I would love to see the kind of spread Martha Stewart puts out for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Not the spread(s) she puts out for photos or a TV show – like, genuinely, I would love to see how she plans out her own Thanksgiving meal and how she presents it. Apparently, Martha usually hosts Thanksgiving for friends and family at one of her country homes, but she’s decided not to do that this year. She canceled her Thanksgiving hosting duties and now she’s going to travel around to other people’s homes on Thanksgiving day.
Martha Stewart may be the queen of Thanksgiving, but this year, she’s taking a break. The lifestyle mogul revealed on Thursday’s episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show that she has canceled her plans to host a Turkey Day meal and will instead be visiting different friends’ homes for the upcoming holiday.
“I gave up Thanksgiving. I canceled,” said Stewart, 82. “Nine guests canceled because somebody got sick. So … I called up my chef friend and I said, ‘We’re not doing Thanksgiving.’ ”
Adding to her decision was the several meals she has already prepared ahead of the holiday. “I’ve also cooked 14 turkeys already for my TV show, and I still have to [cook] one more turkey on the Today show,” she explained. “So forget it.”
Stewart was, in fact, also on the Today show Thursday, giving her turkey-perfecting tips as part of the NBC morning program’s eighth annual All-Star Thanksgiving special. Host Kelly Clarkson asked on her show whether Stewart was “all turkeyed out,” to which the latter agreed, “I am turkeyed out.”
However, this doesn’t mean that the lifestyle guru won’t be getting some delicious meals in. She noted that she’ll be on the go this Thanksgiving, hopping from home to home to taste test food.
“I made a plan,” Stewart shared. “Friends, of course, invited me to their home, so I’m going to about five different homes to taste different courses.” Clarkson, 41, noted that “those friends must be so stressed out,” to which her guest responded playfully with a laugh, “Oh, I hope so.”
She’s like the Ghost of Thanksgiving Judgment, arriving at people’s doors to cast aspersions on their gravy (store-bought gravy is best, don’t @ me). No, I get it though – Thanksgiving can be A LOT when you’re the one doing the cooking and planning. For someone like Martha, I can see why she would want a f–king break for a year. Still, what would you do if Martha came to your house and announced “the turkey is dry”?
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instagram.
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- Martha Stewart at Jillian Lopez Hosts The Grand Opening Of “The Bedford By Martha Stewart” At Paris Las Vegas Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, Nv August 12, 2022,Image: 713847576, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Martha Stewart, Credit line: Arlene Richie / JPI Studios / Avalon
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- Martha Stewart at Jillian Lopez Hosts The Grand Opening Of “The Bedford By Martha Stewart” At Paris Las Vegas Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, Nv August 12, 2022,Image: 713847585, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Martha Stewart, Credit line: Arlene Richie / JPI Studios / Avalon
Turkey is always dry, no matter how it’s cooked or basted or whatever. It is a dry ass bird. I’m glad I’m not American so don’t have to have it forced on me every year.
Fun fact: Benjamin Franklin wanted turkey to be the national bird instead of the eagle. I have no idea what it is with us Americans and our obsession with this ugly, tough bird. 🤷
Brine and then spatchcock. It cooks the different pieces evenly. No dry breast and undercooked thighs.
turkey is not that complicated (low and slow is the way to go) and gravy even less so. you take the turkey out of the pan and make gravy with the stuff that’s left. not unlike bechamel.)
lol, canned gravy. canned gravy is an unnecessary abomination!
that said, I like the jelly cranberry, so come at me all you wish.
I think the lede here should be that MARTHA has a hired chef! does she also pay someone to wrap her presents in her gift wrapping room?! have we all been misled all this time?!
1) slow cook that bird
2) this is where delicious stuffing/dressing and cranberries come in. It is a perfect system.
24 hour Brine!!! No more dry turkey! Alton Brown is my favorite.
My husband and I just had our annual argument with ourselves while standing in front of a freezer full of cheap turkeys at the grocery store – It’s so cheap! But I hate turkey! But that’s a lot of food for 8 bucks! But it’s so gross! I don’t want to eat it! But it’s 49 cents a pound! But we’ll be eating it forever! Can we give some to the dogs? We should get one just in case… We did not end up getting a turkey. Yet. Each of us is both pro and con.
