So my mom has Parkinson's and is in assisted living. For the last three or so years, we have reserved out the clubhouse at her facility and brought Thanksgiving to her. It's a nice space with a full kitchen, and it's easier on her. My sister called to reserve it in October, and someone beat us to the punch this year. "No problem," I say, "We live ten minutes away. One of us can pick her up and driver her over for Thanksgiving lunch and take her back afterward." I mention this to my mom, who, in this late stage of the game, is pretty irrational and fearful of going anywhere but the hair salon, and she basically clams up but makes it pretty clear that she doesn't want to do this. I talk to my sister about it, and she is fine with everyone coming to our house, but after getting the same reaction from my mom, suggests some alternatives like doing it on Friday or having it in my mom's tiny apartment. I quickly suggest that my older son might be going back to Austin for the UT/aggy game and Thursday at our place (since a lot of my wife's family might like to join us too) really is our only option. I tell her I'll handle getting my mom to be more agreeable.
And so, a grown ass man and professional, I create a fall-themed, Thanksgiving lunch invitation with some form in MS Word and email it to my mom. After a few days of processing, she agrees. I was over there the other day, and she has it in a plastic sheet protector. Mission accomplished.
So for this year, I've managed to simplify things. We're cooking turkey, dressing, mash potatoes, and gravy. All other sides and rolls, etc. have been farmed out appropriately. My niece is making a pie and anyone else can bring whatever the hell they want. I also recently bought a warming oven (and my wife bought my a stainless table to put it on so I don't burn down the garage/house). So timing the dressing and potatoes is less crucial and, instead of cooking the turkey on the WSM, I get to break out the offset and tend fire drink Bloody Marys on Thanksgiving morning. As some of you may have seen in the Thanksgiving-Day Spread thread, I have harvested a stunt turkey for drippings and veg for the gravy and made a crap-ton of brown stock. This weekend, I will make bread, cornbread, and biscuits to freeze/stale to use for the dressing. I'll prep the dressing and gravy the night before and cut up all the gumbo veg and make a roux to make that process easier when it's Turkey Gumbo time. I'm looking forward to a less scheduled/hectic Thanksgiving morning. But that's sure to change.