Happy Thanksgiving to U.S. members!
Some of you may remember my thread about MIL's propensity to monologue or bring readings to family gatherings
http://www.etiquettehell.com/smf/index.php?topic=117973.0 Based on a lot of the great advice here, DH and I came up with a civilized game plan and invited both my mother and MIL for dinner today. And it was . . . relatively uneventful! MIL started filling the room with the topic of her choice when she showed up, but we kept momentum moving from person to person and topic to topic. To give her credit, she rolled with it. There were a couple of moments of toxicity, but DH deflected them (she waits until I'm in the bathroom to corner him!), and everyone seemed satisfied with the day.
That was the biggie for us, and where eHell really helped: We didn't try to get through to her, we just tried to get through the event. Thank you again, all!