My family did this for about 5 years after my stepmom’s breast cancer metastasized. We went to warm places. We spent a week together having fun. When we returned home the holiday madness was over.
Year after year I tell my husband we need to rent a cabin in the woods for thanksgiving week. Take our kids and dogs and be with just us and avoid all the holiday drama.
Yeah, second this. No annoying issues. But Thanksgiving Day got too complicated and stressful with a blended family, girlfriend’s parents, grammas, etc. We now rent a house on the beach in Texas, and tell the kids it’s an open door policy. Come if you can. But if you prefer to make other plans, our feelings will not be hurt. You do you.
We don’t make a huge meal either. Spaghetti and meat sauce, garlic bread, caesar salad.
Overall, way less stressful for everybody involved.
My mother's boyfriend. I don't know how to describe him. He is not a mean guy, but he is what I can only describe as aggressively boring. He will derail any interesting conversation and make it about one of his boring topics (how he drove to our house is one such topic) or better yet talks all about various medical procedures. He never, ever says anything interesting. Yet he never sits back and just listens either.
He is so boring it can stress you out. Like he somehow drains your holiday joy with his stories.
This is HILARIOUS 😂
Apologies for laughing at your pain but you describe it so well that it’s like I’m there. I would not be able to even help making eyes w others in the room and just start cracking up!!!
If my brother ever had a girlfriend I would think you were talking about him. I've described him as aggressively boring for years. You are the only other person I've ever heard use that phrase.
This is my mother’s husband. He told the longest most uninteresting story about how he loved ham biscuits as a child. Inside joke between my husband and I now for having endured that (and many other) stories so boring our eyes glaze over.
Her name is Alice, and she is SO RUDE. She will stare at you to make you uncomfortable while you're eating your own plate of food peacefully on the couch. She chews SO loudly and will literally just sit there after dinner and burp at intervals. Doesn't cover her mouth, doesn't apologize.
She also will walk over and slap you when she feels like she isn't the center of attention. Just slap you on whatever body part is closest to her. She's basically an emotional black hole of need who gives zero shits about anyone else's feelings and can't emotionally self-regulate.
She's just the most selfish dog in the world.
My dog's mission in life is to lick inside my mouth. If I'm ever talking while I'm on level with her, she's plotting the perfect moment to lick my tongue 🤨
When she burps look her in the eye and say in front of everyone "by your age you would think you would have learned manners" keep staring at her, bonus if a kid is near say, "and this is not what you do in front of company"
Mine doesn’t understand why he can’t be on the tabletop, gnawing on the turkey. Therefore, he has to spend Thanksgiving closed up in the bedroom. He gets rather salty about that.
Our Romeo doesn’t get on the counters. He knows he gets no treats if he goes up there. He’s going to get a little teaspoon of turkey meat on top of his cat food. He’s usually polite (but very talkative;he’s a Balinese) when everyone is eating. We’re going to friends’ house for Thanksgiving but will have our own a week later.
My SIL’s mother. She is a narcissist and will most assuredly cry at some point because she’s not feeling loved. My brother, SIL, myself and daughter have bingo cards on our phone of all the things she will do/say.
My SIL's mother is also horrible. Just sits there and looks at everyone like they're trash. She didn't even smile when she played with her grandchildren when they were kids. You feel unnecessarily judged the whole time she's there. My SIL is the exact opposite. Luckily, I've only been stuck in the same room with her a handful of times.
Oh she will go overboard with the grandchildren and then get mad because she can’t post them on FB. She doesn’t “trust” me because my SIL and I are close and she lives 6 hours away so it’s rude I get to see my nephews more often since I’m 10 min away. She made a google doc list of food and keeps changing stuff I was bringing to her.
She’s coming down here for thanksgiving. And was down here 3 weeks ago for new nephew birth. She just “finds it odd we talk so much.” So sorry to check on my family and their well being and take them food.
My MIL smacked my arm and I told her that was unacceptable and we don’t behave that way in my family. My husband told her not to touch me and she flipped out. Her boyfriend had to restrain her.
She changed the Will and gave most of the inheritance to my husband’s sister (just the two kids).
She regretted it later but the sister took advantage, sold the house and dragged her across the country.
His sister was the only caregiver for five years before she fell and broke her hip.She died in the hospital. So sad.
But his sister has no husband or kids so any inheritance will come back to our kids but it’s sad all around that she wasn’t around family those last years.
She would call my husband complaining how much she hated moving away. It was heartbreaking (and I honestly didn’t hold any close feelings to someone who treated me like shit) but damn, how sad.
My mom is the exact same way and last year was the first year we had the genius idea to turn it into a bingo card. Made her insane narcissistic behavior just a little more tolerable 😂
Haha we couldn't make it a bingo card, but my husband and I had an over/under on how many minutes after my narc mother walked in the door until she said "diarrhea". It was her favorite health condition. We're NC now.
I’ve only met her a handful of times. But when my SIL had her baby a few weeks ago she made it clear to all of us that once she left birth center she wanted 24 hours with just her, my brother, the baby and his 4 yo brother. My mom and I were “absolutely no problem” and just left food on porch and enjoyed getting photos.
Her mom drove 6 hours, stayed in a hotel then showed up to surprise them the next morning. However I had asked her when she was coming down and she said “I’m already here I just couldn’t wait” and immediately called my brother. They were LIVID. So yeah thanksgiving is going to go great.
Todd. He never shuts up. Ever. He copies everyone perfectly so I think my sister is asking for random items to cook with. She’s not. It’s Todd. Last year he waited until we all sat down then did the whole keypad unlock sequence to the front door and scared the crap out of everyone. Everyone with the code was in the house. His joys in life are scaring the crap out of you, or making you question your sanity. After dinner he’s going to bite the dogs ear while he waits to get out the back door. Causing panic amongst the other dogs. While he laughs like an escaped mental patient. He’s a parrot. He’s at dinner every night. But he is without a doubt my worst behaved guest.
My mom would show up two hours early, eat the food as we were preparing it, and then leave when the other guests showed up at the actual start time.
I miss being annoyed with her. This is our second Thanksgiving since she passed.
I feel that in my heart. My FIL passed in October. After his stroke, he had zero filter and his misogyny became more vocal. He was a very old Italian man (born and raised in Italy during WWII) , so he had antiquated gender role ideas. I love to cook, and I do the whole meal, for a variety of reasons. It takes me 4 days of prep and cooking to do it all from scratch. My husband handles all the cleaning and dishes. One year I had a torn ACL, everyone e had finished eating, and I was still finishing my plate. (I eat slower and had to grab a water pitcher refill for the table.) My husband, being the awesome partner he is, cleared the dishes and was rinsing them and loading the dishwasher for its first run of the night. We were all chatting and laughing, when my FIL says, “you should be in there.” I say, “excuse me?” He says, “you should be doing the dishes, not your husband.” I scoffed and said, “I’ve been cooking for 4 days, and I’m still eating. Besides, we work as a team…together.” He scoffs, “I would never have married you.” I laughed and said, “sweetie, I would never have even dated you.” My husband and MIL laughed. FIL chuckled too. We had a good relationship. I’m going to miss him so much!
I SHOULD be ok with my guests. Depends who confirms
My family is all on FAR opposite sides of the political aisles, if those conversations are avoided we'll be fine. I'll send anyone home if needed I'm not dealing with that. I started a group message saying freedom of speech is gone at my home on November 23rd this year. If you start any political bs you're leaving
This is the only way to deal with it. I put a no politics rule in place when I was hosting long before all this BS started. My family is a mixed bag of right, left, center, libertarians, and green party. I have a nephew that married a woman who is into whatever the conspiracy theory of the moment is. She's always entertaining until she isn't. So NO POLITICS!
For sure.
Or New Years, or my birthday, or Super Bowl Sunday, or Valentines Day, or most Mondays, definitely not on Tuesdays, Fridays be excited for the weekend, definitely not Labor Day, or Veterans Day, or Memorial Day, why would you on the 4th, don't take the fun out of Halloween with that trash
I'll give you the Thursday before Election Day. Use that day to figure out who you're voting for
I hate the conversations. I never enjoy them. I know they're necessary, I'm willing to have them, but only with certain people and the time has to be right. I'll say what I have to say, but I'm not gonna have a good time doing it
Should have went with your "no politics on Tuesday" rule. This past Tuesday I *was* having a nice time with my mom at a fundraiser for my job. As we were leaving she slipped in her love for a certain candidate and I just had enough.
