What Not to Bring to a Holiday Dinner

If you grew up within a large extended family, you will surely remember those Holiday Dinners at Gramdma or Aunt Irma's house. The sweet old aunts who wore bright red lipstick and smelled like talcum powder, the uncles who smoked a cigar and wore suspenders and the multitude of cousins were always there. All, of whom, you only saw once a year at the Holiday Dinner.

Most of these dinners were "pot luck", meaning everyone brought in a dish to contribute to the dinner, so it wouldn't be a burden on the hostess. The hostess, however, had worked for two weeks previously, cleaning the house, figuring out tables, and washing every plate, glass, platter and piece of silverware. This was not to mention ironing all of the tablecloths and napkins to ready for the event.

So, when the day came for the big Holiday Dinner, the relatives came trickling in. All with their covered dish in hand to put out on the table, with the smell of a roasting turkey lingering in the air. You would always know what some would bring, because they brought it every year. Others were more adventurous and would tryout a new recipe, using the Holiday Dinner attendees as guinea pigs.

From the memories of this, I have put together the list of food NOT to bring to a Holiday Dinner. These are the dishes that only one helping was taken out of, and that was from the person who brought it. These foods made my list from three criteria. How they "looked", how they "smelled" or how they "tasted". Please remember, this is from an 8-year-old point of view.

Do Not bring a gelatin with raw vegetables dish. This stuff is disgusting to most people. An example would be grated raw cabbage mixed in with lemon jello. Don't waste your time, because no one will eat it.

Do Not bring any thing Pink. This would include ground cranberries mixed with whipped topping and nuts. When you combine red with white, you get something pink and very unappealing to look at, especially when it is right next to the mashed potatoes and gravy on your plate.

Do Not bring a Fruitcake. They are ugly, taste bad and I have never known anyone who likes them. Go buy a package or two of cookies to take, before bringing a Fruitcake.