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Thanksgiving Table Talk Strategies: How to Deflect Unwanted Questions

Even though the “kids table” may seem viable, let’s envision leaving Thanksgiving dinner happy, satiated and relaxed.
  
Answer a question with a question.
Q: Are you dating anyone?
A: Why do you ask?
Turn the question around.
Q: Now that you graduated with your degree in Adventure Education, what’s your plan to actually find a job?
A: Wow, I was about to ask you, how did you find your first job in Astrobiology?
Expand the time frame (somewhere between now and never).
Q: Who did you vote for?
A: I did my research and made my choices, and I plan to keep it to myself for the next few years to see how it goes.
Anticipate routine questions and rehearse your answers (tip: humor is always good).
Q: Can we expect the pitter-patter of little feet soon?
A: We thought you might be wondering about that.  We have some exciting news to share – we’re thinking about adopting a rescue puppy next year.
Establish boundaries: decide in advance those questions you will politely decline to answer… at all.
Q: Like: how much money are you making, or are you on a diet?
A: That’s a personal question and I’m not comfortable answering that.
If a family Thanksgiving dinner still seems  daunting, here’s some backup ideas: Friendsgiving, volunteer to serve at a shelter, go to a theme park or an event, go to a restaurant, pick up food, stay home and watch football or Netflix.