Do You Really Want To Help?

Here's a shout out to the universe in case anybody is feeling a tad guilty about going to somebody's house for Thanksgiving dinner, or any holiday for that matter, and you want to offer your 'help'.  You feel a twinge of guilt seeing how hard your host family is working to pull it off for 20 people.  About a week before hand, you contact the host family and ask what you can bring to the table.  Literally.

Please, PLEASE respect the host family's wish if they tell you NOTHING and that it's all planned and under control.  Unless you have some severe food allergy that will interrupt dinner with a 911 call land you in the ER, do NOT bring along food.  No, being 'gluten sensitive' and all other bullshit allergies/aversions that are en vogue at the moment don't count.  You're just being a whiney pain in the ass.  STFU and eat what you can and spare us the lecture on your food choices.  We don't give a flying monkey and it's poor manners on your part. 

On the flip side to that, if the host family replies with a "yes, thank you for offering.  It would be lovely if you brought the pumpkin pie" here is what NOT to do -- do NOT gather all the ingredients and think you can use the host family's kitchen to put it all together and bake it.  The kitchen is already being overused.  We don't want you hogging up our kitchen space, making a mess, and commandeering sacred oven time. 

If you really feel like you want to help OFFER TO HOST NEXT YEAR.  Silence.  I thought so.  It's a lot of work.  Even the most gracious of hosts would like a break.