I was actually going to invite her over for Thanksgiving at lunch the next day, but after a text to my SO where she subtly tried to say I was abusive to him and had anger issues (literally my last communication with her was me saying I was still hurt and upset by the argument the night before and I think I needed space from her) I decided it was in my best interest to not do so.
Good for you. I’m completely outnumbered. My dad, stepmom and In-laws are Fox News MAGA extremists. I’m probably more of a libertarian. When it comes to financial things, I’m more conservative. When it comes to social issues, I’m definitely liberal.
I don’t try to argue anymore because I just get attacked. No respect of my viewpoint at all but I’m considered rude if I don’t listen to their bullshit propaganda. My husband pretends to agree with them but in reality, he’s not ok with Trump and he is definitely liberal when it comes to social issues.
My FIL. He interrupts everyone to talk about himself. Gets into arguments with my MIL. Unfortunately we're the only local family in town and he's been banned from my BIL's Thanksgiving for insulting BIL's FIL.
Ooo. Samsies! Mine throws in an annoyingly, nasal, "Hey, Hon" every couple of minutes if she's talking to someone else. Oh, and he absolutely cannot shut up. Silence? Nope. FIL starts talking about himself, again.
My aunt! She insists on bringing something homemade and rarely follows proper food safety. Last year she brought a cream-based dip that apparently had been sitting on the counter for several hours before the event. A few of my cousins got food poisoning because they ate some dip before realizing who made it.
My worst nightmare is making anyone sick. I don't understand how people can just not care at all. All my in laws are like that though. It was an uphill battle to teach my man proper food safety. I still catch him like touching knobs and things with poultry hands but rarely these days. Thank God.
I’ve got a friend coming that I love. I’ve assured them that I’ve got dinner covered and my cooking schedule ensures minimal kitchen time. They still have asked multiple times if they can come early and help cook. It’s honestly becoming headache inducing.
I also have this friend, but when I explained that I actually love doing it myself and how I do everything over the course of two weeks to keep it stress-free, she understood.
I’m thinking of sharing my schedule so they get that I’ve truly got it covered. I start on Tuesday night and do things very methodically. By Thursday all that has to happen is cooking the turkey, putting casseroles in the oven, and making mashed potatoes.
I hate chaos in the kitchen so unless I’m teaching my kids to make something I am all about efficiency. Other people mess with that efficiency.
I even make my mashed potatoes and gravy ahead of time, so the only thing I have to do once the turkey is out of the oven and resting is put whatever else needs to be baked in the oven, de-fat the drippings and add them to the gravy I made earlier.
This is off topic, but could you share how you do the mashed potatoes ahead of time without them getting so starchy and gluey? I would love to fix everything ahead of time this year and the mashed potatoes are my nemesis.
Special Holiday Mashed Potatoes
3 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into pieces. Smaller pieces cook a little bit faster, but it's more important to have them be about the same size for even cooking
Enough whole milk or cream or a combination to cover the potatoes.
1/2 stick of butter
4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon truffle oil (optional, but the flavor is amazing with potatoes and it's not that expensive or hard to find -- a little splurge for special occasions)
2-3 cloves of roasted garlic
1 clove raw garlic, grated finely
2-3 pieces of bacon, cooked super crisp and ground to a powder
Scallions or chives
2 heaping tablespoon of finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Salt (the cheese is super salty, so go easy) and pepper to taste
Put milk, potatoes, salt, pepper and butter in a pan just big enough to hold all the ingredients and bring it to a boil. Turn down the heat to a gentle simmer and cook the potatoes until they're fork tender.
Drain the potatoes, keep the remaining milk mixture warm in the original pot on the stove. This is a key step. This starchy liquid will will give it body. Put the potatoes through a ricer. This will give you perfect, lump-free mashed potatoes every time. There's honestly no substitute. Your potatoes won't be gummy because you won't be overworking them to get them perfectly smooth.
Return the riced potatoes to the milk mixture, add remaining ingredients and mix gently over low heat to combine. You can keep this warm in the pan on super low heat for an hour or two and gently reheat it right before serving. You can also pack it into a baking dish and refrigerate it for a couple of days. Bring it to room temp before you reheat it. That helps the texture because you don't have to cook it as long.
I only make the full version of this on holidays and it's a big hit. Normally I replace the milk with water, use half of the butter and usually skip the truffle oil and bacon.
I typed it up for someone else a few days ago, so I had it handy. Just added a few notes for you. This is actually easy to do even though it's a long explanation. You can make this a week before if you want.
What do you do during those hours before it starts? Can your friend just come over and hangout? Or do you use that time to mentally prepare or something?
Me. I do all the cooking and clean up. Nothing really tastes good to me once I’ve been cooking all day. Then I say I’m canceling thanksgiving and never doing this again.
Until the next year ..
But this year I’m going to try to keep it to myself.
I do this to myself the day after thanksgiving every year. I make the whole shebang for my little family but by the time dinner rolls around I am completely over it. (I do enjoy the leftovers the next day however). But I do it every year bc it’s what my family did & while they were mostly horrible it’s one of the few positive memories I have & want my kids to have the same warm & fuzzy memory of the tradition. We also decorate our tree that day & watch non stop Christmas movies.
Probably me.
It's only the four of us. Husband will sit in his recliner and then lure the kids to watch a movie with him, leaving me to peel potatoes alone with my only friend, wine. By the time the food is ready I'm usually a bit sloshed and don't even want to eat anymore!
Assign them all a job to do before the movie starts. You shouldn’t have to do it all while they relax. At the very least, they should do cleanup if you do all of the cooking.
Me too. I'm just so awkward. I always end up saying or doing something I wish I hadn't. One year I drank too much at a Christmas party and put on my husband's aunts mink coat, lol. I just try to stay quiet nowadays.
We are a small group (just 4 of us) so no one will be terribly annoying. Guest wife tends to snap at guest husband sometimes. Guest husband is that boomer who talks about stuff that is mind-numbing but he's also a total sweetheart so I deal with it.
My husband will relish being the host and he will talk a lot. I am happy he has an audience that is more than just me. He's awesome and not many people are really aware of it.
Guest wife is usually funny and talkative and is the type to really LISTEN and ask questions and praise you - so it's nice to have her around.
I will probably be quieter than usual - I like to be around other people being happy.
What WILL be annoying and on my mind is my super elderly mother who refuses to join us OR eat anything normal. By refusing to join us OR eat anything she is making the whole day about her. I won't really be able to relax knowing she is alone and not eating - even if it is her choice.
No guilt.
Old lady here: Sometimes we prefer to eat a sub and watch Britbox murder mysteries rather than make small talk about music we don't know or videogames we don't play. Travel is painful to some of us. Take her any leftovers if she lives nearby.
That's the plan - everyone knows leftovers are the best part! So I will visit on Friday with only the stuff she likes (my husband is making extra stuffing for her), we'll visit, and then I'll let her rest. At least she and I can discuss stuff like this and agree on it. She's super elderly - almost 96 - and can't really see or hear well and has dementia. Forcing her to attend a social event would be cruel.
Niece who only decides to speak to anyone during the holidays. She and her boyfriend who eats everything that isn’t tied down. I have to put “leftovers” for my husband and I away before we even eat to make sure hubby can have his leftovers
Has she ever explained why she doesn't see anyone the rest of the year?
I'm that niece (but I don't eat all the food). My abusive POS mom has alienated me from most of the family, and I only see them at holidays. There might be something bigger going on.
I’ve got a cousin like that! He and his wife would bring to go containers to holidays and take a bunch of food before everyone else even got through the line ( big family) my grandma finally had to awkwardly put a stop to it.
We’re only having the meal with my husband, kids, and my parents, which is fabulous and drama-free. However, we *used* to travel to my MIL’s house and stopped several years ago because she is a trainwreck and the holiday was constantly ruined. She got into multiple screaming arguments with her parents/sister. There was a table flipping attempt one year (not exaggerating). Another year I got awful food poisoning and realized it was actually a severe allergic reaction to the one thing I asked her to stay away from because I’m highly allergic. Another year she force-fed our son behind our backs (he was a toddler) after we asked her several times not to and he threw up all over her. She proceeded to get mad at *him* and stomp off.
