20+ Family Thanksgiving meals that were totally ruined: 'Bland turkey...I am literally a chef but Grandma insists on salt, pepper, and nothing else'

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Nov 28, 2024 11:00 AM EST

Happy Turkey Day—I hope you're already stuffing your face with turkey and mashed potatoes! 

No matter what food you're serving up on Thanksgiving Day, the important thing is who you're sharing it with. Maybe you're the one who cooks, and dozens of relatives show up to bring side dishes, share family news, and watch the football game. Or maybe you're the one going to a parent or aunt or uncle's home, bringing a side dish of your own and joining your cousins in a sports game outside. Some folks will spend the day in the kitchen, chatting or listening to music while they baste, sautee, and roast their way toward a delectable meal. By the time everyone finally sits down at the table to dig in, the whole family is ready to eat at least two or three plates of food.

Not every Thanksgiving meal runs this smoothly, though. As the people below can attest to, some family gatherings are just a complete mess. Keep scrolling to read all the various ways these people had their Thanksgiving meals totally ruined. 

Up next, read about this Thanksgiving meal gone amiss, like one vegan friend who is very upset that her friends are refusing to have an entirely vegan Thanksgiving dinner. 

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10433320960
    via Davey Gravy For Unsplash+

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    Hey Reddit, what ruined thanksgiving this year?
    via u/I_Drew_a_D***
  • 03
    C... Fighting with my mother over getting her stupidly large dinner done. Basically saying she wants to do it herself. Meanwhile she has a consistent history of complaining no one helps. her get things done. So you know. Damned if you do. Damned if you don't.
    via u/cioda
  • 04
    offthewall93 My mom calling to scream obscenities at me and call me horrible names. Because my dad is invited to thanksgiving, at my house. They're divorced. We were planning on going there for a family thanksgiving on Saturday so she'd get her time too.
    via u/offthewall93
  • 05
    BlondeAlibiNoLie First year alone and not invited anywhere.
    via u/BlondeAlibiNoLie
  • 06
    CrazyPicses The family dying off slowly. Stupid drama and everyone going their separate ways due to all the elders who held the tradition together no longer being with us. Thanksgiving gets worse and worse each year but the food is good.
    via u/CrazyPicses
  • 07
    Tranders Worked 12 hours and was told it would be catered - food got there when half the crew was working, when we got there an hour later it was scraps cold turkey, no - potatoes, no vegetables, sweet potatoes gone, and the stuffing was so bad that it was virtually untouched.
    via u/Tranders
  • 08
    At that point everything around us was closed, so I'm now sitting at home eating Wawa seven hours. later. So I guess whoever ordered the catering.
    via u/Tranders
  • 09
    pnwnick_ Ordered McDonald's for dinner, they cancelled my order with no explanation. I've decided to just go to sleep and eat tmrw, f
    via u/pnwnick_
  • 10
    WheresFlatJelly Working a 12hr shift tonight, only 6 hours to go
    via u/WheresFlatJelly
  • 11
    Goldeneel77 Uncle Gary three years running!
    via u/Goldeneel77
  • 12
    7JRR My Mexican uncle referred to his as "my chorizo" at the dinner table
    via u/7JRR
  • 13
    arctic-apis It actually went alright the food was good and nothing got crazy my father in law did say that El Niño was invented by democrats which is pretty high up on my list of funniest things anyone has ever tried to make political
    via u/arctic-apis
  • 14
    hailee-lastname11 BLAND AND I AM GOT TURKY | TIRED OF IT. I AM LITERALLY A CHEF BUT GRANDMA INSISTS ON SALT AND PEPPER NOTHING ELSE. AND ITS SO DRY ARE YOU KIDDING ME. sorry and thank you for this outlet
    via u/hailee-lastname11
  • 15
    Laurellsingh Saw a bedbug at the in-laws house on the way out. Tell them about it and turns out they know but didn't tell us. Got home and stripped down immediately and threw everything into the wash.
    via u/Laurellsingh
  • 16
    Will be double drying on high heat. Luckily we weren't there for very long, and mostly sat on non fabric surfaces, but now I'm going to be paranoid for like a month.
    via u/Laurellsingh
  • 17
    flannelchannel81 This year, it was great. I didn't go to my mom's house which is probably why it was amazing.
    via u/flannelchannel81
  • 18
    Bobo3006 I got rear-ended in my car that I had just finished paying off.
    via u/Bobo3006
  • 19
    StaindShady The Lions.....again.
    via u/StaindShady
  • 20
    J... My father in law raised a turkey for months, butchered it, defeathered it, cleaned it. My mother in law cooked it in a roaster. It got up to temp, but didnt brown, so my MIL put it on high for 25 minutes after to brown it.
    via u/Josiah425
  • 21
    My actual mother invited some random friend to thanksgiving. My mother-in- law was talking about how the turkey fell off the bone and the random person said "thats because it was overcooked".
    via u/Josiah425
  • 22
    echofinder Cat had to go to emergency vet. Dinner canceled. So, that. (She's gonna be fine)
    via u/echofinder
  • 23
    ThrowAway760... I had a mental breakdown in front of everyone when my brother asked if I was ok
    via u/ThrowAway760964
  • 24
    Phantonex had an allergic reaction to some pumpkin pie that we suspect was cross contaminated with nuts
    via u/Phantonex
  • 25
    B0bb0789 My mom's boyfirend's family came over and I was basically put in charge for getting dinner ready by myself for a dozen people I'm not related to in the house my dad did in. They're all lovely people but it's just a lot, and it's just expected that I will stop in and fix everything that goes. wrong. I'm exhausted.
