Um, no fucking way am I accommodating my Thanksgiving to cook a fucking 24 lb turkey when there will only be 9 people! But of course DH has yet to tell MIL there's no way we can cook a turkey that big plus all the sides, etc. God I hope he talks to her today. Oh and plusalso MIL only knows one way to cook things, overdone, so we'll get to have cold dried out turkey and ham, whee!
I can't imagine needing both a turkey and a ham for 9 people, but there's really no more work in cooking a 24 lb turkey than there is in cooking a 15 lb turkey - it just takes longer (and takes up more space in the oven).
I like turkey leftovers, and also like making turkey soup with broth from the turkey carcass, so I always cook a giant bird when I have the opportunity to host a holiday meal. I'm really sad that we might not have an oven large enough to cook a large bird next year. Especially as we may be hosting a bunch of DH's coworkers for the holiday, too.
We are bowing out of T-Day with my extended family. Just me, dh, and the kids here in our house. Yay! Although I love my family, their cooking leaves much to be desired and my aunt & uncle's house is cramped (despite being large), smells like a wet dog, and my cousins are obnoxious. They are all nearing or have just reached drinking age and get wasted then argue with their parents. No thanks!
I find it interesting that people booze it up with their families. That just seems so weird to me...I grew up in a dry household and we never had booze at holidays because my Uncle was recovering.
If I drink half a glass of wine at TG I am questioned about whether I am driving or K is.
Again- my family is not normal.
DH's family is completely dry. Not only do they not serve booze, they do not allow it. We do Thanksgiving with them.
Christmas is the opposite. See my above post about Christmas with my parents.
Pumpkin pie is vile. It tastes like an air freshener and it looks like wet cat food.
MIL and FIL are coming for Thanksgiving and MIL keeps offering to buy this Thanksgiving "feast" she saw advertised at a local chain restaurant. She is being really pushy about it and seems offended and annoyed that I'd rather cook. I think she thinks she's being helpful because we have a little baby, but the idea of handing him off to grandma so I can play in the kitchen for the morning sounds fantastic to me. We will eat crappy catered chain restaurant food on a holiday over my dead body.
We are having Thanksgiving on Sunday since my brother will be in town. I'm excited to get it over and done with while everyone else is still stressing out about their meals.
I'm SO EXCITED I don't have to do a damn bit of Christmas shopping this year. DS and I are flying to WI to surprise my dad and sisters, Merry Christmas to them! I'm getting off cheap this year.
I really don't want to participate in my mom's family gift exchange. It's ridiculous when you think about it-there's a $25 limit, most people only put 1 or 2 things on their list, so you know what you're getting. I tell you what. Save me the shipping costs and the $25 and go buy what you want yourself.
I find it interesting that people booze it up with their families. That just seems so weird to me...I grew up in a dry household and we never had booze at holidays because my Uncle was recovering.
If I drink half a glass of wine at TG I am questioned about whether I am driving or K is.
Again- my family is not normal.
I grew up with only one uncle who drinks beer on holidays. No one else does.
H's family drinks cheap white wine and beer like it is going out of style.
Post by milkrations on Nov 13, 2012 14:46:21 GMT -5
I want to spend Thanksgiving by myself. H is working but I have been invited to his parents house for dinner (they are our only family nearby). I don't want to go. I get along great with them but the idea of lounging around all day in my pajamas is so appealing. I want to indulge my hermit tendencies.
I find it interesting that people booze it up with their families. That just seems so weird to me...I grew up in a dry household and we never had booze at holidays because my Uncle was recovering.
If I drink half a glass of wine at TG I am questioned about whether I am driving or K is.
Again- my family is not normal.
Booze (in various forms) is part of any family gathering for us. I was the DD until I was old enough to drink (I'm the youngest kid). I swear, I feel like an alcoholic when I put out our glass recycling after having my parents or siblings visit us here. Last visit from Mom and Dad was for under 1 week, and I think we went thru 17 or 18 bottles of wine... Glass recycling is only picked up once a month here.
At my dad's house: My step-brother brings his own pint glass to all family functions. My step-mom usually has her first drink around 10 am. Daily. There's a kegerator in the kitchen and a beer fridge in the garage. You could say there's drinking on that side of the family. Beer only. I hate beer. Oddly enough, my dad doesn't drink.
At my mom's house: My step-dad is a recovering alcoholic. There's no alcohol in that house.
My IL's house: They're old, annoying and cook very, very bad food. Alcohol should be handed out at the door. Alas, they don't drink and they do not appreciate people bringing alcohol into their home. Cookies are an acceptable hostess gift.
I actually don't drink much. A glass of wine once or twice a week, if even that.
I don't understand how anyone DOESN'T drink during the holidays with family. We start with Irish coffees when we wake, and don't stop until bedtime. It makes everything much warmer and fuzzier.
I find it interesting that people booze it up with their families. That just seems so weird to me...I grew up in a dry household and we never had booze at holidays because my Uncle was recovering.
If I drink half a glass of wine at TG I am questioned about whether I am driving or K is.
