Hosting Thanksgiving... our party just DOUBLED. OMG.

[SDSorority]

I just got an email from my MIL... telling me that another distant branch of the family wants to come to thanksgiving....

Let me backtrack.

I offered to host thanksgiving dinner this year for my FIL and MIL, BIL and SIL (and dog), and MIL's mother (in addition to myself and DH) for a couple of reasons. MIL is working on her PhD dissertation, and is planning to be done Dec. 1. Hosting a group for thanksgiving would have been too much for her to handle. And BIL/SIL are not employed, so them hosting would have been too much of a financial burden. I'm ok with hosting because DH and I are gluten-free and it's easier for me to know what we can eat if I make it, you know? MIL is bringing the turkey (we're also vegetarian, so me baking a turkey was kind of out of the question), and she's bringing a stuffing that the grandmother will eat (she won't want my cornbread stuffing, so I'm told... whatever.) and a pie that the grandmother will eat (she won't want my pumpkin pie with GF gingersnap crust, so I'm told...whatever.). SIL is bringing a sweet potato casserole, and I'm making: GF rolls, Polenta Casserole (veggie main dish), Cheese Potato Casserole, Roasted Root Veggies, Cornbread Stuffing, and a GF Pumkpin Pie.

Phew.

So then, literally just now, I get an email from MIL that says that FIL's cousins want to join us for thanksgiving, and the girlfriends of the kids might come, too. That's 6 additional people to the already 7 (including myself, plus SIL/BIL's dog).



Unfortunately, I only have 8 chairs (2 of which don't match the other 6).... so I may have to stick people on the couch in the family room... or on the floor?

OMG.

I guess I better double my recipes.... don't you just LOOOOOVE the holidays?

....I used to, but now they just stress me out.

Thank you for letting me vent.

 

[worm761]

LOL...got an email from Fiance this morning that he invited two more to dinner. I am up to 14 people I think. Only two of which I am related to that don't live in our house. I don't have much family so I tend to take in whoever doesn't have some place to go. We just keep growing. I keep saying the more the merrier!

Good luck with yours! I know the every growing crowd can be daunting.

 

[semo233]

WOW! Can guests bring their own folding chairs or does one have a few they can bring? Space is always an issue at our house too....last year I made the announcement that no one else is allowed to have kids, get married, etc. I have 21 for Thanksgiving and short of having a kids table (where would I put that?), there is no more room! I put two 8 foot tables end to end in our living room and we JUST fit.

Sorry, I don't have any ideas or solutions, but will be looking to see if someone has some options for me too!

Good Luck!

 

[Jenny-momof3]

Our Thanksgiving crowd varies anywhere up to40. Do I have enough chairs...not even close! I set up a few card tables with chairs, plus my kitchen table and bar stools. People just sit all over...kitchen, family room, living room, finished basement,etc. Everyone is fine with that...I think they're just thrilled not to have to host!

As far as food goes...no one comes in empty handed. I make the turkey's, sometimes a ham as well. I also provide all of the plates, napkins,cups,etc. Then I have everyone else bring sides and desserts. If I play my cards right maybe someday I'll talk someone into bringing the turkey too!

This year we're going to be in Disney for Thanksgiving. My big dinner has been divided into 3 houses since no one wants to have that many people.

 

[Karenj2]

My uncle in law hosts thanksgiving at their house, and the current count is 63 people! (that's the norm)

They assign food, and folks bring chairs & tables. It all works out...

 

[RachelsMommie]

Can you borrow two card table/chair sets? I keep a card table/chair set for large parties, and we have tables/chairs in our 2 dining rooms for 14 people! But the parties still go up to 18 or 20, so we have the set for those situations.

 

[mickey family]

We have a huge Thanksgiving at our house too. We are currently up to 74 people. My SIL gets tables and chairs from the church where she works. We have to seat people in the dining room and in the family room downstairs. My MIL, myself, and another SIL all make turkeys. I ask that each family bring a side dish, dessert, and 2 ltr soda, which some do and others don't. It is chaotic, but fun. Gotta admit I am always glad to go to bed that night. Have a Happy Thanksgiving

 

[StephyDee]

WOW to all of you guys that have 40+ people for Thanksgiving! Just wow...