@Frankly, I don’t even dislike turkey but I’m laughing so hard at this comment, it’s hysterical 😭
Whoa, I was just at my supermarket in NZ, and they were asking $90 for a frozen turkey. We don’t do Thanksgiving, and they’re only available at Xmas and really expensive. But I have an American in the house and he likes turkey. Last year I was secretly relieved when the supermarket ran out, and sent me two monster chickens and a partial refund instead.
When roasting a turkey I make a paste of garlic, butter and duck fat, and push it under the breast skin, which keeps it moist and makes for epic gravy. Works just as well on a chicken, though.
I agree—give me duck any day!
I will say my favorite way of enjoying Turkey is the day after, when you’re slicing it and making sandwiches with cranberry sauce and peppered mayo. I definitely don’t notice the dryness then.
And poor Martha deserves a break. My friend and I hosted a 35-person early Friendsgiving and now I don’t even want to do a proper one on actual Thanksgiving! Can’t imagine making 14 turkeys…
There are ways to keep it from being dry, honestly. We do one over indirect heat on the outdoor grill, which works well and frees up my oven for other dishes. But I don’t even mind dry turkey. That’s what gravy and cranberry sauce are for.
No it’s not. But I rub seasoned butter under the skin, use stuffing — which helps to keep it moist, baste it frequently, and use a Magnalite roaster (which I think might be the most important part). I also prefer the dark meat.
Turkey is only dry when cooked woefully. A wet or dry brine brings out the juices. I’ve done a 36 hour wet brine for years. Non turkey lovers turned the corner. Now, we order out from a place that caters out smoked turkey to reduce the workl. Juicy tasty turkeyl Gravy not needed.
fyi, gravy made from a smoked turkey is amazing.
I’m loling at Martha judging her friends dishes. Video please.
Brine it for a minimum of 24 hours, dry it well, loosen the skin and rub herbed butter under it, then more on top of the skin. Then roast it at 325, low and slow is best. Believe me your turkey will be moist, juicy and flavourful.
This is the way. This is the only way.
My kids don’t like turkey so we have salmon now 😂
If you know how to cook turkey correctly it is not dry. My family’s turkey is always juicy. Never requires any gravy.
Nigella Lawson recipe. Followed it and had the most moist turkey ever. It’s the brining.
You gotta brine turkey, friend. It’s that whole low slow no brine that turns it to dust.
Just watch good eats and do what Alton brown says and you will be golden.
Well if she came to my door for Thanksgiving I would put her to work setting the table after I offered her a beverage of course. About the gravy I most certainly disagree about store bought. I make the gravy and I will say it is awesome!!
She is close to 80 w incredible face/neck work. She’s done her turkey time!
I know. I wish she would drop her cosmetic procedures and her maintenance procedures.
I finally know enough about skincare and active ingredients to not care about her routine.
It is so simple, and there is only one secret: Cook the bird breast side down for the first half, and then flip it and cook it breast side up to the end. You’re welcome!
I’m with Martha, I’m turkeyed and hostessing-out. I’m just so tired of it all, the treadmill every year of shopping and cooking and serving and cleaning. I want to be in pyjamas with my husband cooking things for just the two of us, Champagne and some great movies and mostly just sitting on my rear end listening to music and ringing up friends and family to ask “How’s your Thanksgiving?” If the doorbell rings I’m not answering it haha
Ooh, good tip! I got an email from Cook’s Country saying that the key is to “spatchcock” the bird, which I guess is like breaking down an Amazon box so it lays flat. I was automatically stressed out by this; I like your advice much more!
Spatchcocking is fine, but it’s a totally different thing (super good for the BBQ) and lacks the grandeur of the roast bird presentation. The glory of the flipping method is
–super easy anyone can do it
–you do your usual cooking time/tempterature…I like low and slow with a blast of heat at the end for about 15 minutes to help crisp the skin but it’s not necessary
–you can baste or not baste, doesn’t matter
–works for any bird any size (can even do little game birds the same method), stuffed or not, on a bed of veg or a rack or whatever…
–no need to tent or cheesecloth or cover
I’ve never had a bird fail or be dry with this method in nearly 20 years. It’s genius 🙂
I spatchcocked my turkey last year and it was the absolute best, juiciest turkey I’ve ever cooked (and I’ve been doing the turkey for 15 years). I don’t care about the presentation–I am slicing it up and putting it on a plate! The hardest part is cutting up the bird-you need really good kitchen shears–and making sure you have a big enough pan. I love that it only has to cook for like 90 minutes.
this is what I did: https://www.seriouseats.com/butterfiled-roast-turkey-with-gravy-recipe
and was asked to do it again this year!
