You want a turntable, a leveler, a scraper, and more featherweight bags than you think you need with an equal number of couplers. You need pictures of the first few cakes you want to try so that you can buy all of the tips you’ll need for those. I’m not a fan of starter kits, because they add unnecessary items and leave out better choices, I think so that you’ll still have to buy some individual items.

We have the same in-laws. Well, mine are not as much dollar store givers as random tourist trinkets from their travels junk. (Probably made in China anyway!). Now that the kids have ideas about what’s a well chosen gift and dropped a few unguarded comments, My in-laws now give them $20 cash for their birthday. They’ve GOT to know how little that buys, right? I wish they’d ask me. They never do.

I can’t speak to new Speed Queens, but I hope my old one NEVER DIES.

One apple, one blueberry and one layered pumpkin cheesecake pie.

Frontline at Chewy.com

Would if I could. I do plan on getting a warm winter coat in the after Christmas sales. Mine was a two piece outer layer and inner fleece layer. I somehow lost the inner layer so now I’m wearing a sweater and the shell. Not ideal.

This is a fantastic argument. No one I know hasn’t heard about the devastating effects European diseases had on the Native American population. And most normal people are saddened by it. This is the same thing.

This is bad news. I have a circa 2004 Cuisinart food processor. I use it a ton. Don’t die you Cuisinart! You’re irreplaceable!

I’m enjoying this thread, but I wanted to address this question. We do get our children one Christmas gift per year, plus consumable stocking stuffers. They still get plenty. They have two sets of grandparents, one set gets them each a single gift, the other set a boatload random stuff, almost like they divided their budget per child amongst a variety of things, in hopes of something being a home run. They have a great aunt that gets them each a nice gift. And they have six aunts and uncles that will, at times, give Christmas gifts. They get plenty. If we tried to do 4 or 5 gifts per child, we’d be broke and overwhelmed. I am thankful for our extended family, and understand the 4 or 5 gift per kid thing in a situation where there wasn’t extended family like ours. Plus birthdays, don’t forget they get gifts at that day too, so it’s not like our children only ever get one gift from their parents per year.....

shortbread, spiced or sugared nuts.

Oh no! Beckyjo, our lives seem to be speeding down the same track. Cars and medical and house stuff that we can’t really pay/plan for. I am so sorry.

I think she might be better served with a New Years resolution. My fear would be that DF/GF hadn’t been given a fair trial around The Holidays. If she regularly cheats while supposedly trig out GF/DF, and doesn’t feel better, she is likely to think that it didn’t work. It might not work, but would you really know for sure? I agree that most of the substitute products are just nasty. There’s a GF, nut free, egg free bakery down the street that everybody raves about, my FIL serves us their desserts regularly. I’d rather not eat any, its really not that pleasant. Maybe it’s good if you haven’t had baked goods in a LONG time. Some of those dairy free nut or coconut based ice creams are quite good though!

Yes, I have tried going allergy shot route twice in my life. First time, late teens, they ended up bungling it badly. Second time, late-twenties, I did it three years and didn’t see enough improvement by the time my first was a toddler and I quit. Maybe I will try again at some point in my life, but right now I can’t afford it in time or money (very high deductible plan).

My fifth grader would just start plugging numbers, and I think that’s okay. She might start at 5x20, then 6x24, then 7x28, and then she’d know the outside measurements and figure it from there. It seems appropriate for a child to work the slow tedious way that makes sense given what they know. Later they can learn a quicker way that gives them the correct answer.

I think of a traditional Christmas dinner as a nice cut of beef or lamb (standing rib, prime rib, tenderloin, leg of lamb, rack of lamb) and appropriate sides. Looks like a lot of Hivers here think of it as non-traditional. Non traditional for me would be any special, non-everyday meal that wasn’t the above or a turkey dinner. I’d love some sort of ethnic feast; Indian, middle eastern, Eastern European, Mexican, or Spanish would all be fun.

It’s like a fresh cranberry mousse. You can make it in a bowl if you don’t want to deal with removing it from a mold. https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/cranbrosia-gelatin-mold/

This is not exactly sauce, but a Thanksgiving staple in my FOO. It’s delicious, and arguably healthier than sauce. I use a clementine or two for the orange. From the legendary More-with-Less Cookbook.

Garden Mom, that’s a great idea for the “can you take $1 and deliver?” responses. Add an exorbitant delivery fee and give a tiny window of availability for delivery. And refer sob stories to legitimate support agencies.

Thanks Garden mom. I thought it might be a long-shot Christmas gift, but alas the size doesn’t work.

For Thursday with the in-laws, some veggie side dishes. I’m not sure what. Also Cranbrosia or risk mutiny from my children. For Friday with my family, cornbread dressing, blueberry pie, layered pumpkin and cheesecake pie.

I don’t think there’s any food issues for me. None that I’ve ever found outside of citric acid. My ears have definitely been worse with stress. I’m afraid I might be infected in the left ear. Third day of muffling, pain is subsiding, but it’s still quite weepy. Based on the responses here, I’ve resumed using my swimmers ear solution after showering. I think I’ll give it until Monday and if it’s still muffled and weepy I’ll see the doc. I hate my skin, my lungs, my allergies. Why do my ears need to join in the game??!?

Those jackets sound nice. Are you allowed to share photo and measurements here?

I feel you. I’ve tried listing things only a handful of times over the years resulting in the same drama. We have stuff I could list and sell and just can’t even because my experience tells me I don’t have the bandwidth to deal with people. It’s weird how listing stuff brings out the people with no jobs and/or transportation and/or mobility.

I make homemade pizza almost weekly, so a pizza stone. Also nice would be a large cookie scoop for portioning muffins and giant cookies. I have no idea about kitchen towels. Every one I own was given to me, and there are a lot. The waffle-weave ones seem to work the best.

I’ve had problems with this for more months than I care to admit, mostly because it took me forever to realize what it was and partly because I was in denial -I’ve had trouble with eczema my whole life, but NEVER in the ears! Ive been using a swimmers ear solution of 2 parts water, 1 part vinegar, 1 part alcohol when it gets weepy. That’s a help only for as long as I use it. I’m reluctant to go to the doctor (time/money/no childcare), but I’ve got a muffled, painful ear today and wonder if there’s any wisdom here.