Opinion for Thanksgiving dinner needed!
 

Hey all!

I was going to post this question under the "Chit Chat" forum, but I don't see it today. So, I thought I would ask you all what you think of this situation! Alrighty! I have been invited to my boyfriends family Thanksgiving dinner. I am super excited about it, but I don't know what I should bring. I guess the easy thing would be to ask him or his mother, but I don't want them to tell to bring nothing! So, should I bring a bottle of wine, a dessert, or something else? A dessert is nice, but I don't want there to be lots of desserts or something like that. I would bring wine, but I know squat about it! I could get some from Oliver Winery in Bloomington, but I don't know what to get! I am not really fond of wine myself...bad Las Vegas experience! Anyway, that is my dilemna! Any suggestions would SUPER appreciated!

Thanksgiving
 

ASK what you should bring! It shows your interest and consideration. If they say nothing, then suggest that you would like to get a bottle of wine (if that is acceptable with the family) and ask what type and/or brand they would like. If they say anything, ask at the winery. Wine stewards are usually very nice people.
A nice Shiraz would be a good idea for Thanksgiving....
:)
Silver

You could always bring a hostess gift like some nice hand towels for a guest powder room. If you bring wine find out what kind of wine goes well with turkey, I'm thinking something white but I don't know much about wines. Or you could bring some nice chocolates to eat while ya'll drink coffee after dessert. On that point you could bring an assortment of coffee to them.

I agree with Silver that you should ask what you should bring. If they say nothing then I would still bring a bottle of wine as a thank you. If you are getting it from Olivers I would recommend their Soft Red. Turkey can go with either red or white wines. I like Olivers' Soft Red because it is all that dry - it's like its name implies, soft. :) Some people don't like wine because all they have been able to get are dry wines (because they don't know better!) and don't care for dry wines. Try this wine at Olivers and see if YOU like it as well - and you can always ask the employees' opinions of a nice one to go with turkey.

Sorry to ramble on. It was the year that I spent in the Rhine Valley surrounded by vineyards that can get me going on wines! :)

Roses!

Sarah

FYI--Chit Chat is still there! We're remodeling around GC, so when you get to the General forums menu, click on 'General Chat Topics' and it's safe and sound in there (along with some other new and improved goodies!)

Love the wine idea for Thanksgiving! Candles are almost always a welcome gift, as is candy.

Do you have any 'specialty' recipes that you are known for, or that your boyfriend especially enjoys? If so, maybe ask if you could bring (or make) your mashed potatoes or apple pie or whatever to share with the family that day?

Enjoy!

Re: Opinion for Thanksgiving dinner needed!
 

In my opinion, I say use the opportunity to do a little impressing, if possible ;-) Can you cook (I mean do you have the facilities?) If you do, bring something you make yourself. It will show his family that you care enough to make an effort. Trust me, mothers are impressed by something like that!

If your boyfriend is bringing you home to Thanksgiving dinnner, she knows that her son is at least a little serious about you. Make him proud to show you off! It does not have to be fancy... pumpkin cookies, spiced pecans, cranberry/orange bread are all pretty easy & YUMMY!

Good luck :)

I feel like wine is a safe way to go, as long as the family doesn't have any issues with drinking (religion, alcoholism...) If you go the wine route I would suggest bringing to moderately priced bottles - 1 red and 1 white. In general either will go with thanksgiving because although turkey is light and would generally be served with a white the rest of the meal is rich and would generally be served with red. This also will solve the problem of some people only liking red or white.

There are many varieties of good red and white wines in the $10-15 range. I am partial to Australian wines and am very fond of Penfold's Shiraz and would maybe get their Pinot Grigot or Chardonnay as a white to accompany, also I am really starting to like Yellow Tail - Shiraz, merlot, and Chardonnay (and it is around $7 a bottle). The winery is also a good idea. Regardless if you go there or a wine shop the staff I've always found that the staff is always looking to suggest good moderately priced bottles.

Let us know what you decide and how it goes :)

Thank you all very much for your help! I asked a woman I work with what she would take, in my situation. She had an excellent idea! She told me to take flowers...you can never go wrong with flowers! Well, it sounded great to me, but I was a little concerned that the flowers might not last the drive to his mom's house. I asked him how long the drive was, he told me about 3 hours and then asked me why...what a stinker! I told him that I was thinking about bringing flowers and concerned about their freshness after the drive. Of couse, he told me that I didn't have to take anything! But, he said that if I really wanted to bring something, they like this White Zin...something wine. So, I will probably find a nice bottle of that and take it. We will see!

I have met his mom once before and liked her a lot, but now I am meeting the older brother and sister and I am getting nervous! I don't want them to think that I am still a kid or immature or something. See, I am 22 and he is 28 and his brother and sister are older than that, but not sure by how many years. So, I am really excited, but super nervous!

White Zin
 

White Zinfandel

Berringer White Zinfandel is inexpensive and very nice.

Silver

here is what i have done for other dinner parties and have been told what a nice gesture it was

i have had flowers or wine delivered earlier in the day(or in one instance the day before) with a sweet sentiment to the effect thank you for inviting me can't wait to see you later today

a couple of reasons i have chosen to do this

1. - don't have to worry about which wine to choose - or if they drink - or if they have already selected a wine and then they feel obligated to use yours too because it arrives early and they can chose to serve it or not - and they have time to chill it - which you do with a white zin
2. - don't have to worry about bringing flowers or bottle with you and them wilting or what not on the way or just the bulkiness
3. - and if the flowers/wine arrive early - the hostess can find a nice place to put the flowers before the guests arrive or chill the wine- that way she doesn't have to re-shuffle everything when you arrive -
4. they usually remember it more and they think about how sweet you are alllllllllll day then when you arrive - you've already made a great impression!!

just my two cents - take it for what it's worth!!

Alpha love
nhp

Hope everyone had an excellent Thanksgiving! Mine was great...except for this little upper respitory flu that I have! Anyway, Thanksgiving was great with Brian and his family. I decided to go with the wine since he told me what the family likes to drink. Since I know nada about wine, I asked dad to pick something nice for me! He ended up getting the Berringer White Zinfandel. His mom was very glad to have received that bottle of chilled wine from me, but she bought a HUGE bottle of the same kind of wine and she, her daughter, and daughter's boyfriend had already opened the big one, so mine did not get opened while I was there...no biggie!

His whole family was so, so nice to me! His mom even included me in the prayer before dinner...I thought that was really nice of her. All the ladies hugged me as Brian and I were leaving!

But, I think it went well! I have been invited back to their family Christmas which is the Sunday before Christmas, so we will see! :)