Ask DadandBuried

Last year, we skipped our traditional family Thanksgiving because of COVID. But my family is vaccinated, and it’s been a long time since we’ve all been together, and I’m excited to host. Am I crazy? —Johnny, Bay Ridge

Last fall, I fielded a question about dealing with family members’ opposing political views at Thanksgiving.

I’m not exactly an optimist (I’m not sure even optimists were optimistic about much in 2020), but in my response to Marielle from White Plains, I was able to find the silver lining in COVID-19. It basically boiled down to “don’t invite anyone to your house in the middle of a freaking pandemic!”

COVID was the perfect excuse to avoid obnoxious Uncle Rufus!

It seems crazy to refer to last Thanksgiving as “peaceful,” given the tumult at the time, but if you were cautious, shared your turkey with your inner circle, and only dealt with your in-laws online, it probably was.

A year later, things are improving (knock on wood!). Numbers are going down, many of us are vaccinated, and suddenly hosting a big, traditional Thanksgiving dinner seems a little less scary. For better and worse.

There will be fewer glitchy Zoom calls to troubleshoot, the kids will get to hug Grandma, and Aunt Carol will bring back her famous sausage bread. On the flipside, the highways and airports will be slammed again and those problematic family members you blissfully avoided last fall are going to be back in your living room. Suddenly, you have no excuse not to invite Uncle Rufus, and you can’t use bad Wi-Fi to avoid a political argument when the person arguing is sitting across the table from you.

Still, I say get the extra chairs out and have yourself a good time! The occasional contentious argument or need to recite from Snopes.com is nothing you’re not used to, and they’re a small price to pay for the privilege of breaking bread with family and friends again.

Dinner might not be quite as quiet as it was last year, but it will be more normal, at least by pre-COVID standards. That’s something we can all be thankful for.

Our advice column features the wise and humorous commentary of Mike Julianelle (aka @DadandBuried), a 40-something influencer with a popular podcast who lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two kids.

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