Update: 6 siblings inform family potluck host that they won’t be bringing a dish, 1 hour before event: ‘I had already spent so much time and money on the food I prepared’ – FAIL Blog

Family traditions might be on the brink of a big change for this family, in which 6 of the 7 siblings planned to show up empty-handed to a potluck meal. 

A good family meal is a wonderful thing. Oftentimes, even when the meal isn’t specifically a potluck, everyone will contribute a little something. Maybe one person brings green beans, one person brings cake, and someone else brings mashed potatoes. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just enough food to feed your loved ones. That way, one person isn’t stuck with the formidable task of cooking for a couple dozen people! It just distributes the work amongst the attendees. 

Sometimes, though, you just simply do not want to cook a single morsel. It’s the holiday season, you’re tired and overworked and your fingers are aching from wrapping presents for the kids. So instead, you could go out to the store and get some premade food and put it in a dish to take to the family get-together. It’s not a perfect solution, but you could just tell people it’s homemade if you want to, and probably no one will question it. You might even get some compliments on it! 

Perhaps the worst option, though, is to commit to an event where you’re expected to bring a dish, and then back out at the last minute. I think the host would rather you be 20 minutes late so that you can rush to the grocery store to get your assigned food, instead of just showing up empty-handed. 

As this sibling shared, not 1, not 2, but all 6 of their siblings bailed on this potluck dinner at the last minute. I definitely feel for this person who tried to arrange the dinner, only to be left with nothing to feed their family members. But perhaps this big of a failure is a redirection — maybe they should just get pizzas next year, instead of requesting that all these reluctant cooks spend hours in the kitchen. It’s okay to make your own traditions, even if they don’t match the traditions you grew up with. Or, you could have a potluck where everyone is encouraged to just bring precooked food. Or, you could have every sibling Venmo you some money to get a meal catered. There are so many options that allow a family to still gather and have a wonderful time together, but also alleviate any burden of cooking and all the prep that goes with it.