Skip to content

Top Navigation

MyRecipes MyRecipes
  • Course
  • Baking
  • Global
  • Healthy
  • Favorite Ingredients
  • Holidays and Occasions
  • Quick and Easy
  • Convenience Recipes
  • BBQ and Grilling
  • How To
  • Extra Crispy
  • Well Done
  • News

Profile Menu

Your Profile

Account

  • Register
  • Recipe Box this link opens in a new tab
  • Newsletters
  • Email Preferences
  • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Pin FB

Explore MyRecipes

MyRecipes MyRecipes
  • Explore

    Explore

    • 1 55+ Easy Dinner Recipes for Busy Weeknights

      Everybody understands the stuggle of getting dinner on the table after a long day. If you're looking for a simple recipe to simplify your weeknight, you've come to the right place--easy dinners are our specialty. For an easy supper that you can depend on, we picked out some of our tried-and-true favorites that have gotten us through even the busiest of days. Whether you're cooking for yourself or for a family, these easy dinners are sure to leave everyone satisfied and stress-free. Read More Next
    • 2 The Brilliant Secret to Making Better Mashed Potatoes

      Trust me, it’s so worth it. Read More Next
    • 3 65 Super Easy Finger Foods to Make for Any Party

      From chips and dip to one-bite apps, finger foods are the perfect way to kick off a party. No forks or spoons required, just easy-to-pick-up party foods, so you can clean up in no time.  Read More Next
  • Course

    Course

    See all Course
    • Appetizer Recipes
    • Drink and Cocktail Recipes
    • Salad Recipes
    • Side Dishes
    • Soup and Stew Recipes
    • Menus & Parties
    • Breakfast and Brunch Recipes
    • Main Dishes and Entrées
    • Dinner Recipes
    • Dessert Recipes
  • Baking

    Baking

    See all Baking
    • Bread Recipes
    • Our Most-Loved Cake Recipes
    • Cookie Recipes
    • Pie Recipes
  • Global

    Global

    See all Global
    • Spanish Recipes
    • Thai Recipes
    • Vietnamese Recipes
    • Middle Eastern Recipes
    • Mexican Recipes
    • Malaysian Recipes
    • Korean Recipes
    • Japanese Recipes
    • Italian Recipes
    • Indian Recipes
    • Greek Recipes
    • French Recipes
    • Chinese Recipes
    • African Recipes
    • American Recipes
    • Cajun and Creole Recipes
    • Caribbean Recipes
    • South American Recipes
    • Southern Recipes
    • German Recipes
  • Healthy

    Healthy

    See all Healthy
    • Easy, Healthy Recipes
    • Healthy Breakfasts
    • Healthy Dinners
    • Healthy Desserts
    • Diabetic Recipes
    • Gluten-Free Diet and Recipes
    • Vegan Recipes
    • Low Carbohydrate Recipes
    • Low Cholesterol Recipes
    • Low Fat Recipes
    • Low Sodium Recipes
    • Low Calorie Recipes
    • Vegetarian Recipes
  • Favorite Ingredients

    Favorite Ingredients

    See all Favorite Ingredients
    • The Ultimate Guide to Chicken
    • Vegetable Recipes
    • Beef Recipes
    • Cheese Recipes
    • Chocolate Recipes
    • Pasta Recipes
    • Pork Recipes
    • Seafood Recipes
    • Shrimp Recipes
  • Holidays and Occasions

    Holidays and Occasions

    See all Holidays and Occasions
    • A Foodie's Guide to Halloween Recipes
    • The Ultimate Thanksgiving Guide
    • Hanukkah Recipes
    • Your Ultimate Christmas Recipe Guide
    • Our Most Festive New Year's Recipes
    • Super Bowl Recipes
    • Best Valentine's Day Recipes
    • Mardi Gras Recipes
    • Easter Recipes
    • Labor Day Recipes
    • The Ultimate Fourth of July Guide
    • Memorial Day Recipes
    • Tailgating Recipes
    • Wedding and Shower Recipes
  • Quick and Easy

