I used to have Thanksgiving with my friend Michelle in Manhattan. Her mom was a great cook, she a great baker, and sometimes I would make a corned beef to bring (I bet they still have the little contruction-paper turkey head on-a-toothpick that I stuck into the corned beef one year as a joke )

Anyway I used to do this to get out of dinner with my family. I would ask Michelle if I could come to Thanksgiving WAY early in the year, so that by the time my mom mentioned it I could say "Gee I'm sorry I already have other plans".

This was all because I could not stand to be around my dad. He would take every opportunity at a family dinner to manipulate me, so I just stopped going to them.