Thanksgiving Throws Tacos and Toddler Tantrums: Potluck Chaos Reigns

KEY POINTS

•In 2024, Rachel Garlinghouse hosts Thanksgiving at home for 15 family members, including seven children.
•After tiring years of traditional cooking and cleanup, the family now relies on a relaxed potluck with uncoordinated dishes like wings and s'mores cake.
•The family embraces informal attire such as yoga pants and graphic tees, eschewing conventional holiday dress standards to reduce stress.
•Meals begin punctually at 12:30 p.m. to avoid hangry outbursts, with cozy ambiance created by fireplace jazz and board games for kids and adults alike.

Rachel Garlinghouse, hosting Thanksgiving 2024 for a raucous crew of 15 including seven kids and a toddler, ditched traditional turkey day stress for a free-for-all potluck. Past years spent exhausting days on dishwashing and gluten-free sweet potato pies courted burnout; this year, sister-in-law arrives armed with chicken wings, last year tacos crashed the party, and s'mores cake is the new dessert gamble. Tables? Folding. Plates? Disposable. Dress code? Whatever fits—likely yoga pants or a Christmas tee. They feast promptly at 12:30 p.m. to avoid hangry chaos, complete with jazz and kids' questionable music choices spinning by the fireplace. Cozy minimalism amid folding chairs is apparently the new Black Tie.