While Thanksgiving food is very delicious, there is more to this holiday than turkey, cranberry sauce and stuffing. It’s about spending time with family and close friends and being thankful for everything that you have.
However, it can be a tricky dinner for newly formed couples. The first time meeting their family, deciding where to spend this year’s Thanksgiving, and having to deal with uncomfortable questions are only some of the things you’ll have to endure.
Read on to find out why Thanksgiving is the ultimate dating test! Also, make sure to read 10 Signs Your Relationship Is Solid as a Rock.
You get to meet their family and friends
The good part, if you get to meet their family and friends it means that things between you two are getting pretty serious. The bad part, you get to meet them all at once, parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts, best friends and cousins, and everything in between. But no pressure!
If you want your relationship to last, you need to make a good first impression and get their approval. Therefore, you’ll need to remember a lot of names, be prepared to master small talk while complimenting the food. And if you’ll have to deal with family members and friends, well, good luck!
You have to decide where to spend Thanksgiving
Of course, both of you would probably want to spend the day with their own families, but that’s not possible since you’re in a serious relationship, so you’ll have to decide. It can be something like ‘you get Thanksgiving, I get Christmas’ but no matter what you decide, one of you will probably end up disappointed.
Or, you could always pull a wishbone if you have trouble making a decision. This will test your relationship a lot, especially if it’s the first time meeting the family. But if you manage to go through your first Thanksgiving as a couple, your relationship is going to last.
If you’re the one that’s hosting this year’s Thanksgiving dinner, well…good luck!
Hosting a Thanksgiving dinner will make you understand why your mother used to drink half a bottle of red wine before dinner. While Thanksgiving can be very relaxing and peaceful for the guests, the host on the other hand will tell a very different story.
After doing the grocery shopping and dealing with crowded stores and long lines, prepping the food and watching YouTube tutorials on how to cook the most delicious turkey, decorating the table, and cleaning your entire home, your relationship will have to deal with the ultimate test, having to deal with both their family and yours.
If you used to think you could cook, now you understand you actually can’t
Most people describe themselves as good cooks just because they can boil pasta and add a tomato sauce on top. Thanksgiving dinner will require chopping shallots and chives, learn to mash potatoes as fast as you can, and carve a turkey without feeling like a serial killer.
But if you manage to do all these things together as a couple, your Thanksgiving dinner will go perfectly. If not, you could always buy box stuffing and order a turkey that’s already cooked and commit to the beautiful white lie together. Find out more about the 10 Surprising Signs Your Partner is a Keeper.
If their aunt’s is complimenting your food, you thank her politely, if she is asking for the recipe, you promise to give her later but never do.
Prepare to be asked the most uncomfortable questions
Starting with the grandmother asking “How you two meet?” you really have to use your creativity and come up with a cute story, considering that you can’t tell them “We met on Tinder.”
Then comes their aunt Cindy asking whether you want kids or not and your father asking when the wedding will be. No matter how much you prepare yourself for these family gatherings, there will still be questions that will test your patience. Stay calm, avoid eye contact, and hope for the best.
You’ll get to see how compatible your food babies are
You know you found your perfect match when you both lay on the couch with your stomachs full, understanding the agony of eating too much pumpkin pie, while still craving that sweet potato casserole. Because couples who go through that stay together for life!
Make sure to also read: 50 Relationship Tips That No One Should Listen To.
You’ll actually get to know if you like who your partner is as a person
While three full days together won’t seem like a big deal for you two, seeing how your partner acts around their family and yours will help you know if you like who they are. After all, it’s not the same thing as watching Game of Thrones in bed all day and eating pizza.
It’s a totally different thing when you have to master small talk with them and their aunt about Lifetime movie specials. Or even better, you’ll be forced to spend the entire evening playing charades with their old family members. Sounds fun!
If you still want to date them after seeing their father trying to act out “toll ticket collector” for ten minutes straight, congrats! You’ve found your one and only.
