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Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!! (Will we survive again this year?)


Thanksgiving is my favorite US holiday because there is no gift pressure, no costume contests, no demand to find the most fun party so the new year starts off right or the need to find a romantic date so you don’t spend the day drowning yourself in apple martinis depressed that your specially decorated valentine box had nothing but an old gum wrappers and moths in it. Nope. Thanksgiving is just food and gratitude; 2 of my other favorite things!

But it can get overwhelming!  Family, so much cooking, the Westminster Dog Show Suspense (or football…you do you!) and it’s just the beginning of a long holiday season with tons of other stressors on top of all the other regular life stressors that you’re managing every day.  Fshew! 


As I get ready to host the turkey-stravaganza this year in my new house, I was looking for hints on how to juggle it all and still have fun, and I was reminded of something I learned at a conference in October of 2024 from Bonnie Crawford, the Chief Customer Officer at Texada!

Bonnie talked about all the balls we’re juggling (the things we need to get done, managed, tolerated, fixed, etc.) and when something is added to our juggling (like a holiday, an illness, a vacation, a change that requires more attention and time or anything like that) sometimes we have to let a ball (or 4) drop. She said all these things can be categorized as 3 different kinds of balls.

Rubber balls: If we let these drop, it’s ok!  They’ll bounce back and we’ll pick them up again later!

Plastic balls: If we let these drop, they might get a little scratched or dirty from being on the ground, but we can brush them off and it’ll be ok too.

Glass balls: if we let these drop, they’ll break and be ruined!  Don’t drop the glass balls!

Those glass balls are your non-negotiables!  It could be relationships, self-care, money management or a whole host of other things depending on your priorities and responsibilities.  

I just sat down and decided what my glass balls are for when my parents are here for Thanksgiving.  

1. Have fun with my parents: I’m prepping games, conversation starters, museums, and cranberry out of a can because making my own is a gamble at best, doesn’t sound fun and the canned stuff actually tastes good. (IMHO) Oh, and making sure I have the right channel for the Westminster Dog Show!

2. Plenty of sleep: I’ll forgo TV show catch up or other social gatherings when they go back to their hotel.  I have early December speaking engagements and I don’t want to be completely wrecked from the holiday…plus, we all can be complete crabby pants when we’re tired and stressed, and that’s no fun for anyone!

3. Our favorite foods: let’s face it, Thanksgiving dinner can end up as a ridiculous explosion of food, and for us, that’s a plastic ball!  I asked my parents what their 3 favorite turkey-day items are, and we’re just making those! (Mine are turkey, stuffing and those little pearl onion jobbies. Those are so good!)

Those are my glass balls! The key ones for me to keep in the air this week. I’ll let some others drop so that I’m sure those stay intact.

What are your glass balls this holiday season?

Go get ’em Tiger!

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