Great Thanksgiving Advice from KSL

I was reading through some headlines today when I came across a great article about how to get along with your family better over Thanksgiving. It was so insightful, I would like to share it with you.

Taken from: http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=4898928

Keeping Thanksgiving conversation pleasant
November 25th, 2008 @ 12:52pm
By Mary Richards

Not only do you have to worry if the turkey's done this Thanksgiving, you also have to worry about whether or not your family will all get along together.

There are some things to just avoid talking about at Thanksgiving.

Relationship coach and KSL Newsradio weekend host Matt Townsend says, "I wouldn't bring up money issues, which will be hard because of the economy; I wouldn't bring up sex, I probably wouldn't bring up religion."

Wow, what great advice! I'll be sure not to bring up sex this time around. Last year was a disaster because I asked stuff like "Hey everyone, before we pass the mashed potatoes, I was wondering if we could go around the room and discuss our sex lives. Anyone dealing with STDs?"

Townsend says families are stuck in hierarchies that don't change. "Remember, your family remembers you as a little quirky girl or a little weird boy with that one embarrassing moment, and that's what they will nitpick on," he said.

Townsend says go into the dinner with confidence that you won't be bullied or become a victim. He says plan a few safe topics or memories to bring up in order to control the conversation.

Wait, I thought he just said that we will be nitpicked for being weird and quirky and hammered for our embarrassing moments. Oh well, if someone starts making fun of me, I can always bring up "Hey, how bout them Utes" as a safety topic.

It's also a good idea to have an escape route if the conversation turns awkward. You can go dish up dessert, or volunteer to do the dishes in order to get away for a while.

You can hear more from Townsend on Saturdays at 11 a.m. on KSL Newsradio.

Oh man, I am going to make sure to tune in to Townsend's show at 11am on Saturday. I could use some more advice like this. Thanks Mary for this awesome article!