
Every app is busy.
Every customer is spending.
Every driver who’s lazy is leaving money on the table.
This is your chance to run it up and use the holiday rush to your advantage.
Get out there and pimp the dash.
