It’s Thanksgiving Day, you’re putting on that hol- iday dress or you’re tight- ening your turkey day tie.
But there’s an queasy feeling in your stomach.
You’re about to spend this holiday with your partner’s family – the all important first holiday.
What if you spill the gravy? What do you do if you accidentally pro- nounce someone’s name wrong? What if you clog the toilet?
These are common fears associated with spending the holidays with a family that isn’t our own.
Established couples can now look back and share disasters from those firsts.
For example, meeting your spouse’s family for the first time during the holidays can be a little uneasy.
“2008 was the first time I spent the holidays with my husband’s fam- ily, and it was actually really embarrassing. His whole family has some weird sense of humor and they decided to prank me at Thanksgiving dinner,” said Elizabeth Boles, who is a survivor of holiday family dinners.
“I was passing the cran- berry sauce to my mother- in-law and my husband tickled my side and I spilled the cranberry sauce all over her. I kept apolo- gizing but my husband couldn’t stop laughing. Later I found out that his mom was totally in on the whole thing. It was her weird way of welcoming me into the family.”
Families share laughs and good memories during the holidays.
Benjamin Yun, 23, wasn’t so lucky at his first holiday dinner with his now ex-girlfriend.
“My ex and I were dat- ing for about three months and her parents invited me over for Christmas Eve dinner.
Her parents were really conservative religious people, so I tried to be really polite the whole night. But while we were eating dessert I was talking to her dad, and I basi- cally said that my ex and I had done some unholy things, if you know what I mean. I didn’t mean to say anything, but it happened and obviously things didn’t end well,” said Yun.
With the pressure of impressing a brand new group of people, it’s easy for things to go south. Yun and Boles had advice to share with newbies who might be dreading these family gatherings
“Obviously, watch what you say. Don’t get too comfortable,” said Yun.
Being too worried about how the night will turn out, might cause you to mess up out of ner- vousness.
“Don’t stress about it. ButifIhadtodoitover again, like the first time, I would definitely not sit next to my husband,” said Boles