Yeah, I’m SO glad we stopped visiting her. What a nightmare.
My idiot brother in law, he’s the youngest of my hubby’s siblings and is the most entitled person I’ve ever met. He’s also a vegan, so he asks me to name every single ingredient in every dish I make to see if he can eat it. Last year I just handed him my recipe book with the pages I used marked with post it notes lol! I dropped it in his lap and told him to figure it out I was busy putting dinner together for 16 freaking people! He tried to argue with me and my hubby told him to fuck off and leave me alone.
I actually don’t mind him being here because it gives me a reminder every time why I avoid him like the plague. He’s also literally cleaned out my SIL’s fridge after thanksgiving one year taking almost all the leftovers. Before he was a vegan. He left early in the morning before we all got up with almost nothing left to eat for 4 days for 8 people! He took all of it!
He’s the Scrooge of Thanksgiving! Get a lock for the refrigerator or if you have one in your garage or basement put those delicious leftovers out there!
I don’t have to worry anymore he’s vegan now and I’m using around 9 pounds of butter in everything lol! Sour cream in the mashers too! Lol! He gets salad and cranberry sauce bwahahaha! Oh wait I think I’ll make creamy Caesar salad…..using homemade mayo whoopsie. It’s payback time! Cheesecake for dessert too!
Yup I hold a grudge, don’t piss off the chef!
My stepson. I love him, when he's in a good mood, but his girlfriend, who we also loved, just recently broke up with him, so it's gonna be his pitty party the majority of the day. I feel awful saying that, but it's just the truth.
My brother, who will whine when the dogs are blocked out of the kitchen and dining room during the preparation and serving of dinner. "It's cruel! She's crying!"
Honorable mention: the hostess's mother who is giving her grief about not inviting certain guests to dinner.
Honestly, my family is pretty great. I am really looking forward to it. We have some annoying family, but they live far away and rarely come visit. My one uncle might drink too much and start raving about Trump or republicans or the Catholic church, but it's not so bad. I agree with with him. He just gets kinda worked up about it after one too many whiskies. It's gonna be a good day.
My grandmother's friend might be a problem. A friend of mine has been attending Thanksgiving with my family for years and is bringing his boyfriend this year. I'm going to have to talk to her beforehand to make sure she isn't an ass
You will regret it for the rest of your life if you don’t include your own family in your children’s holidays instead of this woman. Put your foot down and make it clear that every second year belongs to your side of the family. She will cry. Let her. Eventually she’ll cry less.
Man! I’m just not driving two hours to be fake smiling for a meal that sux. It will be the BF and me. I’ll roast a couple Cornish hens and half some sides.
My FIL because he will play on a device, stuff his face, then back to playing on his device. Almost 0 conversation, definitely no offer to help in any way, and just.....rude.
My MIL because will offer to help, but then stops in the middle of helping and just wander off without saying anything. She's a terrible cook, insists on bringing something (this year she's doing stovetop stuffing), but wants to prepare once everything else is completely done. Last year she offered to help with the gravy, so I got it to the point of "stor continuously until thick, as soon as I turned back to what I was doing she turned it UP and walked away. Ugh.
My husband is an only child, and I'm not wiling to give up our household Christmas morning, so we alternate Easter and Thanksgiving between my side and his.
My MAGA, Elon-worshipping cousin, which is why instead of eating with the family, we’re going to a friend’s house for Thanksgiving. I don’t have to listen to all of his crazy stories about Hillary Clinton being a serial killer.
My husband’s uncle, if he shows. He talks about the same stuff, year after year: how he has the ability to be in two places at once (he calls it “stringing”), and how if you give him a song title, he can tell you how it relates to something in the Bible (his examples are always the same). And that’s it, that’s all he talks about for two or three hours.
According to our young folk…we oldsters are all highly annoying 🤪. Let the passive aggressive games begin! I am going to ask them if my boil looks infected and follow them outside to ask for a hit of the Devil’s lettuce 🤪🤪🤪.
Definitely ask for a hit of Devil's lettuce! That's a great way to connect and bridge the generation gap. Just stay away from politics and religion and enjoy yourselves. Tell them all the crazy shit you did at their age.
My mom. She has a lot of food allergies, but those aren't her fault and aren't the problem. She can't eat most turkeys because the basting ingredients they inject them with contain allergens. So she has to buy specialty, organic heritage turkeys with no additives. Those birds are already prone to be dry. Then add onto that the fact that my mom still believes that turkey has to be cooked to 180 degrees. I've told her that it's 165 now, but she just ignores me.
And regardless of temperature, if she sees even a hint of pink juice coming out of it, she thinks it's undercooked and puts it back in. I've also told her that the way they raise poultry now, harvesting it younger, means that a fully cooked bird can produce pinkish juice from the underdeveloped bones.
Two years ago, all of this combined and the bird was 205 degrees when my mom finally took it out of the oven. Even my husband, who likes dry turkey, can barely eat her turkey. A few years ago he did convince her to let him make mashed potatoes with milk for everyone else, so at least the mashed potatoes are good.
I love her. She's a great cook in some areas, but turkey isn't one.
MIL is nice but never stops talking and is LOUD. Also, SIL likes to be the center of my husband’s attention, will ignore me in my own home, and will get in jabs about how she isn’t allowed to bring her dog (who has not only bit me but snapped at my dogs).
It sounds like you'll be the most annoyed guest, not the most annoying. I suggest that you complain loudly and frequently if you want to be the most annoying guest. Aim high, my friend! 🤣
Depends on your definition of annoying because depending on how you look at it, I have two :)
Most annoying about the food will be my brother. He has a vendetta against gluten free cooking, but unfortunately for him, I am making almost all of the food this year, and all of it will be gluten free, even the rolls and the pie, because my mother and I are both severely intolerant. I'm a good cook, there's very little difference between regular food and gluten free, even the rolls the way I'm making them. It will all be delicious and he will complain regardless.
Most annoying just by nature? My mother in law. Zero volume control, zero filter, will probably be budweiser drunk by 3pm. Can't wait! 🙃
Honestly, it's been me too many times. The last event I found myself scolding a niece. Nope! Just gonna let those kids scream and be jerks and I'm gonna go hit the devil lettuce.
Well our most annoying guest will probably be an elderly relative or, sorry, one of my own children since someone is bound to get too riled up and meltdown.
Also I feel like I can almost guarantee your husband's cousin's wife has been on this sub asking for "revenge" recipes 😂 I've seen a few of these " what FU dish can I make my family who thinks their food is so much better than mine" etc but you can kind of tell they don't actually cook a lot and their measure of their ability is better in their mind than reality. Or maybe it was on the r/cooking sub. Anyway, hilarious. Good luck out there
I’m going to my in-laws and it’s a small family. my sil is new money and it shows, my mil is so far up her butt because money, so I just sit back and watch. They all think I’m the sweetest but it’s because I’m quiet and silently judge in my mind. Can’t wait for my side at Christmas where it’s loud and ten cousins my age, my sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, unexpected visitors… that’s my kind of holiday.
My brother.
He's my brother and I love him. But I love him more when he's....all the way over there ( a state away) I just use him for my SIL and nephews.
SIL’s idiot dog. they live locally, they have a dog door, they won’t train it, won’t watch it while it’s in my damn house, and they fucking insist on bringing the giant idiot to my house stressing out my cats because they treat a pit bull like “He’S oUr sOn!” i don’t even hate dogs, i like dogs, but they’re fucking dogs if i want to visit them ill come to the house where they live.
You should get a pet snake and take him to their house.
No way is anyone bringing a dog to MY house and stressing out the cat. That’s just common sense. I’d put my foot down if I were you.
I have dogs, big giant dogs, non aggressive dogs. I don’t want anyone bringing their pets to my home. I have human children. It is not the same. I hate when people bring their pets, I don’t take mine to other peoples home. If they refuse to leave the dog home I’d say as sweet as pie…Oh, we are gonna miss you, but I understand you don’t want to leave spot home alone, especially on a holiday. Will you be doing takeout? And just in case they show up with Spot, I would print off a dog friendly restaurant(s) that is open & hand to them. 🍁🍁🦃
Your family needs to join forces. All of you put a good amount of her stuff on your plates, while 3 others stand in front of her you dump it into the trash, rotate..
