My big beef is that the hostess usually serves the meal family
style. Some start passing clockwise, some start counter, and the
whole thing becomes frustration on wheels. Someone invariably ends up
with cold food and is STILL trying to get the pepper passed his way.

I like the stuff set out buffet style, every person passes, grabs what
he wants and goes and sits down. The table isn't so crowded and
everyone seems pleased. As my hostess said yesterday, it's easy to
cook it all, but getting it served is another thing. I mumbled
something about buffets and let it pass.

She planned well, tho - not a lot of leftovers, so the cleanup was a
dream and her fridge isn't crammed. She was smart - kept the sides to
a decent amount ( maybe 6 choices) and the turkey was done nicely.

My pie was fairly successful - ( did make the apple with raisins) no
one surreptitiously dumped it, that I saw anyway, and some remarked
that it was good. The out of the box crusts weren't bad - glad I
found out about those.

Now - the real insanity starts. Be glad when Dec 26th arrives.