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Thanksgiving Stories

Tell us your fond memories, bad memories, pet peeves, mishaps, food likes and dislikes associated with this holiday. From childhood or adulthood.

Growing up my Italian immigrant mother always made lasagne which seemed out of place with the rest of the traditional Thanksgiving food. As an adult I have often also made it on Thanksgiving, it just brings back good memories.

by Anonymousreply 79October 9, 2024 11:21 AM

If this thread doesn't include a Sri Lankan in a port a potty, I'm going to be very upset.

by Anonymousreply 1October 1, 2024 8:22 PM

My father died on Thanksgiving, the bird having just gone into the oven.

by Anonymousreply 2October 1, 2024 8:27 PM

I was born on Thanksgiving morning.

by Anonymousreply 3October 1, 2024 8:34 PM

R3 but does your birthday alway fall on Thanksgiving day?

by Anonymousreply 4October 1, 2024 8:35 PM

I'm sorry r2.

by Anonymousreply 5October 1, 2024 8:35 PM

I wish we had had lasagne for Thanksgiving, but for us it was just the standard American Thanksgiving Meal, down to the green and black olives and celery in crystal bowls and the canned, jellied cranberry sauce.

Dessert was another matter, however. No pumpkin pie for my family. My grandmother made apple, cherry, and mincemeat pies, along with panna cotta with raspberry coulis for me. Same desserts at Christmas.

My father died the day after Thanksgiving, and it was so cold in NJ, they couldn't bury him the day of his funeral. My cousin Jack was chosen to orate at the grave, and it felt like he went on for half a freezing hour about what a great guy my father was. Hah. You should have had to live with him, Jack.

by Anonymousreply 6October 1, 2024 8:37 PM

r6 I'd just show up for dessert! Sounds delicious.

by Anonymousreply 7October 1, 2024 8:39 PM

Fate rolled the dice so I spent a couple alone, and it was GLORIOUS.

by Anonymousreply 8October 1, 2024 8:39 PM

No, R4. Sometimes it falls on Halloween.

by Anonymousreply 9October 1, 2024 8:48 PM

I did study abroad term from US -> UK and was friends with a bunch of international students including Americans from other programs.

These three or four girls, (2 British, 2 American i think) decided to throw a Thanksgiving dinner in their student flat (postwar row housing). They cooked everything in their tiny kitchen and one of their kitchens in a flat around the corner. They moved beds out of the large front bedroom upstairs and set up tables. They hosted about twenty, and it was wonderful. I helped with dishes afterward.

by Anonymousreply 10October 1, 2024 8:50 PM

One memorable Thanksgiving after I moved out, had my own job and finally came out to my rabidly hating Eastern European family, my mom and my neighborhood-narcissist aunt were cleaning up in the kitchen. My evil cunt aunt, father's sister, asked my mom, loudly, so everyone in the house could hear, "So, now that you have a homosexual son, what's it like knowing he will never give you grandchildren?"

And without a beat, my mom responded, "Well, had I known how wonderful it was having a gay son, I would have skipped the straight daughters..."

Crying as I type...

by Anonymousreply 11October 1, 2024 8:51 PM

One relative would drink the water left in the pot after cooking corn. He would also drink any leftover corn fluids from the serving bowl.

by Anonymousreply 12October 1, 2024 11:15 PM

The guy I was living with set fire to the porch using my dad’s smoker for the turkey. It was complicated.

by Anonymousreply 13October 2, 2024 12:17 AM

Last year on Thanksgiving, an anonymous person dropped off the ashes of my deceased grandmother on our front porch. Her ashes had been stolen from us 10 years ago.

by Anonymousreply 14October 2, 2024 12:29 AM

wow so it was someone that obviously knew you.

by Anonymousreply 15October 2, 2024 12:30 AM

I must say that out-of-date huzzah: props to your mom R11😁

by Anonymousreply 16October 2, 2024 2:47 AM

My grandmother always made a mince pie and an apple pie. The house smelled so good.

by Anonymousreply 17October 2, 2024 3:00 AM

Last Thanksgiving after we ate one of my guests (friend of a friend) was leaving rather quickly so I gave him a plate of food and another plate with a slice of pie and cookies for the next day as I do for all my guests.