    Quick and Easy

    See all Quick and Easy
    • 15-Minute Recipes for Busy Home Cooks
    • 45-Minute Recipes
    • 5 Ingredients or Less
    • Dinner Tonight
    • No-Cook Recipes
  • Convenience Recipes

    Convenience Recipes

    See all Convenience Recipes
    • Instant Pot Recipes
    • Kid Approved
    • Our Top Make-Ahead Recipes
    • Our Favorite Slow Cooker Recipes
  • BBQ and Grilling

    BBQ and Grilling

    See all BBQ and Grilling
    • Grilled Beef Recipes
    • Grilled Chicken Recipes
    • Grilled Fish Recipes
    • Grilled Pork Recipes
    • Grilled Shrimp Recipes
    • Grilled Vegetable Recipes
  • How To

    How To

    See all How To
    • 7 Ways With
    • Cooking Questions
    • Ingredients and Tools
    • Kitchen Cleaning
    • Videos
  • Extra Crispy
  • Well Done

    Well Done

    See all Well Done
    • Homemade vs. The Internet
    • How-to and Explainers
    • Mom vs.
    • Recipe Videos
  • News

Profile Menu

Your Profile

Account

  • Register
  • Recipe Box this link opens in a new tab
  • Newsletters
  • Email Preferences
  • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow us

  1. Home
  2. The Holiday Table
  3. Holiday Helpline
  4. 7 Ways To Ruin Holiday Dinners

7 Ways To Ruin Holiday Dinners

Updated November 02, 2010
Skip gallery slides
Save Pin
Credit: Aurelie and Morgan David de Lossy/Cultura/Getty Images

Cringing at the thought of preparing Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner? See how we solve these seasonal dilemmas with quick food fixes.

Start Slideshow

1 of 8

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email

Holiday Dinner Hang-ups

Credit: Judith Haeusler/Photodisc/Getty Images

There’s just something about holiday dinners that puts you in a tizzy. Maybe it’s the idea of cooking for a crowd...or the mere thought of cooking anything that doesn’t come out of a box with instructions?

Whatever the case may be, here are some holiday hang-ups that are more common than you think. And at least get a good laugh at knowing you’re not alone.

1 of 8

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 8

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email

Banishing the Bird

Credit: James Carrier

Dinner dilemma:

I want to roast a turkey for our holiday dinner, but it’s so intimidating! And what if mine looks like the one Clark Griswold cut into in Christmas Vacation? My blood pressure is rising just thinking about the bird...I’ll leave it off the menu.

Holiday help: Whoa, sister! Before you mangle your menu, let’s have turkey talk. First, choose the right size turkey for your crowd. When roasting, check the temperature often and be sure to baste. Then, use the proper carving technique for the best cuts of meat. For more details, check out Turkey 101.

2 of 8

3 of 8

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email

10 Pounds-a-Packing

Credit: Cooking Light

Dinner dilemma:

If I want to get in that little black dress for parties this season, there’s no way I can serve traditional holiday fare. With all the butter and bread, I always feel like I’ve gained 10 pounds in one day. I need to go ahead and program Jenny Craig’s number in my phone.

Holiday help: Before you call Jenny, there are healthier versions of traditional recipes that cut way back on the fat and calories. (See Cooking Light’s Ultimate Holiday Cookbook.) And remember portion control...just because your hubby goes back for seconds and thirds, doesn’t mean you have to. Now reward yourself by celebrating in that little black dress!

3 of 8

Advertisement

4 of 8

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email

Kids Gone Wild

Dinner dilemma:

My holiday table should be the sight of perfection. Candles glistening, side dishes steaming, you get the picture. But it's never going to happen with all the kids coming for dinner this year.

Holiday help: You can have your picturesque table and entertain the kids, too. Children and adults alike will appreciate a kid-friendly zone. Give the little ones a kid-sized table setting, fill their tummies with our kid-approved vegetables, and provide activities for them to enjoy after dinner. Now, if you could only get them to wash the dishes...

