Monday, November 23, 2009

Thanksgiving Fun

*This was originally posted in November 2008*

Ahhh, Thanksgiving. A Time to come together with family and celebrate all of the blessings we have. A day to remember, appreciate and show gratitude for yet having survived another year. A day that more times than not is filled with landmines just waiting to be stepped on.

When spending the holiday with relatives, either by blood or marriage, there is always going to be sniper fire. Comments from Aunt Cookie, who still can't believe he married that little tramp, to the effect of "MMMMM, this tastes wonderful. It's not nearly as dry as it looks" and the inevitable small talk around the wine bottle about "little Susie's boobies are starting to bud". The conversation throughout the day will continually go downhill and you will soon get to hear all about Grandpa Dan's prostate in more detail than you can digest through.

You will hear all the play by play of cousin Lucy and her husband Jed's infertility issues, as Aunt Betsy is in the corner telling everyone that they can't conceive because Lucy was a tramp in college. Speculation and rumor of divorce will be whispered about Mike and Sara because they didn't accept the invitation to dinner. In reality, they were smart enough to avoid this whole scene in favor of 4 nights in the Bahamas.

Soon desert will be served. As Uncle Lou scoffs down his 3rd piece of homemade pie, Aunt Cookie asks "where did you buy the pie? I hope you didn't pay too much, it's a bit too sweet". You want to scream, but you have to play nice. You try to hide in the bathroom to take a few deep breaths only to find it occupied with Aunt Betsy and a colitis attack. Aunt Cookie blames the gravy.

In order to protect ourselves, here in Weaselville we start the day with bloody Mary's. They are just enough armour to deflect the scathing comments and numb the conversation. They take the edge off of an exhausting day. A huge debt of gratitude goes out to my sister-in-law for bringing this tradition to our family.

Here and now, I propose to you a new national holiday ~Grateful Friday~(to be celebrated on the 4th Friday of November) in order to appreciate and mock our relatives from a distance while enjoying a meal with friends. A day to show gratitude for the people we hang out with by choice, not just by birth or marriage. A day to celebrate and be grateful for having survived another Thanksgiving. We already have the day off of work. We already have dinner made, and the Bloody Mary's can be for fun and not just medicinal.

And a huge shout out to BadMomma who has a brilliantly funny Thanksgiving Survival Guide.

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16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Everything is good in moderation, especially family. Here's to me having no extended family in the area. Just the three of us and grammie.

Kimberly Wright said...

This is an excellent idea!

SurprisedMom said...

At our Thanksgiving feasts the sisters, their families and Mom get together. We don't make snide comments about each other, we make them about other people. It makes the meal that much more fun!

Seriously, Happy Thanksgiving to you and all the Weasels in Weaselville from all of us at our house!

Now, can I have my Bloody Mary??????

Michelle said...

Can you send me some Bloody Mary? And Friday? Not mocking from afar, I fear... mocking in my head while sitting in the same room begging silently for the television to be just a little quieter. Just a little.

WeaselMomma said...

@ PJ ~ Absence makes the heart grow fonder, but often we grow fonder of their absence.

@ Beautiful Wreck ~ I think this could catch on.

@ Surprised ~ Your family is a wonderful anomaly, happy Thanksgiving.

@ Michelle ~ You need to bring a very large flask along with you. Have a great time.

Katherine said...

I may have to try the Bloody Mary thing. My family is insane, so it's always a struggle to stay in a "thankful" mood on Thanksgiving!

terri said...

Grateful Friday... I will definitely be grateful when Friday arrives. Bring on the bloody marys!

Liz@thisfullhouse said...

A-to-the-men, my friend! Off to read BadMomma's post -- Happy, happy!!!

Otter Thomas said...

We have started avoiding my family altogether because they can't stop with the inappropriate comments. I do love the Grateful Friday idea. I would much rather choose some friends to come over for beer and leftover turkey and dressing.

Me said...

Too funny! This is EXACTLY why we decided to only share Thanksgiving with our family. Which is to say, my husband, my daughter, and me. Its nice. We like it. . .

Fragrant Liar said...

Reminds me of one of my all-time fave movies, _Home for the Holidays_. The annual voluntary torture we put ourselves through, I swear.

Heather said...

Family, gotta love 'em, right?

Enjoy your Thanksgiving, my love!
xo

seashore subjects said...

Does a "girls night" count for Grateful Friday? There is liquor, food, and gossip.

Oscar said...

I start mi Thanksgiving with "The carving wine"...This makes everything wonderful! A bloody Mary would be a "nice touch".

I enjoyed your post!

I was on a teleconference as I read this and when the audio started I was wondering, who the hell is talking... I asked people in the UK to check if thier phones were muted... It was you! LOLOL

SimpleDaddy said...

I always heard the day before Thanksgiving is the busiest bar night of the year. Anticipation of the relatives arrival the next morning just may explain why.

Mrs4444 said...

Thankfully, our thanksgivings do not include extended family, so it's pretty low-key and nice. Happy Thanksgiving, my friend...

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