He then asked if he could have a whole pie that was on my dessert table that hadn't been cut in to yet. He unabashedly said he wanted to take it to his family's Thanksgiving that he was going to next as he needed to bring something to contribute. He hadn't joined his family for dinner as he can't stand his sister-in-law but was joining them for dessert.

I said no.

by Anonymousreply 18October 2, 2024 4:09 PM

You want a Thanksgiving story, OP? Here ya go...

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 19October 2, 2024 4:13 PM

Catered meals. My mother didn't do ovens.

by Anonymousreply 20October 2, 2024 4:23 PM

R18 Didn’t you get in trouble for eating one of the guests?

by Anonymousreply 21October 2, 2024 4:29 PM

I was molested next to the cranberry mold.

by Anonymousreply 22October 2, 2024 4:32 PM

R18 He must have been dumbstruck to have ended up as a drumstick 🍗

by Anonymousreply 23October 2, 2024 4:37 PM

Meatloaf and pepsi!

by Anonymousreply 24October 2, 2024 4:40 PM

How about the one black sheep of the family entering the gathering after being literally talked into going by the family peacemaker. After begrudging being seated at the dinner table and beginning dinner one family member asks why I had such a big up my ass for so long. This in turn infuriates me and I wind up hurling cranberry sauce at his face then stomping out and slamming the door behind me.

by Anonymousreply 25October 2, 2024 5:01 PM

R25 BUG

by Anonymousreply 26October 2, 2024 5:01 PM

R25 such a big one*

by Anonymousreply 27October 2, 2024 5:06 PM

R18, glad you said NO to the request for a whole damn pie (as a guest's parting gift). Some people are so socially stupid.

by Anonymousreply 28October 2, 2024 5:28 PM

You should have pied him right in the face

by Anonymousreply 29October 2, 2024 5:30 PM

The first and last time I made turkey was when I was in my 20s. I actually did that thing you see on TV shows: I forgot about that little bag of giblets and left it inside the turkey.

Anyhoo, with the carcass, I also made (first and last time) a turkey noodle soup. So good and easy.

by Anonymousreply 30October 2, 2024 5:31 PM

I came out to my then wife of 7 months on Thanksgiving. She wasn't thankful.

by Anonymousreply 31October 2, 2024 5:44 PM

My other mom (they were hetero best friends) died the morning after Thanksgiving.

by Anonymousreply 32October 2, 2024 6:16 PM

So a day late? Unrelated to T-giving.

Do. Better. R2

—so we pulled the turkey and stuffing from the oven. My sister asked what to do, since he died in bed at home. I said call the police for a non-emergency. They came, and the woman officer comforted my mom as the surveyed the scene and sawnothing untoward. The cops suggested finding a mortuary and that there would be no delay or call to the coroner. The mortician was there within the hour(?!), and took the body. We grieved for the rest of the day, and then decided we had to eat. Being a holiday, we called around to find a decent place to take us for a price fixe dinner. We went and had a rip-roaring time. Many bottles of wine & stories to share. Our waiter asked why are you all laughing —my brother replied, deadpan, well…see, our dad died today… THE LOOK! …but he soon got it, and they comped us wine and dessert. We ate Thanksgiving with all the fixings on Friday, in tribute to my dad.

by Anonymousreply 33October 2, 2024 9:53 PM

Below I present The Thanksgiving Letter that did the rounds on Awkward Family Photos back in the aughts.

Marney is one for the record books.

by Anonymousreply 34October 2, 2024 10:00 PM

From: Marney

As you all know a fabulous Thanksgiving Dinner does not make itself. I need to ask each of you to help by bringing something to complete the meal. I truly appreciate your offers to assist with the meal preparation.

Now, while I do have quite a sense of humor and joke around all the time, I COULD NOT BE MORE SERIOUS when I am providing you with your Thanksgiving instructions and orders. I am very particular, so please perform your task EXACTLY as I have requested and read your portion very carefully. If I ask you to bring your offering in a container that has a lid, bring your offering in a container WITH A LID, NOT ALUMINUM FOIL! If I ask you to bring a serving spoon for your dish, BRING A SERVING SPOON, NOT A SOUP SPOON! And please do not forget anything.

