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Thursday, November 15, 2007 1:54 PM

Upstaging MIL?

When it comes to Thanksgiving, is bringing food to your in-laws without being asked a slap in the face to your MIL? This debate sprang up between a friend and I last night. On one hand, if you’re a pretty good cook, bringing dishes you know she likes to make can be a knock to her cooking and spark evil thoughts like, “Hrmph! So this gourmet girl doesn’t like MY yams with the little marshmallows anymore.” On the other hand, if you bring something outside of her “greatest hits,” she might think you’re inventive and enjoy having an extra new dish on the table.  

If you’re on the fence, do what my friend did. She is sending her man’s mom these Thanksgiving-themed cookies from Eleni’s New York (check them out at Elenis.com). They’re funny and kitschy (think: iced cans of peas and pumpkin pie). She told me she’s sending a little note with them saying, “Since I’m not as good of a cook as you are, I thought it was wisest to send these faux-Thanksgiving dishes. Enjoy!” Brilliant—all egos are spared.

What dishes do you bring to in-laws for the holidays, or do you avoid it altogether? Do any of you have horror stories about holiday food at your in-laws?

Posted by Nest Riann
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Comments

re: Upstaging MIL?

I always bring something out of the ordinary that is a tradition for my family. For example, at Christmas we eat tamales on Christmas day, so when I went to Iowa to be with dh's family the first year we were married I brought home made tamales to share with everyone. My MIL was actually excited about having them because she missed the southwest, where they use to live and where we were living, and she liked the idea of blending traditions.

Posted by KetchumCutie    Thursday, November 15, 2007 7:13 PM


re: Upstaging MIL?

I bring food to holidays but only extras like bread, cheese, cookies, or baked goods. If I knew that the meal were a potluck-type celebration, only then would I bring something to actually serve with the meal and not eat separately. I am Norwegian and last year, my family baked lefse, krumkake, and rosettes. We gave a couple plates of them to DH's family and they appreciated them because they weren't your ordinary Christmas cookies.

Posted by Happy2BeKathyKluthe    Friday, November 16, 2007 11:55 AM


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