Anyone else want to cook T-Day dinner, but doesn't get to?

[Chicago526]

I've ALWAYS wanted to cook a T-Day dinner. I love to cook and think it would be so much fun! I see all these these fantastic receipes for side dishes on Food Network, and I want to try Alton Brown's (from Food Network's "Good Eats" show) method of cooking turkey! I'd love to use the good china, the good flatware, and decorate the table!

But my Aunt always gets to host T-Day. My SIL has offered for the last three years, but Aunt always insists on doing it. I wish we'd could at least rotate, Aunt one year, SIL the next, then me and DH, then back to Aunt. But nope! Aunt always gets to do it! And I don't even get to cook a side dish to bring, we always get assigned to bring the soda! (At least I know I'll like the drink selection!). Fortunatly, Aunt is a good cook, though. I will say that for her!

Another problem is that DH works nights for a major newspaper. He has to work Wednesday night and Thursday night. So, he'll get home from work at about 10 AM, we have to leave for my Aunt's house at 11, driving for an hour, getting there by 12 noon for dinner at 1 PM. We'll have to leave by 4 PM to get home by 5, so DH can leave for work by 6 PM.

In short, he will get NO sleep that day. If I or SIL (who lives 15 minutes from us) got to have T-Day, he'd be able to get some sleep at least!

I think next year, if Aunt insists on having it, we will pass. It's just too hard on DH. I'll see if SIL wants to do it, and if so we'll go to her house, or I can do it and SIL, DB and their kids can come to our house. If she doesn't want to do either, then DH and I will stay home, he can sleep, and I'll cook a turkey beast for supper.

Anyway, does anyone else ever want to host T-Day, and doesn't get to?

 

[Skylarr29]

My uncle and aunt alwasy do thanksgiving for now at least. I really would love to do it but I cant fit everyone into our apratment anyways so until our house is finished being built we will just have to wait.

 

[Trish Bessette]

I'm like you, I love to cook. I am making quite a few things to bring on Thursday but what I do is make my own Thanksgiving meal on Friday or Saturday. This way we get to enjoy all the leftovers I do this each year as I'm decorating the house for Christmas. It is such a fun weekend! Happy Holidays!

 

[tc]

I have been married for 25 years, and have never hosted a holiday meal. I really want to, but, if we are not traveling to my families home in IN/KY/MO, then it's at Steve's sister's or Mom's house. I don't get asked to bring anything either, not even soda. I invite them for birthday dinners, but they don't come. I am a pretty good cook when I want to be, but they just don't come over. It's pretty frustrating. Someday, I hope to start hosting holiday meals, once my MIL is too old to handle it. It's pretty frustrating always going somewhere else!

 

[stinkerbelle]

Dh LOVES his turkey, and since we always go to his or my parents, we dont' get much leftovers.
So we cook another turkey on the Sunday after thanksgiving. Have our brother's over, watch football, have a turkey. We call it "thanksgiving, take 2"

We'll never host thanksgiving...no one wants to drive to our house (too far)...we host easter (not a HUGE holiday in his family, so the few that do want to drive down to our house, will) Works for us. I get my "hosting holiday" over with early in the year !heheheh

 

[clarabelle]

You should try the Alton Brown turkey. It really is good -maybe for another ocassion?

 

[Tiggerlover91]

I haven't got to host a turkey day dinner in a few years, but I'm blessed to get to do so this year. It's just going to be me and DH and another couple, but the smaller the better as I don't have to spend as much time in the kitchen. I'm going to start cooking my turkey tomorrow as I've been defrosting it since Friday and it's done now. Back of turkey says once fully defrosted cook in 1-2 days, so I'm good.
I think that you either need to insist on doing a turkey dinner one year and have people over and tell the aunt of course she's invited or just politely decline to come to her dinner and still do your own.

 

[NMAmy]

My sister does Thanksgiving and I do Christmas. A few years ago, my mom told us that she just didn't want to do it anymore--that she wanted to be a guest. Okeydokey!

I also make a turkey over the weekend because I like the leftovers. My niece takes all the Thanksgiving leftovers at my sister's house because she doesn't cook. When you ask what she's bringing, she'll tell you, "My tupperware."