All food that is to be cooked should already be prepared, bring it hot and ready to serve, warm or room temp. These are your ONLY THREE options. Anything meant to be served cold should, of course, already be cold.

HJB—Dinner wine

The Mike Byron Family 1. Turnips in a casserole with a lid and a serving spoon. Please do not fill the casserole all the way up to the top, it gets too messy. I know this may come as a bit of a surprise to you, but most of us hate turnips so don’t feel like you a have to feed an army. 2. Two half gallons of ice cream, one must be VANILLA, I don’t care what the other one is. No store brands please. I did see an ad this morning for Hagan Daz Peppermint Bark Ice Cream, yum!! (no pressure here, though). 3. Toppings for the ice cream. 4. A case of bottled water, NOT gallons, any brand is ok.

The Bob Byron Family 1. Green beans or asparagus (not both) in a casserole with a lid and a serving spoon. If you are making the green beans, please prepare FOUR pounds, if you are making asparagus please prepare FIVE pounds. It is up to you how you wish to prepare them, no soupy sauces, no cheese (you know how Mike is), a light sprinkling of toasted nuts, or pancetta, or some EVOO would be a nice way to jazz them up. 2. A case of beer of your choice (I have Coors Light and Corona) or a bottle of clos du bois chardonnay (you will have to let me know which you will bring prior to 11/22).

The Lisa Byron Chesterford Family 1. Lisa as a married woman you are now required to contribute at the adult level. You can bring an hors d’ouvres. A few helpful hints/suggestions. Keep it very light, and non-filling, NO COCKTAIL SAUCE, no beans of any kind. I think your best bet would be a platter of fresh veggies and dip. Not a huge platter mind you (i.e., not the plastic platter from the supermarket).

The Michelle Bobble Family 1. Stuffing in a casserole with a serving spoon. Please make the stuffing sans meat. 2. 2.5-3 qts. of mashed squash in a casserole with a lid and serving spoon 3. Proscuitto pin wheel – please stick to the recipe, no need to bring a plate. 4. A pie knife

The June Davis Family 1. 15 LBS of mashed potatoes in a casserole with a serving spoon. Please do not use the over-size blue serving dish you used last year. Because you are making such a large batch you can do one of two things: put half the mash in a regulation size casserole with lid and put the other half in a plastic container and we can just replenish with that or use two regulation size casserole dishes with lids. Only one serving spoon is needed. 2. A bottle of clos du bois chardonnay

The Amy Misto Family (why do I even bother she will never read this) 1. A pumpkin pie in a pie dish (please use my silver palate recipe) no knife needed. 2. An apple pie in a pie dish, you can use your own recipe, no knife needed.

Looking forward to the 28th!!

Marney

by Anonymousreply 35October 2, 2024 10:00 PM

When your family are comprised of mostly bitches and assholes what’s to be thankful for???

by Anonymousreply 36October 2, 2024 11:15 PM

My grandmother once accidentally put down a plate of leftover mashed potatoes in a cabinet, laying them down to pick up later while tidying up. About three months later ... the dining room began to reek, and we unearthed a fungus-ridden, mold-caked platter of ancient, curdled, foul potatoes. It smelled like obscene feet mixed with rat carcass. I have never ever been able to eat mashed potatoes since.

by Anonymousreply 37October 2, 2024 11:18 PM

[quote]Lisa as a married woman you are now required to contribute at the adult level.

I've never seen the bitchy Thanksgiving letter before, this killed me.

by Anonymousreply 38October 3, 2024 12:25 AM

Go fuck yourself r33, you're like your prick father. I was her world and she mine. "A day late unrelated to Thanksgiving" my ass. She had small cell cancer and lingered AT HOME 24/7 bedridden for seven months. I've never seen anyone go downhill so fast before or since; I had to watch her slowly die. I was 17, my nurse mother took an unpaid LOA to care for her.