    via u/B0bb0789
  • 26
    GodSentP Head Got fired lol
    via u/GodSentP**Head
  • 27
    Flxxw I was helping tidy the leftovers, I asked a question, and my dad aggressively snapped on me. Reason unknown. It triggered a lot of unresolved issues for me
    via u/Flxxw
  • 28
    Freshflowersan... Radioactive and nuclear family. I always fall in depres on if I'm there longer than 3hrs
    via u/Freshflowersandhoney
  • 29
    CantFeelMyLeg... A tile fell off the shower curb, revealing major water damage, mold, and rotted wood. Instead of enjoying the day, my wife and I demo'd our master bath room
    via u/CantFeelMyLegs78
  • 30
    GHOST_4732_ Being away from my wife. Came back to my home state to see my daughter for Thanksgiving and her birthday. My parents house feels like jail and all I want to do is take my daughter back. with me and get out of this place
    via u/GHOST_4732_
  • 31
    trijkdguy My stomach only stretches. so far. I want to eat more and I just can't. I sometimes pretend to be humble about my cooking, but I k lled it this year, everything was amazing.
    via u/trijkdguy
  • 32
    winter83 I almost ruined Thanksgiving. I fry the turkey every year and when I was checking the temperature of it I dropped it on the ground. Mom came out and helped wipe it off and I put it back in the oil. So any germs were lled by hottttt oil and we ate it.
    via u/winter83
  • 33
    JohnThePhiloso... My grandma asked me what a furry was
    via u/JohnThePhilosopher
  • 34
    SnorkelLord I had a muscle spasm during desert that was so sharp and painful I couldn't take in a full breath. I had to politely excuse myself from the conversation I was in and go upstairs to lie down. Spent the next two hours spasming and wondering if I should go to the ER
    via u/SnorkelLord
  • 35
    Vmartz96 My mom didn't invite my partner to Thanksgiving, but invited my brothers' partners. I've been with my partner longer than my brothers have been with theirs
    via u/Vmartz96
  • 36
    Guava My aunt brought a second turkey 'just in case.' We asked her a few times what she meant by 'just in case' and my mum was genuinely hurt that my aunt didn't trust her to not mess up a turkey.
    via u/Guava_
  • 37
    After everyone was finished eating, absolutely stuffed, and applauding my mum- guess who whipped out the second turkey and ate in silence alone.
    via u/Guava_
  • 38
    thesleepymerm... Me realizing my relationship is a toxic cyclone and I need out of it asap
    via u/thesleepymermaid
  • 39
    Slappytrader Same as ever years, eather i show up and get ignored by my whole family or dont and hear from them all. Oh how i hate the holidays
    via u/Slappytrader
  • 40
    Cautious-Luck7... I was glad they didn't make me join in on the blessing; p ed when they ravenously stacked their plates before I could even get a little pea salad or some turkey. Glad I had some toast earlier in the day. Not everyone is like that, but my cousins happen to be a bunch of greedy fat pigs who have even straight up
    via u/Cautious-Luck7769
  • 41
    taken my own food and drinks with them. But after all that, they left their ciga tte butts and children's snack trash around my car. I'm genuinely wondering if they went in my car. Then I spent the last 3 hours washing all of the dishes because my aunt isn't used to being up instead if being.
    via u/Cautious-Luck7769
  • 42
    glued to a bed or chair for a measly 3 hours. She has no conditions, isn't that old, she just got used to being chronically sedentary. I stayed in my room 99 percent of the time, but the two times I had to go put up my soup or anything, they all swarmed the kitchen like they all needed something at once.
    via u/Cautious-Luck7769
  • 43
    Families are stupid. A toddler immediately ran up and grabbed my leg when I was transferring a super hot stock pot and it took me saying, "Hey, I've got something hot here, and who's kid is this?!" They bitched even louder than that screaming child when she started crying from being locked in a high chair for two hours straight.
    via u/Cautious-Luck7769
  • 44
    Would it kill anyone to actually give a about the human beings they continuously sh out? I'm thankful I have a job and a place to stay, but I will be elated to not have anyone over ever again and to live hundreds of miles away from these pig relatives.
    via u/
  • 45
    Drinking a natty light with a sandwich and going to work in the morning to keep on keeping on.
    via u/Cautious-Luck7769
  • 46
    Lily_Devyne Showing my family some pictures on my phone, and realizing I forgot to put a few in the hidden folder
    via u/Lily_Devyne
  • 47
    Racheli30 My husband ruined thanksgiving this year. He was just a miserable person all day long and last night too. I told him he didn't need to come with me if he wasn't feeling well. But he turned it on me that I didn't want him to come and refused to stay home. He came and was just insufferable all during the meal, and embarrassed me too.
    via u/Racheli30
  • 48
    This is my favorite holiday because I get a 4 day weekend and it's just sad now. I can't sleep, it's almost 2am and I just want to cry. I think my marriage is over because I can't remember the last time we had a day without arguing.
    via u/Racheli30
  • 49
    GamerGoalie_31 My fiancée being upset with me because she had to watch our 17 month old daughter while I was cooking.
    via u/GamerGoalie_31
  • 50
    steffloc The person that I have feelings for didn't text me or contact me to wish me a happy Thanksgiving.
    via u/steffloc

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nephews family drama thanksgiving mother meal grandma niece family feud aunt uncle in laws Grandpa family grandparents food daughter son happy thanksgiving Father
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