20 Big Mistakes Thanksgiving Guests Often Make

If you are invited to someone’s house for Thanksgiving, make sure you extend the courtesy of responding to the invitation as soon as possible. The hosts need to know the number of people attending and how big a turkey to cook, among the sundry other things they have to do. And offer to bring a side dish or dessert.

Another courtesy to extend to your hosts is to notify them of allergies or dietary concerns. Traditional Turkey Day foods contain allergens — some hosts add a broth to turkeys that has wheat starch — so letting your hosts know early on about your dietary needs is crucial.

Your diet may have changed since you last saw your hosts and you’ve become vegan or vegetarian. You should make them aware of these changes.

Thanksgiving is one of the biggest meals your hosts will prepare for the year, so any offer to bring a side dish — sweet potato casserole, green beans wrapped in bacon, crispy potato snacks or Parker House rolls, for example — will be welcome.

A guest should bring something as a gesture of appreciation — a bottle of wine, a side dish, dessert or a seasonal gift like a small holiday candle — to the repast.

Travel during the Thanksgiving Day holiday is brutal and one of the busiest times of the year. Last year, the American Automobile Association (AAA) estimated that 54.3 million Americans would travel 50 or more miles from home, the most since 2005. If you’re going to travel to Thanksgiving Day dinner, be sure to allow for extra time.

Unless you’re coming ahead of time to help the hosts get ready, arriving early is bad form, especially if you show up while they are still cleaning, setting the table or preparing appetizers.

Many times the uninvited guest is someone who has no place to be on Thanksgiving, or college friends arriving with a hosts’ son or daughter. These situations happen, but it’s always best to tell the hosts about uninvited guests ahead of time.

Most hosts don’t want guests to help out in the kitchen because, after all, they are guests. However, guests should make a good-faith effort, be it serving the food or cleaning afterward. Or even running out to the store to get beverages.

Most hosts prefer that guests do not linger in the kitchen because they get in the way. And guests drinking liquor in the kitchen is not a good idea.

Once you’re done eating, make sure it’s all right to retire to the couch and watch the parade of football games that are as much an American tradition on Thanksgiving as the turkey.

Besides football, television networks air special programming such as parades and holiday-themed movies. Even if that appeals to you, don’t impose your tastes on others.

Some guests can’t wait to hit the stores on Black Friday and begin prowling for deals while shopping online Thanksgiving night. Your hosts might look askance at that. Besides, history has shown merchants will lower prices as the calendar draws closer to Christmas.

Spending too much time on your cell phone after dinner sends the wrong signal to your hosts. You’re there visiting them, after all. Time is better spent playing games or conversing with other guests.

Choose topics of conversation carefully, especially in this politically divisive climate. The atmosphere can become charged, particularly after a day with a lot of imbibing.

Getting intoxicated at your own house on the holidays is gauche, but drinking too much at someone else’s home on a holiday is embarrassing.

The urban legend about eating too much turkey is that it contains the amino acid L-tryptophan that increases sleep-causing serotonin and melatonin. However, turkey has about the same amount of tryptophan as other meats. What causes you to crash is eating the truckload of carbs during the meal. Most hosts are pretty understanding about guests catching some Zs after dinner, but don’t take advantage of their hospitality.

People drive from place to place over the holidays, visiting family and friends. Your hosts will understand if you plan to go elsewhere for dessert, but guests should let them know ahead of time, and not bolt from the table once dinner is done.

Cleaning up, putting chairs and tables away, and storing leftovers is a big job. Unless the hosts have taken you up on your offer to help tidy up, don’t stay too late.

Between the slices of turkey meat, mounds of potatoes, trays of green beans, and platters of sugary treats, the Thanksgiving meal produces lots of leftovers. That doesn’t mean you have free rein to take whatever you desire without asking. Doing so is a near-certain guarantee you won’t be invited back.