FF this guy to hell.

by Anonymousreply 39October 3, 2024 12:36 AM

Purr, kitty, purr. 🙄. Delusional…

by Anonymousreply 40October 3, 2024 12:43 AM

The prompt is Thanksgiving stories, not unrelated November sadness.

by Anonymousreply 41October 3, 2024 12:46 AM

The whole family loved aunt betty. Aunt betty was older than anyone else that the younger generations knew. She was some second cousin third removed, but was always invited because she was fun and had a witty tongue. One year she volunteered to make the gravy . The hostess had one of those old-fashioned electric turkey roasters, a sort of giant electric roaster you’d place on your counter just to roast the turkey in. Conveniently once the turkey was done you could simply remove it and then make the gravy from the drippings already int he big roaster. We were watching aunt betty stirring away and gently bitching and chatting like families do waiting for the dinner to be prepared. Betty kept stirring. . . .

Likely another highball of a cocktail later and no headway on the gravy, it was discovered that Aunt Betty had been expertly stirring a cold, not-plugged in pan for the better part of a half hour. Dinner was fine, but late that year and we all teased Aunt betty about that for the rest of her days

by Anonymousreply 42October 3, 2024 12:47 AM

Turkeys are hardcore.

by Anonymousreply 43October 3, 2024 12:50 AM

Ok these Thanksgiving threads always make my year with laughter! Thank you for starting it earlier and making my life happier. Love you all.

by Anonymousreply 44October 3, 2024 12:53 AM

R3

So was I!

by Anonymousreply 45October 3, 2024 1:17 AM

My father disliked Thanksgiving due to the fact that it was the day when his mother died. Yet, he always tried to be jovial for the sake of the other guests.

by Anonymousreply 46October 3, 2024 1:17 AM

Song makes me chuckle. It applies to Thanksgiving, equally!!! Jill Sobule

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 47October 3, 2024 1:20 AM

My grandmother was in her early 90s (she lived to 97) and starting to loose it mentally. About 20 of us convened at her house every TG, but by this time my mom, aunt and grandfather did all the cooking. We always ate on ad-hock tables and mismatched chairs set up in the downstairs den off the kitchen because they didn’t have an actual dining room.

Back then my nieces and nephews were young and I would decorate for their BD parties - lots of balloons, streamers and cut-outs of whatever character they were into at the time. I did the same at her house for her 90th with a 70s smiley face theme.

Well grandma called me a few days before TG and asked if I was going to decorate for “the party” We had never done anything for TG beyond flowers and candles, but I knew she was getting confused as to why we were all coming over later that week.

The next day I went to a stationary/party store that was on Greenwich, just up the block from the Jefferson Market Library and spent over 200 bucks on every damn Thanksgiving decoration they had.

My grandparents lived upstate so most of us arrived sometime the day before, sleeping on couches, the floor, where ever. That night a cousin helped me decorate. We usually ate off of her wedding china, but I’d bought paper turkey tablecloths, plates and napkins. Crepe turkey centerpieces, cutouts and table glitter; cornucopia mobiles, streamers and tissue fallen leaves; a helium tank and autumnal color balloons. Every inch of the tables, walls and ceiling were over adorned, a balloon floated above each, chair and it looked too over the top to be a set in a John Waters movie.

Right as we were finishing up, grandma opened the door to the den and stuck her face in — she said she wanted a peek before heading off to bed. Her face was wide eyed with delight, like a little child, and she said it was “too beautiful.”

That was her last Thanksgiving at home, before we had to put her in a nursing home.

by Anonymousreply 48October 3, 2024 6:33 AM

Back in the late 80s when I was an adolescent, my favorite aunt was hosting the family Thanksgiving dinner.

She had been a housewife all of her life and after her youngest child left for college she got her nursing degree and started working for the first time. With her very first few paychecks she had built a beautiful gazebo built on the edge of the pond in her backyard. She was so proud of that gazebo and her new status as a professional woman.

That Thanksgiving was the first year that deep frying turkeys became a fad and my uncle decided he’d try it out, under the gazebo.

An hour before dinner, without even reading the directions for frying the turkey, my uncle had managed to start the largest and fastest spreading grease fire anyone had ever seen and my aunt’s brand new gazebo was burning like a Roman candle.