 

[Disneynutbsv]

nope, last year I decided to have Thanksgiving dinner at home and invited the inlaws down and she decided to cook it herself and not come to my house. And then about 2 years ago, my soon to be ex sil had Thanksgiving dinner at her house...mil and fil went there....I just don't think they like me. I think I'm a pretty good cook, and she does the same thing...bring soda or juice. I always bring pie or breads or something anyway

 

[aprincessmom]

I've ALWAYS wanted to cook a T-Day dinner. I love to cook and think it would be so much fun! I see all these these fantastic receipes for side dishes on Food Network, and I want to try Alton Brown's (from Food Network's "Good Eats" show) method of cooking turkey! I'd love to use the good china, the good flatware, and decorate the table!

So do it on another day. There is no law that says you can't cook a turkey dinner and use the good china, flatware and table decorations except on the 4th Thursday of November

 

[CajunDixie]

So do it on another day. There is no law that says you can't cook a turkey dinner and use the good china, flatware and table decorations except on the 4th Thursday of November

Do it the day before a big winter storm. Not only will your house be warm all day from cooking the turkey, you'll have plenty of already cooked leftovers to eat the next day if the power goes out. Then you can be "Thankful" you have plenty of good food to eat during the storm.

 

[KelNottAt]

Count me in. Thanksgiving is at the ILs. For the first 12 years of our marriage, I always offered to bring a dish and I was always turned down. It really hurts my feeling because I'm the only one who doesn't get to bring something. SIL #1 brings a salad, SIL #2 brings shrimp cocktail, SIL #3 brings dessert, and SIL#4 brings wine. I've offered a centerpiece, a bag of rolls, Peperidge Farm cookies; but the answer was always "no."

So, I finally stopped offering. For the past 4 years I just show up and act like all's well. But it's not. As the only DIL who's from out of town, I'm already not part of thier clique. This "dinner exclusion" just adds insult to injury.

(Yes, they shrug it off as "you have to drive 110 miles, so you shouldn't have to cook." But when MIL drives 110 miles to my party, you can bet your sweet bippy that she has a hissy fit about insisting to bring something. )

 

[Chicago526]

Do it the day before a big winter storm. Not only will your house be warm all day from cooking the turkey, you'll have plenty of already cooked leftovers to eat the next day if the power goes out. Then you can be "Thankful" you have plenty of good food to eat during the storm.

The problem is that it's just DH and I. DH can eat A LOT of food but not that much! We need a crowd to feed to justify that much food, so that leaves the holiday's. Aunt gets T-Day, Grandma gets Easter, Uncle gets New Years Eve, SIL gets Christmas and all the birthdays (including mine, but it's a long story).

I don't get ANYTHING! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

 

[EthansMom]

Count me in. Thanksgiving is at the ILs. For the first 12 years of our marriage, I always offered to bring a dish and I was always turned down. It really hurts my feeling because I'm the only one who doesn't get to bring something. SIL #1 brings a salad, SIL #2 brings shrimp cocktail, SIL #3 brings dessert, and SIL#4 brings wine. I've offered a centerpiece, a bag of rolls, Peperidge Farm cookies; but the answer was always "no."

I would stop asking and just take something. If you make sure that it's something delicious, anyone would be crazy to make a negative comment!

 

[disneymom3]

I think you need to learn the phrase "We can't make it." No way would I put my DH through all of that just for Tgiving dinner. Yeah, family is important, but no sleep is not good. Don't you know anyone who has no family in the area? Another couple from work or church? Invite them for dinner and make your stuff!

 

[Chicago526]

I think you need to learn the phrase "We can't make it." No way would I put my DH through all of that just for Tgiving dinner. Yeah, family is important, but no sleep is not good. Don't you know anyone who has no family in the area? Another couple from work or church? Invite them for dinner and make your stuff!

I didn't realize he wouldn't get any sleep that day until yesterday (he normally gets home earlier, but due to the sales ads and extra copies of the paper they have to print due to higher demand, he has to stay longer). I did tell him we didn't have to go and I'd call my Aunt to cancel (she would totally understand) but he insisted that we go. Even if we did stay home it would be the two of us, at this point everyone we know has plans already anyway!

 

[SeeDisney]

Kinda of jealous. For once, I would like to go to someone's else house and bring a side dish.

I have a very very small family, just a brother. I do all the cooking and preparing and have some friends come to here.

Oh well. The point of the day is to be "thankful".

 

[mum4jenn]

We used to have this same problem and we finally just started having our own smaller version on either Friday or Saturday after Thanksgiving. Some years we would invite our Parents and other years it was just "us". Then of course the rest of the family changed to those days so we just re-arranged ours to Thursday!!! It has worked out fine. Also one year we went to Orlando at Thanksgiving and this year we are going camping.