Agreed on this…the best trick I ever tried DELISH
Yes doing this, makes a difference, although it is a bit of a faff/two person job.
And brining beforehand makes it really hard to screw up making a moist delicious bird.
Thanks for this tip, Lady Esther!
Spatchcock is one of those words I dislike. I’ve never actually tried doing it — and I like the simplicity of Lady Esther’s idea.
We’ve done that for years and if I am remembering correctly it may have been a Martha Stewart tip that got me started.
My husband and I did steaks one year. Salmon another. Just whatever recipe he was wanting to try. I sit and sip wine and we cook. Well. I help. Sort of.
But I always scrubbed the whole house so it was clean and there wasn’t a thing to worry about on thanksgiving/ christmas/ birthdays.
No guilt and nothing needs doing.
Hopefully the friends who host her have heard enough of her shit over the years and just tell her to calm down if she even looks like she’s about to criticize something. LOL
I’m sure that’s the case. Or they do a mental eye-roll & say, ‘thank you, Martha’. Or do an actual eye-roll & thank her in a sing-song voice. They know her.
I doubt her real friends care. They are more busy staying healthy so she doesn’t bump them off and marry their husbands. Kidding!
But in that $$$$$ – it’s all professionally done and they will just sip their wine and tell her to shut up.
Thanksgiving turkey meal is my absolute favorite meal to cook. Our tradition is to have basically the same meal for Christmas adding Beef Wellington and ham for Easter but always a turkey too. It’s so easy since I’ve done it so many times. The only part I don’t make is the pies. My family knows when I die there’s to be no funeral just a thanksgiving meal along with my playlists and I’m not even kidding. Martha’s plans this year sounds pretty fabulous but I’d still have to cook my meal either the day before or after. If you haven’t tried making stuffing waffles with leftovers please try it. Delicious with gravy and a dollop of cranberry jelly on top. A couple of my kids will add a thin layer of mashed potatoes.
Oooh, stuffing waffles, that sounds good!
My spouse broke the news to his mom that I’m not participating in their annual giant turkey blowout this year. Growing up, our Thanksgivings were small — just me and my two parents — and in undergrad I never went home for Thanksgiving because it was a long distance, and because the winter break would arrive soon enough. He related all this info to my MIL, who has graciously accepted my resignation, to my relief. Now, I do always love a Friendsgiving… but I’m honestly thinking about just ordering something small for myself, putting on a movie, and wearing a blanket like it’s clothes.
@Jenn I’m so jealous…I would *love* to do exactly what you described in your last sentence. But my kid is still young enough that I feel like we should do something to make the day feel festive, and like an actual holiday. I would much prefer to just be alone and watch Planes, Trains and Automobiles from my bed.
They make wearable blankets that are heavenly and super affordable. Enjoy your sushi and your coziness.
I’ve opted out of traditional Thanksgiving off and on for the last 10-15 years.
It was never my favorite holiday as a kid, and I’ve been meh about it ever since. I’ve hosted, I’ve been one of the primary cooks at someone else’s house, I’ve made the gravy (it’s really not hard once you figure out how to use that fat separator thing … or at least always pour it into a clean bowl so that when you realize you’ve just dumped all the “good stuff” and are standing there holding a beaker of fat, you can pivot). I just don’t enjoy it or look forward to it.
My favorite recentish Thanksgiving have been the one spent at a beach resort with friends sipping frozen cocktails and that time I hosted a friends-Thanksgiving centered around making pizzas on the grill, no turkey.
But this year I’m going to go to a family member’s house, bottle of wine and side dish in hand, enjoy the company of whoever’s there, going with the flow. Maybe next year I’ll plan another late November getaway
I lived in Mexico City for years and my parents came for Thanksgiving and we would travel to different cities around central Mexico and maybe MAYBE eat some turkey (buried under a pile of delicious mole of course). When they died, I said screw this and started traveling to Tokyo for Thanksgiving every year. I would have a big ole fancy sushi meal instead of the sad turkey stuff. Then I would go out and do Christmas shopping and bring home amazing strange special gifts every year. Excuse me while I go look into last minute flights to Asia…
Now this idea appeals to me!
