Countdown To Thanksgiving

[Spitfire]

Not ready at all. Not a tradition o'er here either. (Christmas is the big thing)

 

[Bluebird Marsha]

I usually can't make it home for Thanksgiving, which is okay. In my family Thanksgiving was the runner-up holiday. Christmas with one parent, Thanksgiving with the other. Alternate the next year. More food to eat though with all the parties. So I'll do what I do most years. Accept an invitation to a friends, or make reservations at a restaurant.

One big benefit. Either way, there will be no alpha-female contest in the kitchen. Which is good, because I hate bloodshed over the dressing.

 

[LoveMyHats2]

Geez...I have to buy turkeys for employees.....

 

[Wally_Hood]

I usually can't make it home for Thanksgiving, which is okay. In my family Thanksgiving was the runner-up holiday. Christmas with one parent, Thanksgiving with the other. Alternate the next year. More food to eat though with all the parties. So I'll do what I do most years. Accept an invitation to a friends, or make reservations at a restaurant.

One big benefit. Either way, there will be no alpha-female contest in the kitchen. Which is good, because I hate bloodshed over the dressing.

We followed a similar pattern: Christmas with aunt and uncle and cousins, then we hosted Thanksgiving; next year, we hosted Christmas and then they had Thanksgiving. It was great, imprinting on me that holidays meant family, food, and fun.

Now that most of the last generation are gone, I miss the get-togethers, but am looking forward to a new set of family members as time goes by.

 

[LoveMyHats2]

We followed a similar pattern: Christmas with aunt and uncle and cousins, then we hosted Thanksgiving; next year, we hosted Christmas and then they had Thanksgiving. It was great, imprinting on me that holidays meant family, food, and fun.

Now that most of the last generation are gone, I miss the get-togethers, but am looking forward to a new set of family members as time goes by.

That strikes a cord with me, many of the family members have passed on, and it really is not the same without them. However, there are still many loved ones to share it with. Seems odd for me to realize I am the "Grandpa" now!

 

[dnjan]

This year there will only be three of us. My daughter will come home from school, but since my son is in grad school in Victoria, he won't have the time off (he did come home for Canadian Thanksgiving).

I'll be roasting a duck and half a turkey. Most of the duck will be consumed and almost none of the turkey. My wife insists on the turkey, as she wants the leftover turkey for sandwiches the following week.

 

[flat-top]

 

[flat-top]

Now THIS should bring the family together:
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1673746/lady-gaga-thanksgiving-special.jhtml

 

[rue]

Yeah.... that'll do it....

 

[m0nk]

Oye, this year is going to be a tough one. We were planning on being in a new, bigger house and as such invited my wife's entire family to come over. The deal on the house fell through and we're stuck in our current, much smaller house. We've got plenty of wine and congac, though, so that should make the ordeal easier.

 

[rue]

Booze makes everything better when it comes to family during the holidays

 

[Connery]

Booze makes everything better when it comes to family during the holidays

Depends on who is doing the drinking.:eeek:lol

 

[rue]

Depends on who is doing the drinking.:eeek:lol

Touche! :fencing:

 

[Connery]

Touche! :fencing:

Nah, it is just that I have seen my share of turkeys that take flight spontaneously.lol

 

[rue]

Nah, it is just that I have seen my share of turkeys that take flight spontaneously.lol

lol

I haven't seen that, but I have an aunt that burnt the top of the marshmallows on her yams one year and started kicking the oven and yelling obscenities

 

[Connery]

lol

I haven't seen that, but I have an aunt that burnt the top of the marshmallows on her yams one year and started kicking the oven and yelling obscenities

That's right go and blame the oven.lol

 

[BigFitz]

Going to Mom's. Not too many dishes I don't like so I give in to gluttony.

 

[Nathan Dodge]

With Thanksgiving fast approaching...

Something that really irritates me is when people "talk shop" at the dinner table. This happens everytime there's a family get together with my in-laws. My sisters-in-law work at the same place, so their conversation invariably goes to shop talk. Now keep in mind that these two women despise each other (my SIL has huge father issues--she hates her pa but married a guy just like him! She hates her brother's wife because she had the "gall" to "compete" for his attention; oh, the Elektra Complex is a strong one). Anyway, they talk endlessly about work and the rest of us sit idly by and are excluded from the conversation. Even if we try and participate, we're shut out. Then, if the topic somehow manages to get changed, my SIL will awkwardly steer the talk back to what she wants to discuss. My SIL has such low self-esteem issues that she takes on a passive-aggressive nature *and* a superiority complex!

My Mother-in-Law enables this conversation, because she takes such pity on her eldest daughter and so whatever the daughter wants to discuss, the mother, in true maternal fashion, goes along with it. They've ruined every major holiday until recently, when my wife and I just find alternate plans and are finally free of them!

The last several holidays have been truly wonderful without them.

I hope your family get togethers are more fun than this; are they?
-------------------------

Abbreviation Key:

MIL= Mother-in Law
SIL=Sister-in-Law

 

[BigFitz]

With Thanksgiving fast approaching...

Something that really irritates me is when people "talk shop" at the dinner table. This happens everytime there's a family get together with my in-laws. My sisters-in-law work at the same place, so their conversation invariably goes to shop talk. Now keep in mind that these two women despise each other (my SIL has huge father issues--she hates her pa but married a guy just like him! She hates her brother's wife because she had the "gall" to "compete" for his attention; oh, the Elektra Complex is a strong one). Anyway, they talk endlessly about work and the rest of us sit idly by and are excluded from the conversation. Even if we try and participate, we're shut out. Then, if the topic somehow manages to get changed, my SIL will awkwardly steer the talk back to what she wants to discuss. My SIL has such low self-esteem issues that she takes on a passive-aggressive nature *and* a superiority complex!

My Mother-in-Law enables this conversation, because she takes such pity on her eldest daughter and so whatever the daughter wants to discuss, the mother, in true maternal fashion, goes along with it. They've ruined every major holiday until recently, when my wife and I just find alternate plans and are finally free of them!

The last several holidays have been truly wonderful without them.

I hope your family get togethers are more fun than this; are they?
-------------------------

Abbreviation Key:

MIL= Mother-in Law
SIL=Sister-in-Law

Some of your experiences sound familiar. Some of my relatives repeat the same stories every year or another tries to dominate the conversation by talking about their latest ailment (everyone rolls eyes). But that's family I guess. Some of them probably roll their eyes when I open my big yapper.

 

[Wally_Hood]

Seeing the comments from several posters, about the unpleasant times that many have when they gather with folks and in-laws at Thanksgiving and Christmas, I am thankful that I grew up with aunts and uncles and cousins that enjoyed being around each other. So my memories are always positive.
Now that my mom and dad are gone, and the rest of the family is scattered about, we have taken to inviting people without local families over for Thanksgiving. It's been a blessing to us and to them.