Thanksgiving is undoubtedly one of the best holidays of the year. It’s a day spent enjoying the company of your entire family and the last warm days of fall, accompanied by a ridiculous amount of food, and no shortage of alcohol. There’s much anticipation for the day, as everyone travels hundreds of miles to reconnect with faces they haven’t seen in months. However, as everyone settles down to feast for a few hours, if you get placed next to certain people those few hours can be a bit tricky to carry on conversation. It may seem ridiculous to write or say, as you think you should be able to talk to your family about anything. But let’s be honest, there are certain people in our family we’d rather sit next to that others. And you took too long making a valley in your mashed potatoes to hold your gravy that you lost that prime seat between your drunk uncle and your favorite cousin. Have no fear, because this list will help you get through conversation with any person at your Thanksgiving table.
1. For your cousins, or people around your age:
This one really shouldn’t need an explanation. But essentially, be natural. Don’t force the conversation, but talk about things you’re actually interested in. As your peers, they’ll probably have an opinion or experience with the same topics, so the conversation can lead to new insights and perspectives as you compare your interests, ideas and lives.
2. For you grandparents:
Grandparent’s absolutely love to brag about their grandchildren. It is in fact a way of grandparent life. So take this opportunity to talk about yourself for a little; enjoy the spotlight and boast about your latest victory; it’s good to be proud of your accomplishments. They’ll love to hear what you’ve been up to, and gain some new material to brag to their friends about over their next bridge club meeting.
3. For the uncle or aunt you only see at major holiday and truly don’t know what to talk about. Or the one inexplicably random person who somehow made their way to a place at the table:
We all have these members of the family. They’re great people, but even though they’re family we don’t truly know them. A forced conversation is never an enjoyable one, and since Thanksgiving is a time for feasting, feast on that bottle of wine and see where the conversation ends up. You could end up having a very interesting, albeit unexpected, conversation
4. For that person you enjoy testing the limits of their calm demeanor:
We love our family, and would drop anything to put a smile on their face. But let’s be real, there’s a person or two in the family you can’t help but indulge in a heated debate. No bad intentions, just a little fun to engage the rest of the family. Choose a controversial and relevant topic, such as the presidential campaign or Caitlyn Jenner, and spark some lively conversation.
Thanksgiving in one of the happiest days of the year, as we recognize and give thanks to everything we’re grateful for. A day with so much potential shouldn’t be wasted on pointless conversation. Nobody cares if today’s high temperature was 3 degrees lower than yesterday’s and that there’s an 70% chance of rain for Saturday. Spend this time talking about things that will actually engage both you and the other people involved, truly enjoying their presence.