Okay, so this year has been very crazy and very intense. If your family doesn’t gather often, this may be their first opportunity to express their views and opinions to a new audience. So in order to avoid any potential conflict over differences of opinion – whether it be politics, social issues, etc. – here are a few topics to help curve the conversation away from the controversial.
1.The Superbowl being in Houston this year.
Since you are living in Houston, this is an exciting time for the city. You might not be enjoying your Thanksgiving dinner in Houston or even in Texas, but I’m sure your family will be interested in your plans for the big day.
2. Television Shows.
TV shows are almost always a safe thing to talk about. Maybe you could talk about the intense season of 'The Walking Dead' going on, the drama that 'The Bachelorette' has brought into quarterback Aaron Rogers’ life, the fact that 'Criminal Minds' has been forced to get rid of two major characters this season, etc. Basically just talk about any type of fiction show that is happening this fall.
3. The weather.
I know this is usually a boring thing to talk about, and only used in extreme circumstances, but considering I’ve seen many people still wearing shorts and t-shirts to campus towards the end of November is a conversation starter. Especially if you are going someplace cold, it would be interesting to talk about the extremely nice, warm weather we have been having here.
4. The Pokémon GO phenomenon.
So I know it was months ago, but you may not have seen many family members since that app came out. You can talk about whether they got into the game or not, how much they enjoyed it, or just how the game was such an interesting type of app to come out. The only way that this could turn into a conflict is if you have a family member that was deeply disturbed by the updates and unreliability of the servers, and even then, they’ve probably ranted about it enough by now.
5. Worst case, you can talk about celebrity gossip.
There are always a lot of stories about celebrities, so this is usually a good one. You can talk about how crazy it is that 'Bradgelina' is over, any of the Taylor Swift news stories, JJ Watt being off the market, or whatever you feel people could be interested in. As long as you try and steer clear from political endorsements and/or most of Kanye’s rants (especially that last one) you should be fine.
Worst case, you could always ask a cousin or sibling about how school, work, or their love life is going. Assuming that yours is fine or that you don’t have any insecurities in that area, then that always works too. I hope everyone’s holidays go great, stay safe and have fun!
