In Laws

[LovinPooh]

In Laws =

 

[Crystal824]

In Laws =

You can say that again.

 

[SharpMomOfTwo]

Yes, my birthday is August 24, 1979.

Oh!!! I'm August 24th, 1980!!

 

[MommytoaSweetie]

We do have a nice set of knives, but we didn't have an electric carving knife. We registered for one when we got married two years ago. We didn't get it and haven't had a reason to use one since that time so we never purchased one. The same with the turkey baster, the turkey platter, turkey lifters, a bread basket, and a few other things like that (we didn't register for all of those things) we just never needed them. We don't entertain much. We live in a townhouse, it is kind of small, and our table only seats four.

As I mentioned before, we don't really cook much. We don't eat out alot either, but we seem to eat the same things over and over salads, sandwiches, soup, pasta, etc. Most of those are easy and fast to prepare.

I think that's totally normal... we cook often, but for a family of 3, not a large holiday meal, and there's no way we have all the right stuff to prepare a Thanksgiving meal! Like you, I wouldn't have a problem getting them if we needed them, but we're also in a small townhouse and so for us, Thanksgiving at my parent's house (or IL's, but they seem to "forget" the holiday recently and don't do anything) just makes more sense. Anyway, my point is that we're totally in your boat about the ability to make a meal, and if I'd spent all that time figuring out how to get ready for one, I'd be ticked that it wasn't needed anyway, too! Sorry you're dealing with this... I am in total agreement over the last post about IL's! I hope your meal goes great and you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

 

[DVCsince02]

Hope you have great holiday and let us know how your first big meal turns out.

Good luck!

 

[tlh0726]

Aren't family gatherings wonderful!!!

After countless holidays of arriving at my brother's house being told dinner was at 230 and then not sitting down to eat until 530 (they have no organizational skills what so ever) and having to listen to everyone fight not only throughout the day but when eating, (SIL sets out countless bowls of chips, pretzels, snacks etc and then actually expects the kids to eat when they finally sit down at the table) I announced that I am done dealing with them and all of their drama. That DH, me, & our kids will celebrating the holidays at our own house and if anyone wishes to come and enjoy the day with us that they may do so. Just let us know how many to expect.
I make my holiday dinners with the least amount of stress that I can. We do buffet style. I have numerous crockpots and heated serving trays. We use hefty rectangular plates and plastic silverware and cups (sorry not enviromentally friendly) In the morning, I dump all the vegetables into their dishes in the serving trays/crockpots, add the spices etc, and turn them on low. Turkey (I precook earlier and put in the freezer) gets put into a crockpot to heat. Stuffing gets thrown into the oven and once done gets put into a crockpot. Gravy gets cooked and put into a crockpot. Potatoes are cooked, mashed and put into a crockpot. I am done preparing and cleaning up the few pots and pans (from gravy, stuffing, and potatoes) before my first guests arrive. We do not wait on people, if we tell you we are eating at 130, whoever is here sits down to eat. If you are late (same ones that hosted dinners previously) everything is still warm, help yourself.
No plates and silverware to wash. No turkey to have to remove bones and such from. I get to sit, relax, talk, and watch tv with everyone else.
People are told to bring doggie bag containers if they wish to take home any leftovers. As they leave, they take what they want. Once everyone is gone, I have a few crockpots and serving trays to clean up. Most go directly into the dishwasher. I store the stuff on the highest shelves in my kitchen (most of it in the deep cabinet above the frig) I stand on the chair, husband hands me the stuff (he cannot pack things) and we are done.

Holidays have been much better

 

[K and K's Mommy]

Good luck on your first Thanksgiving meal!! I am sure your MIL is very thankful for you. It sounds like she has too much to handle now.

 

[nikkers]

I think your BIL is my brother Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[bopper]

I think you handled it the perfect way. You set your boundaries...if it is reaaaaaaally important to him to have it at your IL's, then he can take care of making that happen. If you want to "throw him a bone", you could ask if there is any particular dish he really likes and you can make sure it is there.

 

[bwatlas]

I think you handled it the perfect way. You set your boundaries...if it is reaaaaaaally important to him to have it at your IL's, then he can take care of making that happen. If you want to "throw him a bone", you could ask if there is any particular dish he really likes and you can make sure it is there.[/QUOTE]

I like the sounds of that, too.
I do wish you much luck!

 

[Crystal824]

Everything went well. No burnt turkey or stuffing. It was all actually very good meal. The in-laws behaved themselves as much as can be expected. They were an hour late, but we didn't care. We sat down and had appetizers until they showed up. My Dh's brother only made a few comments on how we needed to buy a larger table for our dining room.

 

[quasar4legs]

Glad it went well and I'm sure the in-laws appreciated the effort you went to, it sounds like they've had a tough year.
Give yourselves a big pat on the back

Trish