Yep, I’m first gen American so my parents never cared about it and my husband is English so REALLY doesn’t care about it. My young adult kids are going to visit relatives this year and honestly? I’m relieved I don’t have to deal with it. I normally eat/cook with a lot of spice, even a nicely prepared TG meal is blah to me. You’ve got me thinking I’ll make mole instead 🙂
LOL re the fat separator…Thanksgiving fails are as traditional as everything else. The first time my fiancé came for Thanksgiving my mother was taking the turkey out of the oven and managed to tip the roasting pan and spill it all over the floor. Nearly 20 years of marriage later we’re still telling that story 🙂
I am not a turkey person. Mashed potatoes with garlic butter, no gravy is my preference. The last five years I have spent the holiday alone. My choice since my family lives more than “over the river and through the woods.” However this year I am spending the day with my brother and his family since it is his birthday on turkey day. Also no pie for me, happy to have birthday cake instead.
We have a traditional but also nontraditional thanksgiving most years. Mr. TMcQ’s family lives in Canada, and they’re all dual citizens. So they celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving with their immediate families, and then the extended family gathers in Toronto and celebrates the US holiday the Saturday immediately after our Thanksgiving.
So we have a few thanksgiving traditions that include two meals lol. When we arrive in Toronto on Thanksgiving, we head to China Town for dim sum. Friday we usually go to a museum and then a movie that night. Saturday is the big traditional meal with the extended family. It’s a lot of fun. And bless the brother- and sister-in-law that hosts every year!
My sister hosts Thanksgiving & she’s making hamburgers this year, lol. She doesn’t like hosting any holiday, & posts I hate people memes on Facebook leading up to the big day. I help out by hosting Christmas, but I do less bitching about it.
MsLove, Your sister has the right idea. Vegetarian friends have, of course, avoided the whole turkey thing for years, but I really like the idea of celebrating with a different type of animal. Genius!
Later in life my mom switched to salmon; she, like Martha, was turkeyed out. Salmon is way better any way!
The difference in her appearance in the promotional photos and live is jarring. Can we please normalize ageing? I also hate it when a celebrity passes away and the media uses their photos of decades ago, as if there is something wrong with the way one looks as they age.
Agreed and I stopped following Ms. Stewart after her comments on people having to be in person to work.
This sounds normal, because she’s elderly. She looks great and healthy, but I help out a few older neighbors and I would say that most of them have downsized their regular cooking by age 82, not to mention any holidays. The fact that Martha is cooking other turkeys up the wazoo is amazing. Good for her for bowing out and letting someone else take over Thanksgiving cooking duties.
Note she said she called her ‘chef friend’ to say she was cancelling. She was hiring out the major duties, sounds like.
I still insist that nobody likes Thanksgiving food and I will die on this hill. When people try to argue, I ask how many other times a year they cook that food. “But but but it’s a *special* meal…” Get out of here, I cook my *special* meals and food I actually *like* more than once a year. Every single year all I hear is people complaining about what a pain it is to cook everything and then getting stuck with a ton of leftovers- why? Because nobody wants it! And yet we all show up to the same all-brown spread of food every year, because “tradition” or something… Anyway, happy Thanksgiving y’all, I hope everyone has a safe and healthy holiday weekend.
I’m sure there’s many that don’t care for it, but I believe it’s so ingrained in a lot of us that “this is the food you only eat on Thanksgiving”, that it almost seems odd to make it any other time, hence people rarely cook it. I do on occasion make my mom’s snowy mashed potatoes with other meals because they’re the most awesome mashed potatoes on the planet, and once in a while I even get a craving for stuffing (it must be Stovetop–no judgement). But cranberry sauce and green bean casserole? No, it would feel weird cooking that stuff any other time but Thanksgiving. In a nutshell, I think it’s more psychological than it is dislike of food.
@fANCYPANTS LOL.
Not ‘nobody,’ even if it’s not a lot of people. I routinely cook turkey (not whole ones, I get the breast tenderloins from Lidl at a great price) with either mashed potatoes or dressing/stuffing throughout the year. We’ve already had it twice this month! We usually have thanksgiving-style veg with it too, green beans or brussels sprouts. We don’t go all out like we would on thanksgiving but my kids (teens) love them some turkey and stuffing no matter what time of year it is.