I'm hosting Thanksgiving this year (as I have for the past 2 years), and while we don't have 40 people attending, we have a big enough handful. 12 people even, which is plenty enough for some chaos in this little house. I don't mind it though, it's fun.

Usually we have my dad cooking the turkey, and I make the sides and all, and my mom and I share the dessert responsibilities. The others don't have to bring anything (they're mostly visiting from far away anyways, so they aren't able to bring any food with them). Actually, when we used to have our Thanksgiving dinners at my sister's house, her In-laws would come over too. Now, my brother isn't a cooking-type of guy, and when he gets the opportunity to get some quality food, he grabs it ASAP. What would happen though with the in-laws was that they would leave early, but then take ALL of the leftovers. I mean everything...they left nothing but the bone of the turkey. My brother wanted to save money and not have to cook for a week with all those leftovers (he's always in need of saving money, too), but they would take it all without letting us know. They don't even NEED the food, since they always eat out all the time...not even cooking. They're kind of a shady bunch, I tell ya.

Anyways, after my sister moved, we started having it, and the in-laws decided to have their own and not come to ours. So now when my brother comes over, he brings a week's worth of plastic dinner plates with lids so he can fill them up with thanksgiving goodies. We always make sure to make plenty of turkey so he will be covered.

Also, to add onto my huge post of rambling, has anyone ever trying SMOKING their turkey? Last year my dad tried it with his new electric smoker, and at first we were skeptical. We also made a smaller one in the oven both for 'just in case' and for leftovers. The smoked turkey was a Butterball, and a 20 pounder to boot! Well lemme tell you. IT WAS THE BEST TURKEY I HAD EVER EATEN IN MY LIFE!

I took a picture of it before it was cut, and while the pic is bad in quality, the turkey was gorgeous! My sister and brother saw me taking a picture and followed suit...and my BIL was just standing there, staring at the turkey and not moving. LMAO

He injected it with butter (even though it was a butterball to begin with lol) and it made it that much better. The flavor from the smoker with the turkey being so juicy and amazing and UGH....I'm so hungry for smoked turkey now.

Our whole family agreed to have smoked turkey from that day forward, and that's what we're doing this Thanksgiving. It just looks and tastes so amazing, we can't quit smoking! (lol cue the horrible pun )

On that tremendously long note, I apologize for hijacking the thread...and for possibly making you hungry.

 

[ilovemk76]

I just got an email from my MIL... telling me that another distant branch of the family wants to come to thanksgiving....

Let me backtrack.

I offered to host thanksgiving dinner this year for my FIL and MIL, BIL and SIL (and dog), and MIL's mother (in addition to myself and DH) for a couple of reasons. MIL is working on her PhD dissertation, and is planning to be done Dec. 1. Hosting a group for thanksgiving would have been too much for her to handle. And BIL/SIL are not employed, so them hosting would have been too much of a financial burden. I'm ok with hosting because DH and I are gluten-free and it's easier for me to know what we can eat if I make it, you know? MIL is bringing the turkey (we're also vegetarian, so me baking a turkey was kind of out of the question), and she's bringing a stuffing that the grandmother will eat (she won't want my cornbread stuffing, so I'm told... whatever.) and a pie that the grandmother will eat (she won't want my pumpkin pie with GF gingersnap crust, so I'm told...whatever.). SIL is bringing a sweet potato casserole, and I'm making: GF rolls, Polenta Casserole (veggie main dish), Cheese Potato Casserole, Roasted Root Veggies, Cornbread Stuffing, and a GF Pumkpin Pie.

Phew.

So then, literally just now, I get an email from MIL that says that FIL's cousins want to join us for thanksgiving, and the girlfriends of the kids might come, too. That's 6 additional people to the already 7 (including myself, plus SIL/BIL's dog).



Unfortunately, I only have 8 chairs (2 of which don't match the other 6).... so I may have to stick people on the couch in the family room... or on the floor?

OMG.

I guess I better double my recipes.... don't you just LOOOOOVE the holidays?

....I used to, but now they just stress me out.