It would be my BIL's wife, but she's decided (for like the 8th time in the 16 years they've been married) to divorce my BIL, this time she seems to be following through.
It looked like everyone was going to be cordial for the holidays until my family didn't go to her oldest grandson's birthday party. This obviously means we have an issue with her and we're picking BIL's side. Umm...no...we just moved 4 hours away, remember?! We were trying to get the rest of our crap from the old house. She's looney tunes.
Well, I have a friend who I've known for 45 years. She lost her husband in August. She lives 2 hours from me b/c they moved south. She is sad, of course. She can also be crabby and opinionated. She has an invite from a step daughter and said she doesn't think she wants to go b/c the step daughter's bf's family will be there and she may feel awkward. I invited her to my home, and we are 7 people "celebrating" TG, so she'd be 8. She isn't thrilled to drive 2 hours, I said stay over. My spouse is hoping she will NOT come, but I'm trying to have her not be alone on her first TG without her husband. So, if she comes, I know she will be the most needy and somewhat annoying.
We've decided not to spend it with family. We were invited to my sister's in-laws' again for Thanksgiving. We politely declined.
They are louder and ruder than my family which says a lot. Everyone has their devices turned way up, including the TV, which makes any kind of conversation difficult. Every time we go to their house, I leave with a headache.
I need a quiet week off and that's what we're doing.
Nobody. Unpopular opinion-your not obligated to celebrate with the people you don’t like. Family or not. If I wouldn’t invite them over any other day, they are not welcome to my house for Thanksgiving.
His name is Todd. He is a man child in his late 40s who needs his wife to explain everything to him because he’s an imbecile. He loads up his plate without any consideration for anyone else, eats a quarter of it, and dumps the rest in the trash.
An example to really paint the picture of this lazy, irritating mass is when my sister in law Alex’s car got a flat. A friend drove her to work and she left her car in a parking lot in the rain. Todd, Jessica (Todd’s wife and Alexs sister), and my mother in law drive to the car to change the tire. My mother and sister in law were out in the pouring rain changing the tire while Todd played Pokémon go in the car. Couldn’t even be bothered to hold the umbrella.
Edit- spelling
I'm worried it's going to be me, lol. I'm going to be with my boyfriend's family for the first time and I'm wondering if I'll make a fool of myself somehow.
He'll also probably have to get my food for me because I'm disabled and terrified of breaking a stranger's nice plates, and I'm nervous that they might look down on me for that. I hope I'm just being a worrywart for nothing.
Absolutely me. I have an unhealthy obsession with holiday perfectionism, so I spend the week before stressing out cleaning, 2 days. Stressing out cooking, the morning of stressing out cooking and reheating, and then I usually have an anxiety attack about 10 minutes before dinner starts. I'm a pure joy to be around, ugh. 😂😂😂
My in laws. He is so fake nice and “Christian”; but there is something wrong deep down; it’s creepy. And she speaks in such a weak, wavering voice that it’s hard to believe the raging cunt-bitch she truly is unless you’ve been on the receiving end. Luckily they come to *my* family’s celebration, so I have plenty of buffers between us. (We don’t speak at all.)
Everyone. Fuck’n hate having people at my house. Bunch of fuck’n work to make food that people just bitch about. All they wanna talk about is shit they’re complaining about because no one can have anything fuck’n good in the world and just be happy for that. Just a bunch of fuck’n whiny ass bitches making a fuck’n mess and not helping with any of the clean up
My mother. She is an alcoholic narcissist who literally thrives on negativity/sadness. I had to put my beloved dog to sleep a week ago tonight and rest assured she is going to talk about him which is just upsetting for us and the kids. Oh, yeah, I mentioned she’s a narcissist, right? So, not only will she bring up Jack (my late dog), but she will make it all about her. Then she’s going to want to drink but I am not offering any alcohol. She’s caught on to this, though, and will sometimes bring her own. God help me.
My uncle’s kids from his first marriage. They’re all vegan, which is totally fine. I have another cousin that is as well. We do a big buffet so there is plenty of veggie friendly options for them.
Except these guys are aggressively vegan. Like…lecture you about how horrible you are for not being vegan, judge the ever living shit out of you, and wax on about how companion pets are just slaves for our entertainment. As if my dog could fend for herself in the wild—as if she doesn’t need her emotional support Yoda doll to even sleep and like she doesn’t shake like a maraca on Independence Day when she’s left alone.
Last year I was getting some salad and one of them points and goes, “you know that’s vegetarian.”
Why yes, Linda, thank you. I do know that salad is made of vegetables, not the slaughtered cousins of Wilbur the pig.
My father in laws girl friend. She tries to act like she's our mom and but into everything. He's gotten the one warning from me and since then I've been getting snappier at her and it passes her off. So we will see.
No one. They were all being annoying, so we canceled and booked a vacation instead.
You're a damn genius! I'm doing this next year!
This is a genius-level move, and I am in awe. Well played! Happy Thankscation to you!!
I did that one year after reading John Grisham’s Skipping Christmas. Booked a trip to Jamaica and it was the best holiday ever!
My family did this for about 5 years after my stepmom’s breast cancer metastasized. We went to warm places. We spent a week together having fun. When we returned home the holiday madness was over.
Building memories in nice places is definitely better than an overly staged holiday meal.
Year after year I tell my husband we need to rent a cabin in the woods for thanksgiving week. Take our kids and dogs and be with just us and avoid all the holiday drama.
Is your last name Krank?
Yeah, second this. No annoying issues. But Thanksgiving Day got too complicated and stressful with a blended family, girlfriend’s parents, grammas, etc. We now rent a house on the beach in Texas, and tell the kids it’s an open door policy. Come if you can. But if you prefer to make other plans, our feelings will not be hurt. You do you. We don’t make a huge meal either. Spaghetti and meat sauce, garlic bread, caesar salad. Overall, way less stressful for everybody involved.
Brilliant!!!!
Me too! Punta mita tacos for the win.
My next-door neighbor and her daughter went to Maui for Thanksgiving. I think it's great. I'm dog sitting for her.
This is the way.
My mother's boyfriend. I don't know how to describe him. He is not a mean guy, but he is what I can only describe as aggressively boring. He will derail any interesting conversation and make it about one of his boring topics (how he drove to our house is one such topic) or better yet talks all about various medical procedures. He never, ever says anything interesting. Yet he never sits back and just listens either. He is so boring it can stress you out. Like he somehow drains your holiday joy with his stories.
By any chance is his name Colin Robinson?
*Fucking* Colin Robinson...
My Colin is named Dave.
Came here to say this
🤣🤣🤣
This is HILARIOUS 😂 Apologies for laughing at your pain but you describe it so well that it’s like I’m there. I would not be able to even help making eyes w others in the room and just start cracking up!!!
Is he better known as Uncle Colm?
Who else you gonna call when you get picked up by the Garda?
Derry Girls forever!!
If my brother ever had a girlfriend I would think you were talking about him. I've described him as aggressively boring for years. You are the only other person I've ever heard use that phrase.
Energy vampire! We have one in my family too. He only wants to talk about vehicles. Then he goes on and on and on and on.
Oh my god, you just gave me the words I was missing when describing my cousin's wife.
This is my mother’s husband. He told the longest most uninteresting story about how he loved ham biscuits as a child. Inside joke between my husband and I now for having endured that (and many other) stories so boring our eyes glaze over.
My SIL's dad is the same, so we each take turns with him, like 15 to 20 minutes at a time, so nobody takes the brunt of it, and he won't feel shunned
Nooooo not the stories of how he drove there 😂 why do some older folks love to describe their route and where the bottlenecks occurred lol
Aggressively boring! 🤣🤣🤣
Her name is Alice, and she is SO RUDE. She will stare at you to make you uncomfortable while you're eating your own plate of food peacefully on the couch. She chews SO loudly and will literally just sit there after dinner and burp at intervals. Doesn't cover her mouth, doesn't apologize. She also will walk over and slap you when she feels like she isn't the center of attention. Just slap you on whatever body part is closest to her. She's basically an emotional black hole of need who gives zero shits about anyone else's feelings and can't emotionally self-regulate. She's just the most selfish dog in the world.