My in-laws hosted a “practice” Thanksgiving dinner in September because my MIL found a good deal on turkey and I’d just harvested a ton of sweet potatoes from the garden. Some foods are seasonal but none are exclusive to Thanksgiving in our family.
I agree. I love sweet potatoes but not the sugary, marshmallow topped ones at T-day. I like dark meat turkey but not the breast. I make mashed potatoes all year round so it’s not special. I really only love my moms homemade cranberry relish and only eat it on T-day.
I love the stuffing. It’s feom a bag and made with breakfast sausage. And I make it year round.
I’m ordering the thanksgiving meal this year so if it’s bad, not my fault. There’s always pizza.
I dislike the gendered division of labor and the unreasonable (imo) expectations of a perfect meal with a million different side dishes. I don’t think I’ve enjoyed a thanksgiving since I’ve become an adult and got sent into the kitchen. This might be the year I finally do.
Right? Women in the kitchen, men in front of the TV or outside throwing a football around. Why???
I can’t say I blame Martha one bit. I bet she is tired AF of cooking turkeys. I’ve been married 15 years, but we’re still in the stage of life where my mother-in-law still wants to host/cook Thanksgiving dinner. I’ve only hosted one rogue year. But this year we’re traveling to Texas to see my twin sister and she and I are cooking it together, which I am super excited about because we’ve never done that before. I’m kind of nervous too. I hate the idea of screwing up the turkey.
If Martha pronounced my turkey dry, I’d look her straight in the eye and say “That’s not the only thing I see dried around here.”
I turkeyed out a few years back. This year, I ordered an entire turkey dinner for six — roasted ten pound bird, all the sides plus pie. My parents must be rolling over in their graves, but it’s been a tough year (healthwise) and PunkyDaddy said order the meal. 🦃
I’m glad you brought up her country homes. Martha had a show not too long ago centered on gardening and cooking and that property was so stunning it’s stuck in my head ever since. There were horses and fabulous stables among other things. The other property I dream of is Harry and Megan’s Montecito home.
I’ve always hated this colonizer holiday and everything it stands for. But I didn’t realize how much I hated it until one year I was watching TV and Sarah Palin is giving an interview and she says out loud at the end with that idiotic smile on her face “at least this was fun!” In the background, a turkey was getting slaughtered on live TV as she was saying that. I haven’t participated since.
The Trump years have made Thanksgiving even worse – it was already a shit holiday, but now it’s people tolerating the worst trash cans in their family at the table to keep the peace or whatever. I can’t with it. Trumpsters aren’t welcome to my home and neither is crap family, the molesters, the alcoholics, the pick me chicks, none of them are welcome.
I haven’t even gotten to the other things I hate about it, the women get up at 4 A.M. to start cooking and the men don’t do shit – watching the game while all the women do ALL the work in the kitchen and wait on the men hand and foot. Just like life! where women carry the emotional burden and do all the work with household chores and children. Thanksgiving just needs to die already.
This year my kid is with their dad – they do all that BS over there women “fixing plates” and other stupid traditions – I don’t like football but I’ll tune into a hockey game. I’ll make banana cream pie and hang out with my dog. I recently lost a bunch of weight like over 30 lbs (I had 30 lbs to lose and gained 20 lbs in the pandemic) but I’m so glad I don’t have to listen to a bunch of concern trolling about my weight and hear comments on everyone’s weight and everyone’s looks from people who literally look like trolls.
Say it louder for the people in the back, @Side Eye.
Ah thank you Mimi. Usually my sister and I play this fun game at the table where we quote a movie every time someone says something stupid (like a troll comments on someone’s single status or weight). And you take a drink. You can’t laugh. You have to weave the quote in seamlessly into the conversation so no one catches you. It makes it so much more tolerable.
One year, one of the trolls was bugging me about signing up for a dating site. And she says “such a beautiful girl what a waste! We’re just asking you to do one thing!” and my sister blurts out “yeah and the one thing is sucking poison out of your friend’s ass!” This is a quote from City Slickers 2 but no one knew that. She just blurted this out of nowhere as far as they’re concerned. Anyway, the trolls started rumors that my sister was unwell after that. I was laughing so hard I had to leave the table momentarily, and if you laugh, you have to start the quotes back at zero. It’s one point per quote, but that one was so funny we went back to zero.
