How To Deal With Family Drama During Thanksgiving

This article is from our print magazine issued October 1st 2022. To order a copy of the magazine please do so here.

Every holiday has it activities and perks. Halloween has candy, parties, and trick-or-treating. Christmas has shopping, gifts, and food. Valentines day has gifts, chocolate, and dinners. St. Patrick’s Day has a specific color, food and games. Thanksgiving is a holiday where you are just supposed to eat and spend time with family. This can be daunting when you have a family that always has drama. How to deal with family drama during Thanksgiving can be tricky but here are a few suggestions:

Avoid topics that are private and personal.
Focus on the group as a whole not just certain people
Pick a set dinner time
Invite only those you feel will value the work and time you put into cooking
Visit family for a set amount of time before going to the next house
Start doing things early
Cook early
Wear something comfortable, yet stylish

Now let’s chat about these 8 things, shall we?

Avoid topics that are private and personal. This means if you don’t want others around you to know save that conversation for another time. This isn’t the time to have private conversations about those topics. This is the time to spend with everyone and have family time. When other see you privately chatting they may feel some type of way and that could cause unnecessary drama.

Focus on the group as a whole not just certain people. This means when you invite people to your home you have to be mindful of who gets a long and who doesn’t. When you make your guest list you want people that will be able to partake in things together without any drama. Sometimes that may mean not inviting certain people.

Pick a set dinner time. When you don’t have a dinner time people come in and out all day and eat. This doesn’t allow you to have a formal sit down Thanksgiving dinner. Have a set time and start at that time, even if people are late. That way you aren’t stressed about food being cold and there is no drama.

Invite only those you feel will value your work and time you put into cooking. This means if you have someone who complains all the time, you may have to visit them later on. You don’t want to cause any issues with you or your other family. If you are going to someone’s house and you know they won’t appreciate your dish, then bring drinks. Avoid any drama.

Visit family for a set amount of time before going to the next house. This means for those who are house hopping, before you even start, be sure to have a plan. If the plan is to be at each house for 4 hours then stick to that plan. This usually happens when married people are visiting each others parents house. It also happens when you have a large family. Just be sure to avoid any drama with your mate by having a plan ahead of time so no one feel their family didn’t get the quality time they wanted.

Start doing things early. Although it is a day many of us are off. If you wait too late in the day you will feel rushed. This may cause more drama for yourself than you want. You don’t have to get up at 6am, but make sure if you’re hosting dinner at noon, you have enough time to have everything prepared, you’re dressed and your home is presentable by noon.

Cook early. Some people put their ham or turkey in the oven over night on low. So that all they have to do is make the sides the next day. You don’t have to do that if you’re hosting a late dinner, but it is best to cook early enough to have everything ready to go before your guests arrive. This will avoid a lot of hunger drama.

Wear something comfortable and stylish. This shouldn’t have to be said, well yes it does. Everyone likes to look and feel their best on Thanksgiving and any other day. The key to this is being stylish and comfortable. Don’t put on those too small jeans just to be cute. You will be uncomfortable and it will show. Your comfortability allows you to have a better time. Avoid your own drama by being cute in a comfortable way.

Thanksgiving is a family filled day of laughter, food and fun. Make your Thanksgiving this year incredible by using these tips to avoid drama. Happy Thanksgiving. Grow, live, and change the world. Keep growing and inspiring.