Dysfunctional Family Bingo, 2008
When I first started blogging in 2005, I dedicated an entry to something called, “Dysfunctional Family Bingo,” a term coined by a Brookline, MA psychologist in 2000 who was trying to come up with a funny way to cope with the inevitable madness that occurs during big holiday dinners.
I completely adore the concept.
Dysfunctional Family Bingo is like a regular Bingo game, except that the squares are filled with crazy things that could happen during a holiday dinner (there’s an ugly argument over politics, your kid breaks a family heirloom that was put in the middle of the coffee table, someone gets food poisoning, etc.). The idea is that you and your snarky friends print out the cards and secretly play along during a holiday event, like Thanksgiving. If one poor soul gets “Bingo” by unfortunately experiencing enough outrageous moments to win, that person calls the others and earns the group’s sympathy and perhaps earns a free drink the following week when you all get together to tell Thanksgiving dinner tales.
It’s a subversive way to recognize that there’s no such thing as a “perfect” holiday dinner, no matter what Martha Stewart may tell you. Everybody’s got some loony story to tell.
So in honor of Thanksgiving and the stress that sometimes accompanies big family dinners — whether or not you’re hosting — I’ve made up a 2008 Dysfunctional Family Bingo card. If you’re expecting a particularly stressful Thanksgiving dinner this week, print it out and play along. Hopefully you won’t win.
See my 2008 Dysfunctional Family Bingo card here.
Got any Thanksgiving horror stories of your own that you want to share with the class? Please post your story (or stories) in the comments section below. And remember, in the words of the immortal High School Musical folks . . . ”We’re all in this together.”
Image credit: Meredith O’Brien/Picket Fence Post.
Author and columnist Meredith O'Brien gives you a peek behind the picket fences of modern day life and parenting in the 'burbs. With humor and candor, it's her take on real parenting in the real world.
Good post, I like your writing style! I’ve added http://wickedlocalparents.com/picketfencepost/ to my feed reader, and will be reading your posts from now on. Just a quick question - did you design your header image yourself, or have it done professionally? If you had it done by a professional, who was it?
Comment by John the Pirate - Arrr! — November 24, 2008 @ 11:35 pm
Once again, Meredith, I know how I will cope with my husband who is my biggest problem over Thanksgiving. He still thinks there IS such a thing as a perfect Thanksgiving!
Comment by Gayle — November 25, 2008 @ 11:38 am
Brillant - absolutely brillant! Plan to send my girlfriends to your blog so we can have our own version of sideline fun this Thursday!
Heather
Comment by Heather Kempskie — November 25, 2008 @ 3:46 pm
[...] details: Picket Fence Post » Dysfunctional Family Bingo, 2008 [...]
Pingback by Picket Fence Post » Dysfunctional Family Bingo, 2008 | kozmom — November 25, 2008 @ 4:40 pm
Your kid accidentally
breaks the heirloom
Waterford crystal candy
dish that was left out on the
coffee table next to the lit
tapered candles, even
though you had earlier tried
to convince the hostess
that, with small children
around, these things would
be better off out of the kids’
reach.—
Or you know you could teach your kids not to touch things that aren’t theirs.
Comment by Bree — November 26, 2008 @ 9:54 am
Bree,
c’mon - snarky much? Do you have kids? They touch things sometimes (I’m talking about toddler aged) - so to visit your homw I take it that the poor mom will have to be on constant surveillance that day? Why not put the priceless valuable out of reach for the few hours the little ones are there and let the mom also enjoy the day?
Seriously - growing up with a “heavy duty” dysfunctional family (including violent alcoholic outbursts, fistfights and a vist from the police) this provided a welcome laugh!
Thanks for posting.
Comment by Susie Q — November 26, 2008 @ 3:50 pm
I have been sending out this link. Add for my friend Meagan… Mother in law constantly uses the term “I might not be alive for thanksgiving next year. Same mother-in-law serves up several dishes with nuts. Son is allergic to nuts. When son has allergic reaction to nuts, mother-in-law starts acting like she is dying because she does not like it when people take the focus off her.
Another one, Father comes over and puts in loud video games on computer. No one else can have a conversation because the games are so loud.
Comment by Michelle Waite — November 26, 2008 @ 4:09 pm
Thanksgiving is generally a fine time to celebrate (unless, of course, you’re a turkey), but one could tire of doing it the same way, at home, with family and a huge meal that you’ve cooked yourself or brought in. Consider turning the
Comment by thanksgiving games for kids — December 16, 2008 @ 3:54 am
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