Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good thinking, op. Keep winning those raffles!

You think they'll buy the raffle excuse year after year?

OP here. There's no way they would buy that again, but now I have "Everyone enjoyed it so much last year, I brought another one for us all to share!"

I'm worried about the fact they'll have a whole year to figure out how to counter this. You made an unexpected move, and won because of the surprise factor. They are not going just let that stand. Please do remember to report back next year.

That's great, but why can you not just tell them "hey, your schedule doesn't work for us. We are bringing food. We won't make any more work for you -- we'll wash all dishes, etc -- but we are going to eat when we're hungry. You're welcome to join us or not as you prefer."

Why should you have to revert to subterfuge.

Anonymous wrote:People might get suspicious that you win the raffle every year.

"My boss gave each of his employees gift baskets to enjoy!"

Awesome! We've done poptarts, granola bars and snack mix and kept it in our room for DH and the kids. Milk is the hardest because my kids just about go through a 1/2 gallon a day. Inlaws don't have room in their fridge and will buy 1/2 gallon for the week.

Anonymous wrote:Brilliant. You should do Zingerman's this year!

YAAAAS, Zingerman’s.

Anonymous wrote:People might get suspicious that you win the raffle every year.

She's very lucky.

OP, I love your idea. Despite the fact that I will often go most of the day without eating when I'm busy at work, being stuck someplace with no choice about whether I get to eat makes me crazy.

By the way, I have solved this issue somewhat by taking two cars to all of my DH's family gatherings.

You need to write a book, lady. You have wonderful creatie ways of solving the problems that baffle the rest of us.

Or perhaps you could do a "cooler raffle lady AMA" and we could present you with all of our holiday and other extended family dilemmas and you could solve them for us!

Brilliant. You should do Zingerman's this year!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good thinking, op. Keep winning those raffles!

You think they'll buy the raffle excuse year after year?

OP here. There's no way they would buy that again, but now I have "Everyone enjoyed it so much last year, I brought another one for us all to share!"

People might get suspicious that you win the raffle every year.

Anonymous wrote:Good thinking, op. Keep winning those raffles!

You think they'll buy the raffle excuse year after year?

Anonymous wrote:You are awesome OP!

"In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.” --Albert Einstein (a personal motto)

Good thinking, op. Keep winning those raffles!

You are awesome OP!

In case it is helpful as we head into the holidays, here is my solution from last year's "there's never any food in my ILs' house" conundrum:

I bought myself a huge basket of Harry and David treats, said "I won it in a work raffle," and brought it with me "for everyone to enjoy while we're together."

So it was my food, but it was open to all, and it basically couldn't be denied to me or my family. I brought a big stack of paper plates and cocktail napkins. I brought a mini-cooler to keep the sausage and cheese in once those were opened, and kept it on the back porch. It was foolproof and held up against all protests.

So if "the kitchen is closed" or "we're not having lunch today," there was always something around that we had complete access to.

Hope this helps!