Just found out we are hosting Thanksgiving!

[stsomewhere]

We had offered last month to have it here but,my MIL wanted to have it at their house.

She has a bunch of crazy dishes that she wants us to make since it it tradition.
No one likes them. Everyone takes a small scoop to be polite.

 

[RUDisney]

We had offered last month to have it here but,my MIL wanted to have it at their house.

She has a bunch of crazy dishes that she wants us to make since it it tradition.
No one likes them. Everyone takes a small scoop to be polite.

Your house. Your menu.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Like what dishes that are crazy? Braised turkey gizzards?

Tell her she is welcome to add to the menu but you are making XYZ.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

 

[epcotprincess]

I agree with "your house, your menu" but I also understand the delicate relationship with MILs.

If it were me, I'd say something like, "MIL, traditions are really important to our family, but since I'm not entirely sure I can make your dishes exactly the way you do, I'm planning on making the Thanksgiving dinner with dishes in my recipe book. However, I would absolutely love it if you could bring X dish since it's very important to both of us to keep tradition alive."

That way she makes the dish everyone hates and everything else can be yours, and the reply comes off as respectful (and flattering) enough that she might just believe it and let it be. Good luck!

 

[stsomewhere]

Like what dishes that are crazy? Braised turkey gizzards?

Tell her she is welcome to add to the menu but you are making XYZ.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Close! Gizzard stuffing

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Close! Gizzard stuffing

Nasty. Tell her she can make, bring it, and then bring it back home.

 

[shortbun]

Nasty. Tell her she can make, bring it, and then bring it back home.

Yeah, I'd tellher my stuffing wouldn't measure up and she should make it. If I had just had the meal dropped in my lap, there would be no new dishes. I'd be doing what made me comfortable. Good luck!!

 

[OhMari]

Close! Gizzard stuffing

My mom and sister make that kind of stuffing.
They are definately the generation that does not waste anything.

I struggle for 15 minutes getting that bag out of the turkey, and throw it right in the garbage. I'll never forget the first time my dh ate the stuffing at my house.

 

[Pigeon]

Your house, your menu. Plus, if you just found out at the last minute you have to do it, you don't need to make extra, unpleasant stuff.

 

[disneyjunkie]

Close! Gizzard stuffing

Tell her to make it. When it's done, invite me over. I love giblets (gizzards) diced up in cornbread stuffing.

 

[beaucoup]

If you just found you are hosting, then get out of making the crazy dishes by saying you didn't have enough time since the plans were changed to your house last minute.

I would.

 

[RUDisney]

The beauty of you making dinner is that she won't have gizzards to put into stuffing. You can say that you weren't sure how to make stuffing with gizzards, so you made the stuffing your Mom/Grandma made when you were growing up.

It's still a tradition, just not HER tradition.

 

[akhenaten]

The beauty of you making dinner is that she won't have gizzards to put into stuffing. You can say that you weren't sure how to make stuffing with gizzards, so you made the stuffing your Mom/Grandma made when you were growing up.

It's still a tradition, just not HER tradition.

I couldn't agree more... however.. my 2 sis in laws refused to get that concept.... and the one year I had a christmas eve party it was the "worst night ever " for my SIL cause I did it in my families tradition and not hers....
she actually said that!!
So you may be right but you may still have to pay for your decision...

 

[Pigeon]

I couldn't agree more... however.. my 2 sis in laws refused to get that concept.... and the one year I had a christmas eve party it was the "worst night ever " for my SIL cause I did it in my families tradition and not hers....
she actually said that!!
So you may be right but you may still have to pay for your decision...

If a Christmas eve party not quite to her liking is her "worst nightmare ever," she must lead a charmed existence.

 

[Disney Doll]

The 1st timeanyone other than my late DMIL had ever hosted Thanksgiving was the year my lat DFIL was hospitalzied over the holiday. DMIL was not well herself and was running ragged going to hospital and staying with him and so forth. So DH & I offered to do T-giving. DMIL jumped at the offer. One of my DSister's had an absolute tantrum (and I do mean tantrum with crying and carrying...a 30-something year old woman) because it was not going to be the Thanksgiving SHE had grown up with and it wouldn't be the same and yadda, yadda, yadda. When my DH said "But don't you realize that Mom is exhausting herself running back and forth to the hospital and you want her to do Thanksgiving dinner for 20 people too???" DSister said "Well the rest of you (notie that...'the rest of you') can do all the preparation and cooking but it should still be at Mommy's house."

Ummm...no. It was at our house...and everyone miraculously survived.

 

[derricksonb]

Your house. Your menu.

Close! Gizzard stuffing

It's still a tradition, just not HER tradition.

The beauty of hosting at YOUR house is that it symbolically hands off the baton from our parents/grandparents generation to ours and becomes the start of a new tradition for the next generation. The fact that your MIL dumped this in your lap at the last minute pretty much gives you the right to prepare whatever you want as far as I'm concerned... traditions or not.

I used the gizzards last year in the cornbread stuffing for a turducken. To be honest had I not diced them up and added them to the mix I would have never known they were in there.

 

[Mermaid02]

I always use the "innards"......... for our DOG'S dinner!

 

[lovesmurfs]

I always use the "innards"......... for our DOG'S dinner!

Yep, me, too! It's not Thanksgiving without someone pointing to the saucepan and saying, "Ew! What's THAT?"

OP -- time to create your own "traditions" for YOUR family. Best wishes.

PS. You need more wine. A LOT more wine.

 

[Pigeon]

DSister said "Well the rest of you (notie that...'the rest of you') can do all the preparation and cooking but it should still be at Mommy's house."

.

On the bright side, she didn't say "The rest of you people can do all the preparation..."

 

[RUDisney]

The 1st timeanyone other than my late DMIL had ever hosted Thanksgiving was the year my lat DFIL was hospitalzied over the holiday. DMIL was not well herself and was running ragged going to hospital and staying with him and so forth. So DH & I offered to do T-giving. DMIL jumped at the offer. One of my DSister's had an absolute tantrum (and I do mean tantrum with crying and carrying...a 30-something year old woman) because it was not going to be the Thanksgiving SHE had grown up with and it wouldn't be the same and yadda, yadda, yadda. When my DH said "But don't you realize that Mom is exhausting herself running back and forth to the hospital and you want her to do Thanksgiving dinner for 20 people too???" DSister said "Well the rest of you (notie that...'the rest of you') can do all the preparation and cooking but it should still be at Mommy's house."

Ummm...no. It was at our house...and everyone miraculously survived.

This is the reason that my MIL won't give up holidays at her house. The problem comes down to her 41yo DS. He throws a tantrum if he doesn't get to see the turkey or ham before it's cut.

One of my SILs said to me last week, "you want to make a bet on who will act up this year?" I told her that I didn't because it's alway a crap shoot with my ILs. She and I got the only normal brothers.