How to Survive Thanksgiving Dinner

 

It’s almost Thanksgiving. Are you prepared?

Thanksgiving is a day when you show gratitude, meet your family for dinner, and simply catch up. But not every family get-together can be pleasant and you are bound to run into one interfering, surly, and taunting relative who will want to know why you’re not living your life according to their rules. 

But you also have an obligation to your family to attend these occasions. And there are some relatives you are keen to meet and actually have nice things to say. 

The festival season is upon us and it is time to make strategies on how you’re going to survive them. 

Here are a couple of tips: 

1) Bring a dish everyone likes

You know what your family is like and you definitely know what they do like to eat. If you’re not the host then you don’t need to bother with the main course. What you can get instead is some interesting snacks and appetizers, or a dessert.

The idea is to bring an interesting enough dish that gets the people talking about it rather than what is going on in your personal life. 

2) Distract everyone with a Game or a funny story

Whether or not you have something interesting going on in your life, a funny story, real or made up, can help you dodge those annoying questions that are headed your way. 

Better yet, engage everyone with a popular board game that will keep them occupied on winning rather than whose personal life deserves investigation. 

3) Stick to a close family member

There must be someone in your family who takes your side or who you like to spend time with and confide in. If you want to survive the grand family event, you might as well stick close to their side until it is time to go. 

4) Choose which conversations to participate in

The entire family may be gathering to discuss world events that ultimately extend to politics and religion. Stay out of it. You may have an opinion or you may think you can defuse a heated situation but the best strategy in this case is to avoid it altogether rather than have the entire conversation directed towards the kind of life you have chosen for yourself. 

5) Prepare an escape route

Chances are you may be dragged into a controversial argument or you may sense that the conversation is heading towards you. It is better to quickly come up with a polite excuse to escape. Offer to help with the meal, or setting the table, or anything else. Go to the washroom if you have to. This will give them time to finish the topic and talk about something pleasant. 

6) Direct the conversation to something else

If you can’t come up with a good comeback line or sense the conversation is heading to dangerous territories that could end up hurting a lot of feelings, change the subject abruptly to something neutral, like movies or food. Who doesn’t like food?

In fact, if you compliment the snacks being served, you are bound to score points with whoever is hosting the dinner. 

7) Sneak in your snacks

You don’t want to be cornered by uncomfortable questions and bad-tasting food. Not everyone can cook but everyone wants to be the host and feel important. Carry some snacks with you in your bag or hide them in your car. There’s nothing like comfort food to get you through the day. 

8) Suggest an after-dinner activity

Here’s another way to provide a diversion: suggest that you all go out for a walk or watch a movie together. It would be better to suggest going outside because while some people like to create drama, they hate doing it in public. Avoid staying in one space for a long time and letting tensions get high. 

9) Stay busy

Ask a friend to call you at certain times to make it look like you’re too busy. Excuse yourself by saying you have to send an important email. Get into a corner and pretend you are sending an important text. Basically, do whatever it takes to show you are busy and can’t partake in every conversation. 

10) Sit near the exit

Things can get too much sometimes, and so it is better to seat yourself near the exit so you can make a quick escape. Be as polite as you can, and the minute you feel like your patience is being tested, get up, thank the host, and leave. Your mental health is more important after all. 

Festivals can be hard but don’t forget to enjoy yourself and remember that you deserve to be happy too even though someone in the family thinks you should be miserable because you haven’t checked everything on a made-up list. 

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