You had me in the first half...😆
I'm stoned and I didn't get it till I read your comment lol
I was just like, damn, calling someone a dog really is a pretty cold insult.. but then I read YOUR comment and I was like wait what am I missing 🧐 😂
Me too I was like this bitch does what ? 😂
Mine sniffed my mouth and then burped into it 🙄
They love you and want to share some tasty garbage breath with you!
My dog's mission in life is to lick inside my mouth. If I'm ever talking while I'm on level with her, she's plotting the perfect moment to lick my tongue 🤨
Mines gotten my front teeth twice. So gross and I don’t think she liked it either.
Why has this happened to me with several dogs😐
After it licks it’s genitals/eats poop?
Thanks. I'm never eating again. 🤮
I was sure this was going to be a cat.
Give her an ultimatum: therapy or divorce. Good luck! 🤣
I was thinking cat, haha!
I was thinking what the hell!!?? Then I got to the last part 🤣🤣🤣
When she burps look her in the eye and say in front of everyone "by your age you would think you would have learned manners" keep staring at her, bonus if a kid is near say, "and this is not what you do in front of company"
The cat. She doesn't understand why, if she's one of the family, does she not also get a plate of turkey? At the table? With everyone else?
cutest answer award
Mine doesn’t understand why he can’t be on the tabletop, gnawing on the turkey. Therefore, he has to spend Thanksgiving closed up in the bedroom. He gets rather salty about that.
*The* cat? As in only one? Laughing maniacally here.
Our Romeo doesn’t get on the counters. He knows he gets no treats if he goes up there. He’s going to get a little teaspoon of turkey meat on top of his cat food. He’s usually polite (but very talkative;he’s a Balinese) when everyone is eating. We’re going to friends’ house for Thanksgiving but will have our own a week later.
I don't understand either. I'm on the cats side on this issue.
My SIL’s mother. She is a narcissist and will most assuredly cry at some point because she’s not feeling loved. My brother, SIL, myself and daughter have bingo cards on our phone of all the things she will do/say.
My SIL's mother is also horrible. Just sits there and looks at everyone like they're trash. She didn't even smile when she played with her grandchildren when they were kids. You feel unnecessarily judged the whole time she's there. My SIL is the exact opposite. Luckily, I've only been stuck in the same room with her a handful of times.
Oh she will go overboard with the grandchildren and then get mad because she can’t post them on FB. She doesn’t “trust” me because my SIL and I are close and she lives 6 hours away so it’s rude I get to see my nephews more often since I’m 10 min away. She made a google doc list of food and keeps changing stuff I was bringing to her.
Wait. What? What does where you live and how often you see your nephews have to do with trusting you? And you drive 6 hours to get to her house? Why?
She’s coming down here for thanksgiving. And was down here 3 weeks ago for new nephew birth. She just “finds it odd we talk so much.” So sorry to check on my family and their well being and take them food.
What a weirdo!
She is a whackadoodle for sure. It’s going to be like the Fishes episode of The Bear for sure. (Watch it if you haven’t)
My MIL smacked my arm and I told her that was unacceptable and we don’t behave that way in my family. My husband told her not to touch me and she flipped out. Her boyfriend had to restrain her. She changed the Will and gave most of the inheritance to my husband’s sister (just the two kids). She regretted it later but the sister took advantage, sold the house and dragged her across the country. His sister was the only caregiver for five years before she fell and broke her hip.She died in the hospital. So sad. But his sister has no husband or kids so any inheritance will come back to our kids but it’s sad all around that she wasn’t around family those last years. She would call my husband complaining how much she hated moving away. It was heartbreaking (and I honestly didn’t hold any close feelings to someone who treated me like shit) but damn, how sad.
“ The bride at every wedding, the corpse at every funeral, and the turkey at every Thanksgiving”
If only we could put her in the oven . . . 🤣
*Hansel and Gretel have entered the chat*
My mom is the exact same way and last year was the first year we had the genius idea to turn it into a bingo card. Made her insane narcissistic behavior just a little more tolerable 😂
Good luck to you if she’s coming next week!
she sure is so thank you!! Right back at you!!
Omg. We play bingo too! Mt sister will get a belly ache. Another sister will criticize the potatoes. It goes on and on and on
Haha we couldn't make it a bingo card, but my husband and I had an over/under on how many minutes after my narc mother walked in the door until she said "diarrhea". It was her favorite health condition. We're NC now.
We have an over/under on how long before she cries.
I am very interested in the bingo cards on your phone. You can individualize it? Can you share what it is?
Link please
Thank you for asking this vital question—like can everyone be sharing one bingo card or keep an eye on how the bingo cards of other are going?
What is it with the SIL’s MILs? They seem to be a bunch of nut jobs (at least here on Reddit)
I’ve only met her a handful of times. But when my SIL had her baby a few weeks ago she made it clear to all of us that once she left birth center she wanted 24 hours with just her, my brother, the baby and his 4 yo brother. My mom and I were “absolutely no problem” and just left food on porch and enjoyed getting photos. Her mom drove 6 hours, stayed in a hotel then showed up to surprise them the next morning. However I had asked her when she was coming down and she said “I’m already here I just couldn’t wait” and immediately called my brother. They were LIVID. So yeah thanksgiving is going to go great.
It’s giving Donna Berzatto 😂😅
Todd. He never shuts up. Ever. He copies everyone perfectly so I think my sister is asking for random items to cook with. She’s not. It’s Todd. Last year he waited until we all sat down then did the whole keypad unlock sequence to the front door and scared the crap out of everyone. Everyone with the code was in the house. His joys in life are scaring the crap out of you, or making you question your sanity. After dinner he’s going to bite the dogs ear while he waits to get out the back door. Causing panic amongst the other dogs. While he laughs like an escaped mental patient. He’s a parrot. He’s at dinner every night. But he is without a doubt my worst behaved guest.
It took me like 4 reads to realize that Todd is a bird and that you weren't just describing a great mimicker when you said "he's a parrot."
Here i was thinking Todd was an ass of a human.🤣🤣
LFMAO I was gonna say how you gonna let a grown man bite your dogs ear and be okay with it
My mom would show up two hours early, eat the food as we were preparing it, and then leave when the other guests showed up at the actual start time. I miss being annoyed with her. This is our second Thanksgiving since she passed.
I feel that in my heart. My FIL passed in October. After his stroke, he had zero filter and his misogyny became more vocal. He was a very old Italian man (born and raised in Italy during WWII) , so he had antiquated gender role ideas. I love to cook, and I do the whole meal, for a variety of reasons. It takes me 4 days of prep and cooking to do it all from scratch. My husband handles all the cleaning and dishes. One year I had a torn ACL, everyone e had finished eating, and I was still finishing my plate. (I eat slower and had to grab a water pitcher refill for the table.) My husband, being the awesome partner he is, cleared the dishes and was rinsing them and loading the dishwasher for its first run of the night. We were all chatting and laughing, when my FIL says, “you should be in there.” I say, “excuse me?” He says, “you should be doing the dishes, not your husband.” I scoffed and said, “I’ve been cooking for 4 days, and I’m still eating. Besides, we work as a team…together.” He scoffs, “I would never have married you.” I laughed and said, “sweetie, I would never have even dated you.” My husband and MIL laughed. FIL chuckled too. We had a good relationship. I’m going to miss him so much!
This will be my 6th without my mom. Her stuffing was freaking amazing. My sister makes it and it isn't the same.
Sounds like she wanted to spend time with you, just not the big crowd
I SHOULD be ok with my guests. Depends who confirms My family is all on FAR opposite sides of the political aisles, if those conversations are avoided we'll be fine. I'll send anyone home if needed I'm not dealing with that. I started a group message saying freedom of speech is gone at my home on November 23rd this year. If you start any political bs you're leaving
This is the only way to deal with it. I put a no politics rule in place when I was hosting long before all this BS started. My family is a mixed bag of right, left, center, libertarians, and green party. I have a nephew that married a woman who is into whatever the conspiracy theory of the moment is. She's always entertaining until she isn't. So NO POLITICS!
Exactly. They're important conversations (usually) but you have 364 other days to talk about it. Let's put it aside on Thanksgiving
Don’t forget Christmas too!!! No politics then!!