The other time she cracked me up, but I held it in, she was putting a huge pile of mashed potatoes on her plate and asked in response to someone talking about her weight “are these Idaho mashed potatoes?” (Moving with Richard Pryor). The pile was so large. I don’t know how I kept it together.
This year, my sister is going through hell and can’t make it. There’s no way I’d survive this gathering without my sister. So I’m not going. I can’t tell you what a relief it was this year going straight from Halloween to Christmas. The tree is up. there are gifts under it. It’s like Thanksgiving doesn’t exist.
I think next year I’ll invite my sister up alone. We can just quote movies and drink by ourselves lol
Side eye, I’ve had the same group of friends for decades. During the Trump years, one went full on Qanon – as in, I knew about Jan 6 before it happened because she was group texting us about it (and yes, in hindsight I should have mentioned something, how suburban moms knew about it and the FBI didn’t is baffling). She fortunately moved to the middle of nowhere but during the holidays will show up periodically and the consensus is that we are supposed to feel sorry for her. This is the person who made a point of telling me that it’s OK that I’m in “her” country because my parents came here legally. I’m one of the good ones! I avoid her and make it painfully obvious that I think she is a walking disease. I feel like if we all did more of that the trash cans would self-select out and leave the rest of us alone. PS – You and your sister sound like fun!
Thank you! Lol my sister is the best! I hate she is having a tough time right now. I totally agree with you Nisa! I am done putting up with garbage, especially in my own family. BTW your line “I make it painfully obvious that I think she is a walking disease” made me LOL – ha ha she probably is if she is Q’Anon we all know how those parasites feel about vaccines!
It’s always disappointing to see people literally break bread with abusers, molesters, Trumpsters, and racists because “they’re family” and it’s the holidays. But it’s also nice to see a growing trend of people who stand for something and decide they don’t need to be around garbage, much less bring their kids and pets around it.
@Nisa, people want you to feel sorry for HER? Oh hell no!
It is just my partner, my mom, and maybe his mom. And I’m a vegetarian. So this year I said screw it and we are going to a restaurant. Maybe a movie after. I’m starting to dislike holidays.
I love cooking and Thanksgiving is a favorite. I always have two meals essentially: my American turkey (20 year old bacon sage recipe from Bon Appetit) and a spicy turkey to satisfy my African relatives, American side dishes as well as jolloff rice and fried plantain plus extra jerk turkey drumsticks. With prep it all runs like clockwork. I’ve hosted for 30 years and have only missed 3. The only difference I get older is I pay a high schooler the past 3 years to help clear and wash up so I can put my feet up.
This sounds amazing.
I have made MS Roasted Turkey wine and butter soaked turkey since 1999. The gravy is beyond delish and everyone raves about it. The woman knows her birds and gravy. 🙂 Stick some root veggies under the bird and puree those and add stock for your gravy. You’re welcome:
https://www.marthastewart.com/353184/perfect-roast-turkey
I quit this holiday along w xmas and easter when I left for college and never regretted it. I hate the traditional food, the eating with people you hate, the gendered division of labor, the colonization celebration. there’s so much peer pressure from dead people and people too weak to admit they hate it and let go and eat something or do something they really enjoy.
I love this. I never liked Thanksgiving that much. Under the terms of my recent divorce agreement, my ex gets the kid every Thanksgiving (I get Christmas, which he doesn’t celebrate), so I decided I’m not doing Thanksgiving anymore and am so happy about it.
I love turkey dinner, but I think in America it is too close to Christmas, so it doesn’t feel so special. Having Thanksgiving in October is so much more civilized :-p
Nine people canceled on her more than a week before Thanksgiving? That’s… odd. How many people were invited altogether? And clearly she had a chef, but she personally was “all turkeyed out”? This is a strange story.
Covid most likely. So many people I know have been getting it.
I haven’t been very excited about holidays since my parents passed away a few years ago – dad on Christmas Day and mom a few years later right before Thanksgiving. I had the perfect out during COVID to beg off the big family gatherings, but this year all the relatives are pushing me to make the trek to see them. Airports make me nervous as hell even in ideal conditions – and Thanksgiving weekend is the opposite of ideal.
The solution came when my neighbors asked me to dogsit while they surprise their kids in another city. The furry princess and I will take a long, glorious walk in the morning, then settle in for a movie or two, followed possibly by a nap, and dinner will be fancy grilled cheese sandwiches and a glass or two of red wine. I might even do some tipsy online shopping. I am really looking forward to it.