In a matter of ten minutes all that was left was a smoldering piles of ashes and the concrete footings it all had been built on. I still remember the grim look on my aunt’s face. I think it broke something in her that I don’t know if she ever really got over.

by Anonymousreply 49October 3, 2024 7:48 AM

After stuffing the turkey and putting it into the oven to get hot, dad did the same thing to us…….he stuffed both Lyle and me with his uncut Cuban sausage and then shoved our heads into the fireplace. Lyle’s hairpiece started to smoke, but we saved it by peeing on it. Dad then carved the real turkey with a knife and we ate. For dessert, we blew their heads off while they ate a Mrs. Fields boxed Pumpkin Pie.

Good times.

by Anonymousreply 50October 3, 2024 8:35 AM

Thoughtful of the OP to start a Thanksgiving thread two weeks early; we have Thanksgiving weekend here. My family always had the dinner on Sunday and the stat Monday is turkey soup and sandwich day.

by Anonymousreply 51October 3, 2024 9:17 AM

As per Marney’s Thanksgiving letter, what is turnip casserole? Is it a classic Thanksgiving side? Is it one of those dishes served with sugar and marshmallows like sweet potato casserole?

by Anonymousreply 52October 3, 2024 9:40 AM

Longtime partner died a few days before Thanksgiving in 2008. Thanksgiving was always our favorite holiday, and I'm still fond of it. But even all these years later, it's a very bittersweet time. I usually spend it alone -- not weeping, or anything. I just don't feel like being stuck in someone's house, making endless small talk with people (their relatives) I don't know or care about.

by Anonymousreply 53October 3, 2024 9:59 AM

WW for r48 for mentioning Jefferson Market, my favorite place to shop when I lived in NY. Fall was my favorite season in NY.

by Anonymousreply 54October 3, 2024 11:55 AM

What did you shop for at a library?

by Anonymousreply 55October 3, 2024 12:20 PM

My Mom had an oven with a time-set option. She would put the turkey in the oven and set the oven temp to start at 5:00 am. One TG morning, we discovered she'd forgotten to set the timer option so the turkey was still raw when we woke up at 6 am. She swore a little but everything worked out fine.

One year, after Mom had died, I tried to make a traditional roast beef dinner on TG for my 3 siblings and me. I have a gas oven and Mom had a electric one so I underestimated how long it would take to cook a 2+ lb. beef roast. I wound up cutting it into hunks (very rare in the middle) and sending everyone home with mashed potatoes and green beans. That was the last time I tried to make TG dinner for my family.

by Anonymousreply 56October 3, 2024 1:50 PM

That gazebo story, upthread, started out very Hallmark movie and frautastic.

by Anonymousreply 57October 3, 2024 5:21 PM

And ended like Stephen King.

by Anonymousreply 58October 3, 2024 5:45 PM

How did Marney die? Was she pushed out of a plane ✈️ 👵🏻

by Anonymousreply 59October 3, 2024 6:49 PM

Thanks reply 48 for making me ball my eyes out. Bless your sweet grandmother AND your family for making it all, too beautiful for her.

by Anonymousreply 60October 4, 2024 1:39 AM

My mom and her husband went to Florida to visit my sister one year and while exploring, found an under-construction golf course community. They spontaneously bought a house and up and moved there the next Spring. Mom always hosted a big Thanksgiving dinner in Ohio, so we panicked. My brother and his fat, cunty wife decided to drive down that week so their kids could have a short vacation, and that started seven years of Thanksgivings in Florida.

Our tradition in Ohio had been to order pizza, drink, and play cards the night before. We usually drank beer, but the first year in Florida, I bought vodka, Kahlua, and half and half, and made White Russians for my sister-in-law, who must have consumed more than dozen of them. We were out on the lanai, next to the pool, when she attempted to stand up from her chair unaware that she was shit-faced. Her arms flailed as she fell backward into the pool, taking her chair, the table, and my mom with her. The upside was that she was too messed up to ruin Thanksgiving the next day, opting to stay in bed almost all day.

