One year my DH decided to go the fresh turkey route for Thanksgiving, but discovered the small turkey farm didn't have any turkeys left, so on his way home he stopped by a grocery store (2 days before Thanksgiving) and bought a non-frozen turkey which he placed in the refrigerator to await T-day. When I opened the turkey to prep it for baking, I knew instantly it was rotten.... So we cooked up a little chicken, hamburgers, steak, pork chops...whatever we could find in the freezer, and lots and lots of veggies. The 15 guests were very understanding but oh so disappointed... and when invited for other Thanksgivings, several asked while chuckling, if they could call us the night before to be sure the turkey was edible. Today we all laughingly remember the Thanksgiving without turkey. And yes, we did get a refund from the store.