Dara this sounds amazing. I’m sorry about the loss of your parents. Furry ones make everything so much better. I can’t wait to hang out with my dog – it’s my first holiday season without my kid (he’s 15) and we’re gonna hit the dog park and yep I’m gonna finish the day with a movie and red wine.
I have the same reaction to airports. Every year I’d go home to Canada and it would be chaos and flights canceled for blizzards. Every single year. Add to it, some family members act the fool – I’d spend thousands to hear stupid squabbles, fights, meanness. Last year we got stuck in a huge blizzard and I was crying at the airport. I told my kid never ever again.
Unless it’s to hit the Caribbean, we are done traveling at Christmas. Next year I have him Christmas and it will be just us and the dog opening little gifts and cooking and baking. I’m done feeling overwhelmed and saddened by family members’ piss poor behavior.
@Side Eye, dogs are the best company. I love the movie quote game you mentioned above, I’m sure I would always lose because I’d never be able to keep it together. Years ago my entire family gathered for something and my grandma started pestering my thirty-something cousin and I about being spinsters and asking when “we were going to get married”. My quick-witted cousin replied, “but grandma we don’t feel that way about each other.” I nearly swallowed my tongue, and my very conservative grandma almost had a stroke. She never brought it up again.
Omg Dara, I love this response LOL! The game is so fun and it’s how we survive intrusive, inappropriate questions about our marital status (we’re both divorced) concern trolling about our weight (always too fat or too skinny, never just right) and shallow comments about our looks (“such a beautiful girl, what a waste” – cause yes, it’s a waste of our existence to not date, I mean, why else would we exist? Sigh.
And you are right dogs are the absolute best! Mine greets me like he hasn’t seen me in years when I’ve been gone 5 minutes! Would a husband do that? hell no and if he did it would be annoying AF.
I think deep down, the trolls in my family that are in miserable marriages (literally their spouses treat them like crap but they refuse to get out cause they aren’t strong enough to stand on their own and their whole identity is tied into being the wife of this a-hole) are jealous. It’s why they have so much animosity towards people like us, we represent a choice they cannot or don’t have the balls to make. We represent freedom and being free from other people’s judgments – we just don’t care. And they care so so much. It’s literally why they are in it miserable. What would the neighbors think if we divorced? So when we come around it discombobulates them – they prefer there is no choice at all rather than have to examine whey they agreed to be treated like crap for decades.
I love thanksgiving. I would say at one time it was my favorite holiday. After my mom passed away (it was really HER holiday) and a lot of things have happened with my family, my feelings about the day are a little more complicated. I have cycled through hosting at my parent’s house all alone with no help wearing itty bitty babies, to not hosting at all and going to someone else’s house, to hosting at my house again last year. This year my MIL is hosting, but she’s making tons of sides that she likes to make, and I’m making the turkey and stuffing because I want to, and I like my recipes. 🙂 Luckily it’s spatchcocked so we just have to get there a little early (the kids like to play over there so it’s a win-win). My firstborn son’s birthday is right around Thanksgiving, and this year he turns 10 right after.
I do actually love the food, and love the leftovers. But I only need to eat this meal for the one holiday–I don’t eat stuffing at any other time of year. 🙂 If I was cooking eleventy turkeys like Martha, I probably would opt out too! But I don’t think I would not attend at all. Even during Covid, we hosted and had all the windows open and froze in an effort to keep everyone safe. No matter what I’m doing, I do want to be with some family on that day eating some turkey and sides.
I prefer a good baked ham. Way better!
I would give her several drinks and want to hear about her time in prison. I hear that she was really a supportive person in there.
I’m guessing Martha will be sozzled when she turns up for dinner. She probably hits the cocktails shortly after Santa appears in the Macy parade — if not before LOL.
Or maybe that’s just me. I’m looking forward to some festive mimosas made with cranberry juice or apple cider.
I love cooking Thanksgiving dinner for just the local family, 6 of us. Big turkey, my from scratch cranberry sauce, Apple pie from our tree this fall, etc. Leftover heaven!!
“Still, what would you do if Martha came to your house and announced, “the turkey is dry”? ”
I’d look at her askance. We served juicy roast duck.