How Long Does It Take You to Say Hello/Goodbye at Thanksgiving?

My typical Thanksgiving has 40-50 people. There have been a few years where we rented the Italian-American club though, and had the whole extended family there. When we do that, it's about 200 people.

It was those years where I was blown away at the time it took to do the greetings and the goodbyes. The hugs, the kisses, and the obligatory "how have you been's?" You have to to pretend like you don't wanna just get your jacket off. You have to pretend to care what people are saying.

The problem with the "hello" is, I need to have a drink in my hand at a family party within 15 seconds of being there. So, once I wear thin on the "hello," someone is getting blown off, so I can get a drink. Once I have that -- my jacket off and a table picked out -- I can focus on what people are saying.

At the last family reunion Thanksgiving, it took me forty minutes to finish up with the greetings. I vowed to myself at that moment that the goodbye would go much different. When it was time to go, I made my move. I put one hand in the air, raised my voice and said, "This is my goodbye," because that could have taken hours.

There is one thing you must do even if you go with that plan -- you have to say goodbye to your grandma with a hearty hug. Happy Thanksgiving to one and all.