So now, when we manage to be in the same place at Thanksgiving, I always bring the stuff to make White Russians, which my mom, brother and I happily enjoy, while the ogre loudly complains that the sight and smell of them make her sick.

by Anonymousreply 61October 4, 2024 2:40 AM

^You really dislike your sister-in-law. I fucking hate one of mine, as it is pure evil. White Russians won't work on the bitter lemon face, holy roller. I think it drinks blood. Sickest of all is my brother who says her selfishness was the quality that initially attracted him. Heave!

by Anonymousreply 62October 4, 2024 2:54 AM

R61, did you laugh when SIL fell into the pool? I think it’s hilarious that White Russians became a tradition after that debacle.

by Anonymousreply 63October 4, 2024 3:46 AM

I've avoided most of my family & extended family for a long time. The last time I went home (had to get on a plane) for Thanksgiving, my low back went out (hadn't been doing anything strenuous) and I got a bad case of constipation.

by Anonymousreply 64October 4, 2024 7:09 AM

I love these! Keep them coming please with extra stuffing!

by Anonymousreply 65October 4, 2024 8:46 PM

Years ago my mother invited one of her co-workers to Thanksgiving dinner. A woman in her 50s, never married, lived with her mother all her life and her mother had recently died.

She insisted on bringing her famous "creamed onions" even though my mother told her she didn't need to bring anything.

On the day of she barreled right past me when I opened the front door, marched straight into the kitchen, opened her purse and pulled out a sandwich size ziploc bag partially filled with what looked like white vomit. She placed the bag on the kitchen counter and marched out. Creamed onions?

Since it was such a small amount, my mother put the white glop in a small ramekin, heated it up in the microwave and put it in front of this woman's place setting. During the meal, she took the ramekin, ate the contents and then ran her index finger all around the inside of the ramekin and then licked the onion glop off her finger. There was plenty of bread on the table she could have used to sop up her onion glop but no she used her finger.

She was the last person to leave and then insisted I follow behind her in my car to make sure she got home safe even though she lived close by in a very nice neighborhood. My suggestion she just call us when she got home fell upon deaf ears. My mother made me follow her home. She was not invited the following year.

by Anonymousreply 66October 4, 2024 9:38 PM

[quote]R52: As per Marney’s Thanksgiving letter, what is turnip casserole? Is it a classic Thanksgiving side? Is it one of those dishes served with sugar and marshmallows like sweet potato casserole?

I too was curious, so I looked it up. It seems there's two methods to turnip casserole, one using mashed turnips with brown sugar, cinnamon and apples/applesauce, and the other more savory. I'm somewhat interested in the savory option, which uses sliced caramelized onion, and slices the turnips on a mandoline, to take a kind of scalloped potatoes approach. A simple béchamel sauce is prepared, using milk, butter, flour, and half-and-half, seasoned with salt, pepper, and fresh thyme, poured throughout the turnip slices and onion. It's baked in a casserole dish until the turnips are soft, and a panko / butter / paprika topping is added and toasted in the oven. Chopped parsley is sprinkled on top before it's served.

by Anonymousreply 67October 4, 2024 10:36 PM

I remember the turkey wishbone tradition. I always got the short end of the break.

by Anonymousreply 68October 4, 2024 10:49 PM

We always ate at 1:00 p.m. I've kept that tradition.

by Anonymousreply 69October 6, 2024 5:25 PM

Too early.

by Anonymousreply 70October 6, 2024 6:34 PM

My grandmother had a knack of dirtying every dish and surface possible every holiday. Thanksgiving included. She would cook to exhaustion, and barely eat, one uncle and my mother rotated on dish duty throughout the first 6-8 hours of the day, until Id have packed up all the leftovers, my job, along with the crudités, and charcuterie platters, with a tray of pickles, olives, crackers, I also did the dips. All of which was at best picked over by three to four people. (Big family, just the dinner would be served early, and people didn't want to spoil their appetites.)

Every year there was a fight, with 8 kids, spouses and their kids (me, my cousins) there was always someone having a problem with another.