Again- my family is not normal.
That sounds like my husband's family. His father will drink wine (occasionally), but his mother does not drink at all and doesn't understand it (she thinks that one drink = my husband can't drive several hours later), and the other family members (one of who has struggled with drinking) don't drink. So usually it is just my sister in law and me drinking at holiday's at my in-laws'. When alcohol is first offered at dinner time :-(
My family is drinking-heavy. Everybody drinks except for my mom who is on a lot of meds for arthritis (so she drinks like 2 times a year, but when she drinks she does it well). We have some people in the extended family who don't drink because they've been alcoholics/drug addicts, but they don't mind people drinking around them (and they don't tend to do holidays with us anyway). But generally we all drink a lot at family holidays. I won't typically get drunk, but I'll drink all day.
Among my family, friends, and colleagues, drinking is a big part of socializing, so it is kind of always around.
I don't understand how anyone DOESN'T drink during the holidays with family. We start with Irish coffees when we wake, and don't stop until bedtime. It makes everything much warmer and fuzzier.
We usually have so many stops to make that at least one of us would need to stay sober.
Holiday drinking is the best. I'm pumped for the cranberry sangria I'm making.
Last year one of my cousins got so drunk on Christmas Eve trying to keep up with my much larger uncles shot for shot that he missed Christmas morning with his four-year-old. He was basically puking the whole day. His wife was pissssssed, LOL. I don't blame her.
Our child is the product of said Christmas Eve shots, LOL.
Last year we went to Easter at BIL's who said they were having a cookout. There was no cooking out, just a room temp ham and some other nasty food. I was sooo hungry, there weren't even good desserts. :-(
I don't understand how anyone DOESN'T drink during the holidays with family. We start with Irish coffees when we wake, and don't stop until bedtime. It makes everything much warmer and fuzzier.
Well said, my thoughts exactly! Sounds like my family, but we start with bloody marys
Um, no fucking way am I accommodating my Thanksgiving to cook a fucking 24 lb turkey when there will only be 9 people! But of course DH has yet to tell MIL there's no way we can cook a turkey that big plus all the sides, etc. God I hope he talks to her today. Oh and plusalso MIL only knows one way to cook things, overdone, so we'll get to have cold dried out turkey and ham, whee!
I can't imagine needing both a turkey and a ham for 9 people, but there's really no more work in cooking a 24 lb turkey than there is in cooking a 15 lb turkey - it just takes longer (and takes up more space in the oven).
I like turkey leftovers, and also like making turkey soup with broth from the turkey carcass, so I always cook a giant bird when I have the opportunity to host a holiday meal. I'm really sad that we might not have an oven large enough to cook a large bird next year. Especially as we may be hosting a bunch of DH's coworkers for the holiday, too.
Few people in the family eat dark meat. I went big the first year with a 18lber, it was too much dark meat. Last year I did 12lbs and a breast in the crockpot, it went over so much better.
And I really don't need a lot of leftovers, b/c the last 2 years MIL has done her own TG on the Saturday after with her husband's daughter and 2 kids.
We don't have any plans yet because SIL is due the Saturday after thanksgiving and she's having a home birth.
Last year we did an Indian (as in India) feast and it was great. I hope we do that again. Then I can make stuffing and pie separately and still get yummies. Hmm.. maybe I need to get with my friends about doing a Friendsgiving.
If all they have ever had was nasty, gross, disgusting stuffing like my aunt makes, I completely understand the hatred. The crap she makes has no texture, no flavor and is just a blob on your plate +o( +o( +o(
Yesterday I texted my SIL to see if they are coming for thanksgiving. The response was "Are you going to make cupcakes for Nephew?" ...wtf! I don't know if she wrote that or nephew did..either way I was freaking annoyed and didn't respond. Later she responded yes.
Every year, my Mom and I cook for tons of people. H's parents have 6 kids..all of them are either out of town or spending the holidays with their other bf/gf/ILs. I wonder if my ILs would spend the holidays at home by themselves without me and my H. That makes me sad for them.
We never celebrated Xmas growing up and now we buy generous gifts for our parents and nephews/nieces. We don't get a single thing from anyone. bahhumbug!
I have another one too. I hate celebrating Christmas with my in-laws. Not because they aren't nice, and not because the food is bad (I would say it's better than food at my own parents) but because it doesn't feel like Christmas because their traditions are so different. I find a certain amount of pleasure in their traditions, but they aren't *MY* traditions, and it's just not the same. #brat
I don't like opening all the presents on Christmas Eve, with the exception of the Santa presents and stockings.
I don't like the repetitive and lame homemade gifts.
I miss the group participation stocking stuffing, which my mom, sister, and I always do the night before with the intent to fill the stockings as fast as possible.
I miss my family's special morning breakfast (which I can make, but it's very time consuming and kind of a pain in the ass so I usually don't).
I miss grazing on crappy snacks of aerosol cheese and wheat thins all morning long until it's time for dinner.
I miss sneaking off with my siblings to go see a movie in a mostly empty theater.