Thank you for letting me vent.

Really 13 people is not a lot for Thanksgiving. It seems that your MIL is going to be doing the bulk of the extra cooking unless all of them are GF and vegetarians.

Maybe they can bring the pies that Grandma likes.

Folding chairs are a must in any home. Everybody has 4-6 in our family. When we have a get together (small is 20) we are asked to bring folding chairs or ask if we should. Not a big deal to put a few chairs in the car.

 

[Samandmom]

I'll never complain again about the 27 that are in my family after seeing that some host 40 and up.

 

[Marionnette]

I just got an email from my MIL... telling me that another distant branch of the family wants to come to thanksgiving....

Let me backtrack.

I offered to host thanksgiving dinner this year for my FIL and MIL, BIL and SIL (and dog), and MIL's mother (in addition to myself and DH) for a couple of reasons. MIL is working on her PhD dissertation, and is planning to be done Dec. 1. Hosting a group for thanksgiving would have been too much for her to handle. And BIL/SIL are not employed, so them hosting would have been too much of a financial burden. I'm ok with hosting because DH and I are gluten-free and it's easier for me to know what we can eat if I make it, you know? MIL is bringing the turkey (we're also vegetarian, so me baking a turkey was kind of out of the question), and she's bringing a stuffing that the grandmother will eat (she won't want my cornbread stuffing, so I'm told... whatever.) and a pie that the grandmother will eat (she won't want my pumpkin pie with GF gingersnap crust, so I'm told...whatever.). SIL is bringing a sweet potato casserole, and I'm making: GF rolls, Polenta Casserole (veggie main dish), Cheese Potato Casserole, Roasted Root Veggies, Cornbread Stuffing, and a GF Pumkpin Pie.

Phew.

So then, literally just now, I get an email from MIL that says that FIL's cousins want to join us for thanksgiving, and the girlfriends of the kids might come, too. That's 6 additional people to the already 7 (including myself, plus SIL/BIL's dog).



Unfortunately, I only have 8 chairs (2 of which don't match the other 6).... so I may have to stick people on the couch in the family room... or on the floor?

OMG.

I guess I better double my recipes.... don't you just LOOOOOVE the holidays?

....I used to, but now they just stress me out.

Thank you for letting me vent.

When it comes to family gatherings, no one cares whether the chairs match. It's all about being together with people you love. I would have no problem hosting more people at Thanksgiving but my family is scattered with the wind and my husband only has one sibling. We will have 12 people around the table and we'll be happy to have another year where my 86 year old in laws are both there. It won't be long before their chairs are empty and the kids, nieces and nephews are spending their holidays with their spouses.

I don't like prepping the dinner, but I love having everyone together. The more the merrier. I just ask everyone to bring a covered dish or the salad and a few folding chairs. It all works out most of the time and when it doesn't, well then we have stories to tell for years to come.

 

[barbarabini]

Don't sweat the crowd.

Thanksgiving is like a big chicken with a lot of sides and a pasta course (if your italian like me).
Call some of the guests and ask them to bring folding chairs. Pick out another couple sides that are easy.

Last, set up a couple card tables on either side of your dining room table and jus t let it extend into the living room.

We usually are around 20 or so.

Then, have a big glass of wine before the guests come and serve manhattans as they walk in the door.

 

[SDSorority]

Don't sweat the crowd.

Thanksgiving is like a big chicken with a lot of sides and a pasta course (if your italian like me).
Call some of the guests and ask them to bring folding chairs. Pick out another couple sides that are easy.

Last, set up a couple card tables on either side of your dining room table and jus t let it extend into the living room.

We usually are around 20 or so.

Then, have a big glass of wine before the guests come and serve manhattans as they walk in the door.

Haha I think wine will DEFINITELY be in order , and of course we'll have an Italian dish (the baked polenta for us gluten-free vegetarians in the crowd... whiiiich is just DH and me...)


DH said last night "this year I'll be helpful!"

 

[MyDizneyBoyz]

We've hosted Thanksgiving for the past few years and it can be a lot of fun! A wee bit crazy and hectic, but also lots of fun.