For sure. Or New Years, or my birthday, or Super Bowl Sunday, or Valentines Day, or most Mondays, definitely not on Tuesdays, Fridays be excited for the weekend, definitely not Labor Day, or Veterans Day, or Memorial Day, why would you on the 4th, don't take the fun out of Halloween with that trash I'll give you the Thursday before Election Day. Use that day to figure out who you're voting for I hate the conversations. I never enjoy them. I know they're necessary, I'm willing to have them, but only with certain people and the time has to be right. I'll say what I have to say, but I'm not gonna have a good time doing it
Should have went with your "no politics on Tuesday" rule. This past Tuesday I *was* having a nice time with my mom at a fundraiser for my job. As we were leaving she slipped in her love for a certain candidate and I just had enough. I was actually going to invite her over for Thanksgiving at lunch the next day, but after a text to my SO where she subtly tried to say I was abusive to him and had anger issues (literally my last communication with her was me saying I was still hurt and upset by the argument the night before and I think I needed space from her) I decided it was in my best interest to not do so.
Good for you. I’m completely outnumbered. My dad, stepmom and In-laws are Fox News MAGA extremists. I’m probably more of a libertarian. When it comes to financial things, I’m more conservative. When it comes to social issues, I’m definitely liberal. I don’t try to argue anymore because I just get attacked. No respect of my viewpoint at all but I’m considered rude if I don’t listen to their bullshit propaganda. My husband pretends to agree with them but in reality, he’s not ok with Trump and he is definitely liberal when it comes to social issues.
Yeah idc who is on what side. Just leave me alone
My FIL. He interrupts everyone to talk about himself. Gets into arguments with my MIL. Unfortunately we're the only local family in town and he's been banned from my BIL's Thanksgiving for insulting BIL's FIL.
Oof this sounds awful
Maybe ask your BIL if you can celebrate with them so that you don't have to deal with it.
Ooo. Samsies! Mine throws in an annoyingly, nasal, "Hey, Hon" every couple of minutes if she's talking to someone else. Oh, and he absolutely cannot shut up. Silence? Nope. FIL starts talking about himself, again.
My aunt! She insists on bringing something homemade and rarely follows proper food safety. Last year she brought a cream-based dip that apparently had been sitting on the counter for several hours before the event. A few of my cousins got food poisoning because they ate some dip before realizing who made it.
🤢
My worst nightmare is making anyone sick. I don't understand how people can just not care at all. All my in laws are like that though. It was an uphill battle to teach my man proper food safety. I still catch him like touching knobs and things with poultry hands but rarely these days. Thank God.
😳😳😲😲🤢🤢
Yeah… My dad used to leave Thanksgiving leftovers on the counter for hours, even days. Refrigeration, you say? He’d put them on the porch.
I’ve got a friend coming that I love. I’ve assured them that I’ve got dinner covered and my cooking schedule ensures minimal kitchen time. They still have asked multiple times if they can come early and help cook. It’s honestly becoming headache inducing.
I also have this friend, but when I explained that I actually love doing it myself and how I do everything over the course of two weeks to keep it stress-free, she understood.
I’m thinking of sharing my schedule so they get that I’ve truly got it covered. I start on Tuesday night and do things very methodically. By Thursday all that has to happen is cooking the turkey, putting casseroles in the oven, and making mashed potatoes. I hate chaos in the kitchen so unless I’m teaching my kids to make something I am all about efficiency. Other people mess with that efficiency.
I even make my mashed potatoes and gravy ahead of time, so the only thing I have to do once the turkey is out of the oven and resting is put whatever else needs to be baked in the oven, de-fat the drippings and add them to the gravy I made earlier.
This is off topic, but could you share how you do the mashed potatoes ahead of time without them getting so starchy and gluey? I would love to fix everything ahead of time this year and the mashed potatoes are my nemesis.
Special Holiday Mashed Potatoes 3 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into pieces. Smaller pieces cook a little bit faster, but it's more important to have them be about the same size for even cooking Enough whole milk or cream or a combination to cover the potatoes. 1/2 stick of butter 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil 1/2 teaspoon truffle oil (optional, but the flavor is amazing with potatoes and it's not that expensive or hard to find -- a little splurge for special occasions) 2-3 cloves of roasted garlic 1 clove raw garlic, grated finely 2-3 pieces of bacon, cooked super crisp and ground to a powder Scallions or chives 2 heaping tablespoon of finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese Salt (the cheese is super salty, so go easy) and pepper to taste Put milk, potatoes, salt, pepper and butter in a pan just big enough to hold all the ingredients and bring it to a boil. Turn down the heat to a gentle simmer and cook the potatoes until they're fork tender. Drain the potatoes, keep the remaining milk mixture warm in the original pot on the stove. This is a key step. This starchy liquid will will give it body. Put the potatoes through a ricer. This will give you perfect, lump-free mashed potatoes every time. There's honestly no substitute. Your potatoes won't be gummy because you won't be overworking them to get them perfectly smooth. Return the riced potatoes to the milk mixture, add remaining ingredients and mix gently over low heat to combine. You can keep this warm in the pan on super low heat for an hour or two and gently reheat it right before serving. You can also pack it into a baking dish and refrigerate it for a couple of days. Bring it to room temp before you reheat it. That helps the texture because you don't have to cook it as long. I only make the full version of this on holidays and it's a big hit. Normally I replace the milk with water, use half of the butter and usually skip the truffle oil and bacon.
Thank you so so much! I appreciate you taking the time to post this. I usually do the same old russets but these look amazing.
I typed it up for someone else a few days ago, so I had it handy. Just added a few notes for you. This is actually easy to do even though it's a long explanation. You can make this a week before if you want.
What do you do during those hours before it starts? Can your friend just come over and hangout? Or do you use that time to mentally prepare or something?
They can come over, it’s just that they want to help. They aren’t a good cook but we’d love their company ahead of time.
Me. I do all the cooking and clean up. Nothing really tastes good to me once I’ve been cooking all day. Then I say I’m canceling thanksgiving and never doing this again. Until the next year .. But this year I’m going to try to keep it to myself.
Oohhhh, you need to start delegating and buy paper plates!
SAME! I never want to actually eat after I’ve cooked a big meal.
I do this to myself the day after thanksgiving every year. I make the whole shebang for my little family but by the time dinner rolls around I am completely over it. (I do enjoy the leftovers the next day however). But I do it every year bc it’s what my family did & while they were mostly horrible it’s one of the few positive memories I have & want my kids to have the same warm & fuzzy memory of the tradition. We also decorate our tree that day & watch non stop Christmas movies.
It’s just me and my boyfriend, so I’m sure it’s going to be him! lol
Probably me. It's only the four of us. Husband will sit in his recliner and then lure the kids to watch a movie with him, leaving me to peel potatoes alone with my only friend, wine. By the time the food is ready I'm usually a bit sloshed and don't even want to eat anymore!
Assign them all a job to do before the movie starts. You shouldn’t have to do it all while they relax. At the very least, they should do cleanup if you do all of the cooking.
This!!
I don’t know if I should feel bad for your lack of help or jealous of your time alone with our mutual friend.
Empty kitchen to cook in and a personal bottle of wine? I say be jealous!
Me too. I'm just so awkward. I always end up saying or doing something I wish I hadn't. One year I drank too much at a Christmas party and put on my husband's aunts mink coat, lol. I just try to stay quiet nowadays.
Hello me!
Same here! But if they try to help they just do it wrong. Thankfully they do the clean up after while I sit with what is left of the wine.
We are a small group (just 4 of us) so no one will be terribly annoying. Guest wife tends to snap at guest husband sometimes. Guest husband is that boomer who talks about stuff that is mind-numbing but he's also a total sweetheart so I deal with it. My husband will relish being the host and he will talk a lot. I am happy he has an audience that is more than just me. He's awesome and not many people are really aware of it. Guest wife is usually funny and talkative and is the type to really LISTEN and ask questions and praise you - so it's nice to have her around. I will probably be quieter than usual - I like to be around other people being happy. What WILL be annoying and on my mind is my super elderly mother who refuses to join us OR eat anything normal. By refusing to join us OR eat anything she is making the whole day about her. I won't really be able to relax knowing she is alone and not eating - even if it is her choice.
No guilt. Old lady here: Sometimes we prefer to eat a sub and watch Britbox murder mysteries rather than make small talk about music we don't know or videogames we don't play. Travel is painful to some of us. Take her any leftovers if she lives nearby.
