Thanksgiving for 10...in one room

apparently

I am hosting Thanksgiving for 10 in a townhouse with a single, small living space. I'm finding this really uncomfortable because there is no place for people to sit and talk, have drinks and apps, before or after the meal -- everything will have to happen in the one room. Is this possible? The other Thanksgiving gatherings I've been to have had a large kitchen or family room for folks to mingle, and then dinner was served in a formal dining room or other room converted for that purpose.  My guests will walk in the door and BOOM there's the table, squashed in between a gigantic television and a couch, and they will have to sit there for the entire day. This is not a crowd that does buffet: several of the guests are old and one is in a wheelchair, so they will want to be securely seated for the meal.

Any suggestions for how to organize this?

speedyblazer11

I also have this problem when I try to do Thanksgiving for 28 in a single wide trailer... torture. Anyway, what I do is I use my regular table for 8 (maybe 10 if we have kids) for people that have special needs (wheel chair for grandpa, food allergy kids, or people that don't like our dogs) and then I have TV trays for 8 and those people sit on my couch and chairs in the living room. I then move bookcases into my bedroom to add extra seats, ottomans, and folding chairs to give everyone else a place to sit.  These are usually for people that don't eat alot like myself or people that don't mind eating off their laps. It is always a packed house, but nobody seems to mind too much as long as they have a chair and some good wine and food.

Its stressful don't get me wrong but you now your crowd.  Do what feels right to you and might make the most people happy b/c you will never please everyone.   Good luck!

chrisnjay05212010

we go to thanksgiving at my DH's aunts house and its about 20 people for dinner. It is the same thing, one living space that backs into the kitchen. They have two huge tables set up and we work around the tables basically. I know they do move their living room furniture around a bit to make it fit better.  Some people sit on the couch when its not dinner time, most sit or stand around the table. They also have a bit of an outside space so if it isnt too cold some people meander out there for a bit.   Would you be able to re-arrange any furniture to give a bit more space?