Our dining room table only has 6 chairs so this is what we found works best for our situation... our living room is a fairly long rectangle so we move some of the furniture (end tables, dog crates, etc.) out of the living room and into the garage for the day to give us more space to move around and put 2 large folding picnic tables end-to-end in there. You can fit a lot more bottoms on bench seats than on chairs so it maximizes our seating capacity. The oldest folks get to sit at the dining room table in regular chairs but everyone under the age of 45 (or so... ) gets bench seating. We bought the folding picnic tables years ago and use them for Thanksgiving and outside in the warmer months for family BBQ's and such so they were a great investment.

I put nice matching tablecloths on the picnic tables, a few decorations, and voila. Dinner is served. Sparkling cider for the young'uns and something stronger for the elders and we're all one big happy family.

Oh, and to the PP who mentioned smoked turkey - OMG is it the most delicious thing or what? Every year we try to make the turkey a different way - we've deep fried it, smoked it, done 2 smaller turkeys on a rotisserie on the grill... it's a close call between the deep fried and smoked but this year we're going with the smoked turkey again and I'm already drooling at the thought of it. Yum! I love the holidays... so much food, so little time...

 

[Kellydelly]

Put a smile on and borrow some chairs and a card table . I have been trying to get my husband to elicit an invitation from his cousins for Thanksgiving dinner so I can just make a few side dishes and enjoy the holiday (I work the night before night shift as an RN) but he's not cooperating (they are very gracious people and would only think the more the merrier. (we used to always have Thanksgiving with dh's paternal grandparents but since they died we have been floating between my family and just ourselves the last few years). I guess I'm going to get one of those pre-made dinner packages and let a commercial kitchen do the cooking. Unless you have room for another family . Anyway, opening up your home is a wonderful thing to do, don't feel shy about asking the guests to contribute to the meal!

 

[bettymae1121]

Target has a card table w/4 folding chairs on sale this week for $39, I picked up two sets! I really didn't need the tables just the chairs but the tables may come in handy in the future. They also have a folding rectangle table for $32 this week.

I know you're vegitarian, but could you add a ham? All you have to do is heat it up. If ham is out of the question, how about a veggie lasagna (if you can find GF noodles?) or a big pan of Mac n Cheese (again if you can find GF noodles)? Or if you can't find GF noodles then make it with regular noodles and just not eat it yourself.

 

[englishteacha]

Tell the cousins who invited themselves to bring chairs and food. No chairs, no food, no entry to dinner!

I'm hosting our family Thanksgiving for the first time ever. I'm the youngest of 8, so it's Mom, my 7 siblings and their spouses, all my nieces, nephews, and grand nieces/nephews, and DH and I. We rented a hall near our house. If everyone comes there will be 40+ people. This will probably be the only time we host. Baby's due in May. And we already have relatives in NH saying, "Oh, it's SO far to go to Thanksgiving when it's at EnglishTeacha's." (Mainly it's my adult nieces and nephews who are my age.) Funny, they never complain when it's in NH and we Maine relatives have to drive 3+ hours to get there. Arg. Family.

 

[SDSorority]

Tell the cousins who invited themselves to bring chairs and food. No chairs, no food, no entry to dinner!

I'm hosting our family Thanksgiving for the first time ever. I'm the youngest of 8, so it's Mom, my 7 siblings and their spouses, all my nieces, nephews, and grand nieces/nephews, and DH and I. We rented a hall near our house. If everyone comes there will be 40+ people. This will probably be the only time we host. Baby's due in May. And we already have relatives in NH saying, "Oh, it's SO far to go to Thanksgiving when it's at EnglishTeacha's." (Mainly it's my adult nieces and nephews who are my age.) Funny, they never complain when it's in NH and we Maine relatives have to drive 3+ hours to get there. Arg. Family.

 

[HM]

I'm surprised that no one has expressed a negative toward a group of people inviting themselves to your house. I'd be irritated with the the OPs situation. Do you even know these distant relatives? Have they ever had you over to their house?

 

[ENSOCK]

I would love a recipe for your GF pumpkin pie. My Dnephew's girlfriend is GF. I feel guilty that I never cook anything she can eat.