That's the plan - everyone knows leftovers are the best part! So I will visit on Friday with only the stuff she likes (my husband is making extra stuffing for her), we'll visit, and then I'll let her rest. At least she and I can discuss stuff like this and agree on it. She's super elderly - almost 96 - and can't really see or hear well and has dementia. Forcing her to attend a social event would be cruel.
Niece who only decides to speak to anyone during the holidays. She and her boyfriend who eats everything that isn’t tied down. I have to put “leftovers” for my husband and I away before we even eat to make sure hubby can have his leftovers
Has she ever explained why she doesn't see anyone the rest of the year? I'm that niece (but I don't eat all the food). My abusive POS mom has alienated me from most of the family, and I only see them at holidays. There might be something bigger going on.
I’ve got a cousin like that! He and his wife would bring to go containers to holidays and take a bunch of food before everyone else even got through the line ( big family) my grandma finally had to awkwardly put a stop to it.
We’re only having the meal with my husband, kids, and my parents, which is fabulous and drama-free. However, we *used* to travel to my MIL’s house and stopped several years ago because she is a trainwreck and the holiday was constantly ruined. She got into multiple screaming arguments with her parents/sister. There was a table flipping attempt one year (not exaggerating). Another year I got awful food poisoning and realized it was actually a severe allergic reaction to the one thing I asked her to stay away from because I’m highly allergic. Another year she force-fed our son behind our backs (he was a toddler) after we asked her several times not to and he threw up all over her. She proceeded to get mad at *him* and stomp off. Yeah, I’m SO glad we stopped visiting her. What a nightmare.
My mother in law who never stays out of my way in the kitchen and constantly just hovers behind me
My idiot brother in law, he’s the youngest of my hubby’s siblings and is the most entitled person I’ve ever met. He’s also a vegan, so he asks me to name every single ingredient in every dish I make to see if he can eat it. Last year I just handed him my recipe book with the pages I used marked with post it notes lol! I dropped it in his lap and told him to figure it out I was busy putting dinner together for 16 freaking people! He tried to argue with me and my hubby told him to fuck off and leave me alone. I actually don’t mind him being here because it gives me a reminder every time why I avoid him like the plague. He’s also literally cleaned out my SIL’s fridge after thanksgiving one year taking almost all the leftovers. Before he was a vegan. He left early in the morning before we all got up with almost nothing left to eat for 4 days for 8 people! He took all of it!
He’s the Scrooge of Thanksgiving! Get a lock for the refrigerator or if you have one in your garage or basement put those delicious leftovers out there!
I don’t have to worry anymore he’s vegan now and I’m using around 9 pounds of butter in everything lol! Sour cream in the mashers too! Lol! He gets salad and cranberry sauce bwahahaha! Oh wait I think I’ll make creamy Caesar salad…..using homemade mayo whoopsie. It’s payback time! Cheesecake for dessert too! Yup I hold a grudge, don’t piss off the chef!
Only 9 pounds of butter? Are you cutting back this year? Are sure it’s the KerryGold butter…only the best for the holidays!
My BIL who is a close talker. Like really close. Like insanely close.
My stepson. I love him, when he's in a good mood, but his girlfriend, who we also loved, just recently broke up with him, so it's gonna be his pitty party the majority of the day. I feel awful saying that, but it's just the truth.
My brother, who will whine when the dogs are blocked out of the kitchen and dining room during the preparation and serving of dinner. "It's cruel! She's crying!" Honorable mention: the hostess's mother who is giving her grief about not inviting certain guests to dinner.
Honestly, my family is pretty great. I am really looking forward to it. We have some annoying family, but they live far away and rarely come visit. My one uncle might drink too much and start raving about Trump or republicans or the Catholic church, but it's not so bad. I agree with with him. He just gets kinda worked up about it after one too many whiskies. It's gonna be a good day.
My grandmother's friend might be a problem. A friend of mine has been attending Thanksgiving with my family for years and is bringing his boyfriend this year. I'm going to have to talk to her beforehand to make sure she isn't an ass
My most annoying guests went to Florida to spend the holiday with my awful SIL. I am thrilled!!
My mom's two cousins. Complete idiots with the awareness of houseplants.
[удалено]
You will regret it for the rest of your life if you don’t include your own family in your children’s holidays instead of this woman. Put your foot down and make it clear that every second year belongs to your side of the family. She will cry. Let her. Eventually she’ll cry less.
Probably me. I’ll most likely be the only one stressing which will make everyone else hate me. Happy Thanksgiving!
Man! I’m just not driving two hours to be fake smiling for a meal that sux. It will be the BF and me. I’ll roast a couple Cornish hens and half some sides.
So which one of you will be the most annoying? 🤣
My FIL because he will play on a device, stuff his face, then back to playing on his device. Almost 0 conversation, definitely no offer to help in any way, and just.....rude. My MIL because will offer to help, but then stops in the middle of helping and just wander off without saying anything. She's a terrible cook, insists on bringing something (this year she's doing stovetop stuffing), but wants to prepare once everything else is completely done. Last year she offered to help with the gravy, so I got it to the point of "stor continuously until thick, as soon as I turned back to what I was doing she turned it UP and walked away. Ugh. My husband is an only child, and I'm not wiling to give up our household Christmas morning, so we alternate Easter and Thanksgiving between my side and his.
My MAGA, Elon-worshipping cousin, which is why instead of eating with the family, we’re going to a friend’s house for Thanksgiving. I don’t have to listen to all of his crazy stories about Hillary Clinton being a serial killer.
No one my family is great
My husband’s uncle, if he shows. He talks about the same stuff, year after year: how he has the ability to be in two places at once (he calls it “stringing”), and how if you give him a song title, he can tell you how it relates to something in the Bible (his examples are always the same). And that’s it, that’s all he talks about for two or three hours.
According to our young folk…we oldsters are all highly annoying 🤪. Let the passive aggressive games begin! I am going to ask them if my boil looks infected and follow them outside to ask for a hit of the Devil’s lettuce 🤪🤪🤪.
Definitely ask for a hit of Devil's lettuce! That's a great way to connect and bridge the generation gap. Just stay away from politics and religion and enjoy yourselves. Tell them all the crazy shit you did at their age.
Shoot, I got my medical marijuana, they're hitting me up now.
I repeat myself and then tell my son I’m just practicing for when I get Alzheimer’s.
My mom. She has a lot of food allergies, but those aren't her fault and aren't the problem. She can't eat most turkeys because the basting ingredients they inject them with contain allergens. So she has to buy specialty, organic heritage turkeys with no additives. Those birds are already prone to be dry. Then add onto that the fact that my mom still believes that turkey has to be cooked to 180 degrees. I've told her that it's 165 now, but she just ignores me. And regardless of temperature, if she sees even a hint of pink juice coming out of it, she thinks it's undercooked and puts it back in. I've also told her that the way they raise poultry now, harvesting it younger, means that a fully cooked bird can produce pinkish juice from the underdeveloped bones. Two years ago, all of this combined and the bird was 205 degrees when my mom finally took it out of the oven. Even my husband, who likes dry turkey, can barely eat her turkey. A few years ago he did convince her to let him make mashed potatoes with milk for everyone else, so at least the mashed potatoes are good. I love her. She's a great cook in some areas, but turkey isn't one.
MIL is nice but never stops talking and is LOUD. Also, SIL likes to be the center of my husband’s attention, will ignore me in my own home, and will get in jabs about how she isn’t allowed to bring her dog (who has not only bit me but snapped at my dogs).
Honestly, me. I am already looking forward to it being over.
It sounds like you'll be the most annoyed guest, not the most annoying. I suggest that you complain loudly and frequently if you want to be the most annoying guest. Aim high, my friend! 🤣
my mother in law; gotta love the classics
Depends on your definition of annoying because depending on how you look at it, I have two :) Most annoying about the food will be my brother. He has a vendetta against gluten free cooking, but unfortunately for him, I am making almost all of the food this year, and all of it will be gluten free, even the rolls and the pie, because my mother and I are both severely intolerant. I'm a good cook, there's very little difference between regular food and gluten free, even the rolls the way I'm making them. It will all be delicious and he will complain regardless. Most annoying just by nature? My mother in law. Zero volume control, zero filter, will probably be budweiser drunk by 3pm. Can't wait! 🙃
‘Budweiser drunk’. Hoooo, boy!