My birthday was often on it (as a few others here) and I hated it. But, I have one aunt born Dec. 26th, she was the only one who'd remember my birthday aside from my mother and grandmother. Hearing them announce '... and it's Xs birthday!', then getting a 'Happy Birthday ' always made it so weird), I prefer Halloween and Xmas.

by Anonymousreply 71October 6, 2024 7:44 PM

Dry ass bird that you first tried to thaw in the microwave prior to baking every last bit out of moisture out of it. I put a forkful in my mouth, chewed and literally was enable to swallow it. You saw me and the others remove the contents of our mouths (your bird) by regurgitating onto plates and spitting into napkins. Don’t you ever ever in your life bake a turkey again!

by Anonymousreply 72October 6, 2024 9:24 PM

R18. I was going to ask why you ate one of your guests, but after reading your post, the answer became clear.

by Anonymousreply 73October 6, 2024 10:24 PM

R73 is a nazi

by Anonymousreply 74October 6, 2024 10:40 PM

We’d see one set of grandparents at Thanksgiving and the other at Christmas.

My southern grandmother drove up to see us for Thanksgiving not long after my grandfather died. She was going to stay a few days.

My mother and uncle watched her come up the walk and they said - ooh she’s mad.

Grandma came in the door and started yelling at them about how far she had to drive (an hour and a half) and she couldn't see the traffic lights. Oh boy.

She was a pill all afternoon and wanted seafood for dinner, so we all went out. She spent the whole meal complaining about the drive and what everyone was wearing. Grandma said she would pay. My mother and uncle ordered lobster. Haha.

The next day, my mom was up early cooking and everyone was watching TV. Grandma started in again. The cat was bothering her and etc etc. She was not usually like this so my father chalked it up to grief.

We had dinner and she was finally quiet and complimented the food. She was having her post-meal cigarette when she accidentally set the napkins on fire, along with part of the tablecloth. My father dumped a bucket of water on the table and my uncle ran around opening windows. The room was a mess, the house smelled like smoke and my mother was fit to be tied. My grandmother kind of backed out, went to her room, grabbed her suitcase and drove away, without saying a word.

by Anonymousreply 75October 6, 2024 10:42 PM

R61 here. Mt sister-in-law is a shrew. One year, and only one year, she hosted Thanksgiving in the early 90s. Her company gave each employee a big frozen Turkey the Friday before. They lived way out in the country.

Dinner was to be at 5:00. It was a two hour drive for me, so I called around 2:00 to say that I was leaving and asked if I could pick up anything for the dinner. She said she’d forgotten to get dinner rolls, so I said I’d find some to bring. My niece wanted to say hi, so she handed her the phone. I told my niece that I was excited to see her, etc. and commented that the house must smell good already. She said, no, why? I said, well, the turkey should be smelling good soon enough!

I arrived about 4:30, since I stopped for rolls and it’d started to snow. I drove up their driveway and parked when I noticed my mom and aunt on the back porch arguing. I got out and asked what was going on, and learned that my stupid sister-in-law didn’t start to defrost that huge turkey until the night before and that she hadn’t even put it in the oven until my aunt got there just before 4:00. And it was still frozen.

There were no snacks or appetizers. When we finally sat down to eat at 8:00, the turkey was burnt on the outside and still bloody inside. She make instant mashed potatoes, but bought only two packets to serve twelve people. Two cans of corn, one packet of gravy mix. It was a disaster. The only edible stuff was a green bean casserole. So we used the dinner rolls I brought, with bits of the cooked turkey (breast meat; the thighs and legs were still raw) with canned cranberry gel, to make what today you’d call sliders. Those and a spoonful of corn, green bean casserole, potatoes and a teaspoon of gravy each was our dinner. Oh, and all the Blue Bonnet oleo you wanted!

by Anonymousreply 76October 6, 2024 11:49 PM

We didn't watch football.

Barely watched the parade.

by Anonymousreply 77October 8, 2024 3:45 PM

Turkey with homemade stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, hubbard squash, rolls, green olives and sweet mixed pickles. Fresh baked apple pie for desert.

by Anonymousreply 78October 8, 2024 4:14 PM

I had a friend who worked fairly high up at Herald Square, so he would get me four grandstand tickets for the Parade every year.

For a dozen Thanksgivings I’d collect various nieces and nephews Wednesday afternoon, take them out to a boisterous dinner and then get everyone settled on the floor of my studio apt with comic books & games. Get them all up, dressed and on the subway by 8 - take our seats, and enjoy the Parade.

By the time I got them to my mother’s house around two I was happily exhausted and my Thanksgiving was basically over — the dinner there was just a coda.

by Anonymousreply 79October 9, 2024 11:21 AM
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