ewww.... that picture is disturbing....

If at all possible, I cancel. I don't want to have people around when I'm sick, and I don't prepare any food for others while I'm sick.

If it's too late to cancel, then I try really hard not to spread germs. I also try to clean as much as I can to get rid of the germs already there. And if I have to cook, I'll try to switch what I'm making so that I can use the oven or slow cooker so I can still prepare a meal, but spend as little time around the food as possible, making it less likely I've contaminated it with my own germs.

@gettysgirl - Ha! I like that picture.

Gory picture... <shiver>

I did become ill once, late on Christmas Eve, so we moved the entire Christmas Day feast over to a relative's home. If I didn't have that option, and I had something that knocked me down like the flu, I suspect I would have canceled.

I ended up at the emergency room one Thanksgiving. Luckily the food was on the table at that point, so I left my relatives to enjoy and my husband drove me to the hospital. It was an evening to remember, but not in a good way!

I like that picture as well...it's just a pumpkin..haha.

I know..it's just a pumpkin. And it's got a hilariously wide mouth, too.

Try being in the ER on Christmas Eve with a particularly nasty stomach virus.....IV drip here I come. Christmas 2009 was the worst.

cancel and go to bed

Not the flu, but I received really bad health news a couple of day before Thanksgiving via a CT scan. Needless to say, I "ruined" Thanksgiving for both sides of the family. It kinda worked out, though, because both my in-laws and parents came to our house and we had an impromtu thanksgiving in our apt. It was wonderful having both sides of the family together for the first time since our wedding, especially considering the circumstances.

I love thanksgiving.

As a child, I got sick on Christmas and was visiting my grandparent's at the time. One of my uncles dressed up as Santa for me, but otherwise I spent the majority of the time sleeping in bed.

A decade ago, I was so beyond thrill that I got to host Thanksgiving dinner at my newly rented house! The morning of Thanksgiving, I woke up to this throbbing aching toothache. Thinking it would go away after I took advil, I began cooking.. by 6pm, everyone was having enjoying food and wine.. the pain began unbearable, to the point where I actually cried, and had to send everyone home. Turned out, it was time to pull my wisdom tooth!!!

My husband and I host Christmas dinner every year for both sides of our family. We have about eighteen people over. It started out as twelve about thirteen years ago and since then the family has grown. In 2007 I had to cancel hosting Christmas because I came down with a case of pneumonia about 4 days before. I was in tears because of this. I didn't want to ruin anyone's Christmas, but they all made due. I must say I did enjoy my Christmas morning for a change, no need to rush around making sure everything was perfect. It was a leisurely morning.

Cancel! Mother-in-law was hospitalized the day before Thanksgiving. Other relatives were staying at her house and insisted on having it on Friday, when she came home. Seriously, if you are a guest of someone who falls ill enough to be hospitalized, clean up and go home! The last thing you want when you come home from the hospital is a bunch of house guests waiting for Thanksgiving dinner. Of course, if you have idiot house guests and fall ill enough to be hospitalized, they might need to be told to go home.

Another +1 for the pumpkin. Very clever to who(m?)ever came up with the idea.

I made a pumpkin like that in middle school!

I've been sick at one point for every major holiday - having to sit out on Halloween at age 7 is awful.

If you're cooking for a crowd, call up the cavalry and use your family or friends to help. Have someone else do the stirring, chopping, and other prep work while you save your brainpower for cooking times. Certain things can also be prepared ahead of time - my mom always makes her apple pie a day ahead of time and then freezes it so she can just pop it in the oven (and it still tastes amazing).

If you're a guest, sneak away for a power nap to rejuvenate yourself between bouts of exhausting conversations. Taking a little time for quiet and to rest will help you feel more functionally reenergized.

turkey noodle soup?

I haven't been sick on a major holiday but I remember one year as a child when my mom, aunt, and uncle were all felled by the flu over Christmas break. My cousins and I had a great time with almost no supervision because the adults couldn't get out of bed.

Someone in my neighborhood carved a "sick" pumpkin, and added the amusing touch of lots and lots of empty beer bottles scattered around it. Ha!

I would cancel. And then, if the illness wasn't making me sick up, I would eat all the pies and not feel guilty.

I wasn't "sick", but for some reason the year I got full mouth braces nicely coincided with Thanksgiving (I think they were put on just a few days prior). It was AWFUL! I got a few bites of turkey, but mainly had mashed potatoes (special made for me) and individual grains of rice :-(

I was not hosting but I got sick one year with a bad cold on thanks giving. My dh and I had to stay home. he went to a local restaurant and got 2 takeout thanksgiving dinners. It worked out okay.

Worst Christmas ever... Eve of Xmas eve night was spent in the ER due to a serious health issue. My 15 yr. old daughter slept in the waiting room. She drove us home with her practice drivering permit in a raging icy storm at 6AM. Xmas eve day the problem recurs so back to the ER we go. My physical condition deteriorates leading to emergency surgery at 8-9PM Xmas eve. On Dec. 26 my daughter begins vomitting with abdominal pain - she has an emergeny appendectomy that night. We are both hospitalized for the next couple days. It was awful. We didn't make to aunty's house for Xmas dinner.

Last year the fiance ended up with an infected tooth on Thanksgiving. He was in a lot of pain and the whole side of his face was swollen to the point it looked like he had a wad of cotton or something in there. He ended up eating mostly mashed potatoes and stuffing. Worst thing about tooth-related illnesses on holidays is trying to find a dentist that's open.

Can I just say...?

That picture made me want to imitate that poor pumpkin!

Hmmm, seems like the accompanying picture is not for the weak of stomach -- but it made me laugh! I went to New Orleans one Thanksgiving and got a bad cold, but luckily did not have to host anything.