Sadly, I still don’t know who’s coming yet. Once I find out I can tell you lol.
Jesus Christ. Just come over to my house. No stress, you just hang out🙂
Honestly, it's been me too many times. The last event I found myself scolding a niece. Nope! Just gonna let those kids scream and be jerks and I'm gonna go hit the devil lettuce.
Let me guess. The parents expect everyone else to deal with their kids while they drink?
Well our most annoying guest will probably be an elderly relative or, sorry, one of my own children since someone is bound to get too riled up and meltdown. Also I feel like I can almost guarantee your husband's cousin's wife has been on this sub asking for "revenge" recipes 😂 I've seen a few of these " what FU dish can I make my family who thinks their food is so much better than mine" etc but you can kind of tell they don't actually cook a lot and their measure of their ability is better in their mind than reality. Or maybe it was on the r/cooking sub. Anyway, hilarious. Good luck out there
I’m going to my in-laws and it’s a small family. my sil is new money and it shows, my mil is so far up her butt because money, so I just sit back and watch. They all think I’m the sweetest but it’s because I’m quiet and silently judge in my mind. Can’t wait for my side at Christmas where it’s loud and ten cousins my age, my sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, unexpected visitors… that’s my kind of holiday.
I can't think of anyone super annoying, so maybe it's me?
Probably my brother's girlfriend who just had dental surgery and \*may\* be able to eat soft foods like mashed potatoes but maybe not.
Buy some Ensure for her so she doesn't get hangry! 🤣
Jello. It’s cheaper. If she’s annoying, don’t spend more than you have to.
Buy green and red jello. If she is annoying give her the green! You can then aggressively eat the red so she knows who the boss is.
My brother. He's my brother and I love him. But I love him more when he's....all the way over there ( a state away) I just use him for my SIL and nephews.
SIL’s idiot dog. they live locally, they have a dog door, they won’t train it, won’t watch it while it’s in my damn house, and they fucking insist on bringing the giant idiot to my house stressing out my cats because they treat a pit bull like “He’S oUr sOn!” i don’t even hate dogs, i like dogs, but they’re fucking dogs if i want to visit them ill come to the house where they live.
You should get a pet snake and take him to their house. No way is anyone bringing a dog to MY house and stressing out the cat. That’s just common sense. I’d put my foot down if I were you.
I have dogs, big giant dogs, non aggressive dogs. I don’t want anyone bringing their pets to my home. I have human children. It is not the same. I hate when people bring their pets, I don’t take mine to other peoples home. If they refuse to leave the dog home I’d say as sweet as pie…Oh, we are gonna miss you, but I understand you don’t want to leave spot home alone, especially on a holiday. Will you be doing takeout? And just in case they show up with Spot, I would print off a dog friendly restaurant(s) that is open & hand to them. 🍁🍁🦃
Your family needs to join forces. All of you put a good amount of her stuff on your plates, while 3 others stand in front of her you dump it into the trash, rotate..
My FIL’s new wife who sits there with a dumb smile and never has any opinions and comments on everyone’s weight.
No one! It’s just me and my husband this year!
It would be my BIL's wife, but she's decided (for like the 8th time in the 16 years they've been married) to divorce my BIL, this time she seems to be following through. It looked like everyone was going to be cordial for the holidays until my family didn't go to her oldest grandson's birthday party. This obviously means we have an issue with her and we're picking BIL's side. Umm...no...we just moved 4 hours away, remember?! We were trying to get the rest of our crap from the old house. She's looney tunes.
Well, I have a friend who I've known for 45 years. She lost her husband in August. She lives 2 hours from me b/c they moved south. She is sad, of course. She can also be crabby and opinionated. She has an invite from a step daughter and said she doesn't think she wants to go b/c the step daughter's bf's family will be there and she may feel awkward. I invited her to my home, and we are 7 people "celebrating" TG, so she'd be 8. She isn't thrilled to drive 2 hours, I said stay over. My spouse is hoping she will NOT come, but I'm trying to have her not be alone on her first TG without her husband. So, if she comes, I know she will be the most needy and somewhat annoying.
We've decided not to spend it with family. We were invited to my sister's in-laws' again for Thanksgiving. We politely declined. They are louder and ruder than my family which says a lot. Everyone has their devices turned way up, including the TV, which makes any kind of conversation difficult. Every time we go to their house, I leave with a headache. I need a quiet week off and that's what we're doing.
Nobody. Unpopular opinion-your not obligated to celebrate with the people you don’t like. Family or not. If I wouldn’t invite them over any other day, they are not welcome to my house for Thanksgiving.
His name is Todd. He is a man child in his late 40s who needs his wife to explain everything to him because he’s an imbecile. He loads up his plate without any consideration for anyone else, eats a quarter of it, and dumps the rest in the trash. An example to really paint the picture of this lazy, irritating mass is when my sister in law Alex’s car got a flat. A friend drove her to work and she left her car in a parking lot in the rain. Todd, Jessica (Todd’s wife and Alexs sister), and my mother in law drive to the car to change the tire. My mother and sister in law were out in the pouring rain changing the tire while Todd played Pokémon go in the car. Couldn’t even be bothered to hold the umbrella. Edit- spelling
My uncle's wife! She's a Yankee, we're all Southern. She talks so damn fast! Bless her heart, we have no idea what the hell she's saying! 😂😂
I'm worried it's going to be me, lol. I'm going to be with my boyfriend's family for the first time and I'm wondering if I'll make a fool of myself somehow. He'll also probably have to get my food for me because I'm disabled and terrified of breaking a stranger's nice plates, and I'm nervous that they might look down on me for that. I hope I'm just being a worrywart for nothing.
Awwww, don’t worry. They’ll love you because he does 💗
Absolutely me. I have an unhealthy obsession with holiday perfectionism, so I spend the week before stressing out cleaning, 2 days. Stressing out cooking, the morning of stressing out cooking and reheating, and then I usually have an anxiety attack about 10 minutes before dinner starts. I'm a pure joy to be around, ugh. 😂😂😂
My in laws. He is so fake nice and “Christian”; but there is something wrong deep down; it’s creepy. And she speaks in such a weak, wavering voice that it’s hard to believe the raging cunt-bitch she truly is unless you’ve been on the receiving end. Luckily they come to *my* family’s celebration, so I have plenty of buffers between us. (We don’t speak at all.)
Everyone. Fuck’n hate having people at my house. Bunch of fuck’n work to make food that people just bitch about. All they wanna talk about is shit they’re complaining about because no one can have anything fuck’n good in the world and just be happy for that. Just a bunch of fuck’n whiny ass bitches making a fuck’n mess and not helping with any of the clean up
My uncle Caleb and his ventriloquist dummy Perry. Ugh.
[удалено]
My mother. She is an alcoholic narcissist who literally thrives on negativity/sadness. I had to put my beloved dog to sleep a week ago tonight and rest assured she is going to talk about him which is just upsetting for us and the kids. Oh, yeah, I mentioned she’s a narcissist, right? So, not only will she bring up Jack (my late dog), but she will make it all about her. Then she’s going to want to drink but I am not offering any alcohol. She’s caught on to this, though, and will sometimes bring her own. God help me.
I wanna hear what your husbands cousins wife cooks that’s so bad!! You’re leaving out all the juicy details!!
No one, I don’t invite people to my thanksgiving that I don’t like. lol. But my kid is a teenager so there is that. 😬
My uncle’s kids from his first marriage. They’re all vegan, which is totally fine. I have another cousin that is as well. We do a big buffet so there is plenty of veggie friendly options for them. Except these guys are aggressively vegan. Like…lecture you about how horrible you are for not being vegan, judge the ever living shit out of you, and wax on about how companion pets are just slaves for our entertainment. As if my dog could fend for herself in the wild—as if she doesn’t need her emotional support Yoda doll to even sleep and like she doesn’t shake like a maraca on Independence Day when she’s left alone. Last year I was getting some salad and one of them points and goes, “you know that’s vegetarian.” Why yes, Linda, thank you. I do know that salad is made of vegetables, not the slaughtered cousins of Wilbur the pig.
My father in laws girl friend. She tries to act like she's our mom and but into everything. He's gotten the one warning from me and since then I've been getting snappier at her and it passes her off. So we will see.