My Husband’s Family Expects Me To Cook Every Holiday Meal For 30 People At My House
Every holiday, thirty people show up at my house.
Every holiday, I cook.
Every holiday, I clean.
And every holiday, someone complains.
Too salty.
Too cold.
Not enough food.
Not enough desserts.
My husband always says:
“That’s just how my family is.”
One Thanksgiving, I finally said I wasn’t doing it anymore.
My mother-in-law laughed.
She said:
“Of course you are.”
I said no.
She assumed I was joking.
Two weeks later, she announced the Thanksgiving menu to the entire family.
I hadn’t agreed to host.
I told everyone the dinner wasn’t happening at our house.
My husband panicked.
He said I was embarrassing him.
I told him he was welcome to cook.
He had never cooked Thanksgiving dinner before.
Neither had his mother.
Suddenly, everyone became very interested in “compromise.”
I suggested everyone bring one dish.
They refused.
So I canceled.
Thanksgiving morning, my mother-in-law showed up with twenty people.
She had apparently assumed I would give in.
I opened the door.
There was no food.
She looked shocked.
Then she started yelling.
I calmly told everyone they were welcome to stay if they ordered takeout.
They did.
It cost them almost $600.
Nobody complained about the food.
The following Christmas, they tried again.
This time, I sent an invitation with one rule:
“Everyone brings something.”
For the first time, my husband actually supported me.
The family eventually agreed.
Then something unexpected happened.
My father-in-law privately apologized.
He told me he had no idea I was doing almost everything.
Apparently, his wife had been telling everyone that she “organized” the holidays and that I merely helped.
He was shocked when he learned I had been shopping, cooking, serving and cleaning for years.
Now the holidays are different.
Everyone contributes.
And strangely enough, everyone seems to enjoy them more.
Turns out, people don’t hate family gatherings.
They hate unpaid labor.
Especially when one person is expected to do all of it.