4 of 8

5 of 8

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email

Compulsive Cooking

Credit: Marcus Nilsson

Dinner dilemma:

My intentions were good. I planned a moderate holiday spread, but once I got to baking, I couldn’t stop! Now I have enough turkey and dressing to feed the Duggar family, and leftovers gross me out.

Holiday help: Look on the bright side...of your dishes, that is. It’s better to have too much food than not enough (at least that’s what my mother told me). So bring new life to your leftovers—like using veggies and potatoes in an Easy Shepherd’s Pie. This way, dinner is taken care of for a few nights, and you’re not left staring at a fridge full of plastic containers.

5 of 8

6 of 8

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email

Friends in Small Spaces

Credit: Lee Harrelson

Dinner dilemma:

I got really excited about the holidays and invited all of our friends over for dinner. Blessing: Everyone is coming. Curse: My apartment’s kitchen is about the size of my corporate cubicle. How will I ever pull this off?

Holiday help: Unless you want to be known as the neighborhood Scrooge, uninviting guests is not an option. The keys to creating a traditional dinner in a small space are slow-cooker and make-ahead recipes. And try a turkey breast in lieu of a 20-pound bird. You can have your big dinner in a small space, it just takes a little extra planning.

6 of 8

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 8

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email

In-Law Inspection

Credit: Becky Luigart-Stayner

Dinner dilemma:

We’re having my in-laws over for Thanksgiving this year, and I’m super stressed because my mother-in-law is a stickler when it comes to table etiquette. If anything is out of place, she’ll notice.

Holiday help: Those three little words (mother-in-law) cause coronaries across the country. Because different meals call for different table settings, your stress is justified. But there is hope. Thanks to MyHomeIdeas.com, you can download all sorts of table-setting cheat sheets. Another bit of advice: You may want to try some simple holiday sides so you have plenty of time to set the table and do whatever else you may need to before the in-law arrival.

7 of 8

8 of 8

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email

Bibbity, Bobbity Breakdown

Credit: Aurelie and Morgan David de Lossy/Cultura/Getty Images

Dinner dilemma:

I feel like Cinderella...before she lived happily ever after. Each year, I plan, I shop, I cook, and no matter what, there’s always a last-minute snafu. Even if I ordered pizza for our holiday dinner, something would go wrong. Please tell me this year will be better!

Holiday help: If you’re Cinderella, consider MyRecipes your Prince Charming and our Holiday 911 Guide your glass slippers. Lumpy gravy? No self-rising flour? No worries, we’ve got answers to all of your last-minute questions. And if you still can’t find what you’re looking for, go to your Fairy Food Mother, I mean our resident expert Marge Perry. And may this holiday be a happy holiday!

8 of 8

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook
Trending Videos
Advertisement
Skip slide summaries

Everything in This Slideshow

Advertisement

View All

1 of 8 Holiday Dinner Hang-ups
2 of 8 Banishing the Bird
3 of 8 10 Pounds-a-Packing
4 of 8 Kids Gone Wild
5 of 8 Compulsive Cooking
6 of 8 Friends in Small Spaces
7 of 8 In-Law Inspection
8 of 8 Bibbity, Bobbity Breakdown

Share options

Facebook Tweet Mail Email

Login

MyRecipes

Magazines & More

Learn More

  • Advertising this link opens in a new tab
  • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
  • Sitemap

Connect

Follow Us
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Other Meredith Sites

Other Meredith Sites

  • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
  • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
  • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
  • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
  • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
  • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
  • Entertainment Weekly this link opens in a new tab
  • Food & Wine this link opens in a new tab
  • Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
  • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
  • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
  • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
  • More this link opens in a new tab
  • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
  • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
  • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
  • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
  • Parents this link opens in a new tab
  • People this link opens in a new tab
  • People en Español this link opens in a new tab
  • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
  • Real Simple this link opens in a new tab
  • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
  • Shape this link opens in a new tab
  • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living this link opens in a new tab
  • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
  • Travel & Leisure this link opens in a new tab
MyRecipes.com is part of the Allrecipes Food Group. © Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporation. MyRecipes is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. MyRecipes may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.myrecipes.com

View image

7 Ways To Ruin Holiday Dinners
this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.