When the holiday gathering goes horribly wrong

It happens.

The anticipation of the approaching holiday puts a desire for perfection inside even the most reluctant host or hostess.

You dream about all of the sights and smells and the family around the table.

You clean. Everything. From the salad bowl to the toilet bowl and even the fish bowl, all things must be presentation ready.

You pour over Pinterest recipes. Pinterest decoration suggestions. Pinterest DIY table favors. Pinterest wreaths. Pinning, pinning, pinning.

The menu planning begins. The grocery list grows and grows and grows…

Finally the day arrives and family and friends begin to trickle in. Everything is going great, the compliments are flowing and you can literally feel the love.

Then it happens. Disaster.

holidays

(This beautiful pie was made by my favorite missionary in Tallinn, Estonia, Ingunn Bakke Turner! This was taken at my first Thanksgiving overseas and her very first made-from-scratch apple pie. Isn’t it gorgeous!)

What is your worst Thanksgiving faux pas, catastrophe or embarrassment?

Did you burn the bird? I admit to overcooking the turkey on more than one occasion. Everyone has family stories of drama and can’t get-alongs in their family gatherings. Let  me share one of our family favorites:

This was The Sweetheart’s first Thanksgiving with my family and we were gathered at my paternal grandmother’s house. Cousins were oozing out the woodwork, my aunts were busy being ordered around by my grandmother and everyone else was just trying to stay out of the way.

The Sweetheart found a spot in the living room that he considered safe alongside my Uncle Joe, a quiet man of few words. When he did speak you wanted to listen to this wonderful man of God, who has since gone on to be with the Lord.

Dinner wasn’t far from being served and my grandmother wanted everything to go just so. All of a sudden we heard a tremendous crashing from the kitchen as dishes came tumbling out of the cabinet when someone reached up to get some plates. Along with the crash we heard a blood-curdling “JESUS!!!!!” as my grandmother, God rest her beautiful soul, reacted to the unfolding tragedy. But it wasn’t just one “JESUS!” it was a whole lot of “JESUS!” and the ensuing chaos that goes along with such a mess.

My poor Aunt, (she is free to correct me if I get the details incorrect), was just trying to clean up but Mamaw couldn’t calm down. It sounded much worse than it was and The Sweetheart was terrified. Everyone had jumped up from their coveted spots and hurried to see what all the excitement was about.

Except Uncle Joe. He never moved, never got excited, never even looked up from his reading material. He was cool like that.

The memory didn’t die there though. Every year, Mamaw made sure she had a cassette tape recorder documenting our entire get-together.  After we all left she would then send that tape to my Aunt Judy in Texas who didn’t get to be with us very often.

So yes, you are way ahead of me. All of the drama was recorded for our listening pleasure. For the rest of our natural lives.

I could tell you about the church Thanksgiving dinner where I walked up the steps of the church carrying my Mother’s prized pineapple upside-down cake. As I crossed the threshold, I tripped and the cake went flying and was no longer a pineapple upside down cake but a pineapple right side up!

I was mortified but I had provided plenty of laughs for all of the men just sitting on their behinds with nothing to do. I’m cool like that.

How about YOUR family gatherings?

Tell us about your ruined meals, your family fights or what you left in or out of the turkey. We want to know! (Seriously, it makes us all feel better about our own mistakes!)

This year? We are gathered in Tennessee and my daughter-in-law, Rachel, is the hostess with the mostest. Korey and Alicia have been cooking at my house and Kristopher is helping to entertain Norah Jayne. Little Lark is busy keeping away from Eisley Quinn. Rachel’s mother, Tonya, a chef herself, is in charge of the turkey and the stuffing. It is going to be amazing. Oh, and Kyle and The Sweetheart are somewhere supervising…

Blessings to you all on this family holiday. I pray you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and may your drama be subdued.

Kingdom2

 

 

2 thoughts on “When the holiday gathering goes horribly wrong

  1. Floyd

    That made me laugh out loud to myself. And you got it recorded? That’s hilarious!!! We’re going to see my mom and now with all the nieces and nephews, their wives, friends, and kids…
    Well, lets just say I’m bringing my phone to record… just in case. Happy Thanksgiving, Nannette.

  2. Sharon

    Oh, it’s not good to chuckle at the suffering of others – but I’m lol’ing here!! My stories? One thing I do remember about Thanksgiving is when we would all gather at my parents’ house. My dad was a mechanical engineer, and so EVERYTHING had to be precisely timed. I can’t tell you how much we laughed and made bets on how often he would say to my mom, “You know, the turkey’s going to be all dried out if you don’t get everything else done on time.” I also remember how my mom would fake him out with the gravy. She’d buy gravy in the jars and then put turkey drippings in it, and quietly accept all the compliments. I also remember the time she cooked the turkey with the giblet bag inside. That was disgusting.

    Oh, and the one year that I had a fight with my brother-in-law, and spent the entire afternoon under a blanket playing “tent” with my nephew? Not a highlight.

    But honestly, isn’t these kinds of things that we remember the most sometimes? Family is such a blessing. A bunch of crazy misfits, bonded together by blood and marriage. Just like the Body of Christ. Bonded together by HIS blood.

    And for that, and so much else, I am thankful.

    Blessings for a wonderful Thanksgiving!! (And no mishaps!!)

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