A middle sister shared a detailed points-based system for her family Thanksgiving prep so 'my siblings and I don't kill each other.' People think it's genius.
TikTok: @crcederberg
- A woman shared a detailed spreadsheet that tracked each family member's tasks for Thanksgiving.
- Members were awarded various points for kitchen shifts and dishes they had taken care of.
- Viewers applauded the attention to detail and the commitment to organization.
A woman shared how her family had gamified the intense holiday planning to make sure everyone pitched in equally.
On October 4, a TikToker who goes by @crcederberg posted a video that showed a spreadsheet on a screen titled "Thanksgiving 2023." She said in a video voiceover this was how her family prepared for the holiday "so that my siblings and I don't kill each other."
She went on to explain that every family member was expected to earn the same amount of points throughout the day, which could be earned by taking ownership of different dishes. The harder the dish, the more points — cranberry sauce will get you one point, while taking charge of the turkey is worth three.
A set of rules explained that each family member had to take "complete ownership" of the task, from buying the ingredients to the prep and cooking.
She said the family drafted up what dishes each person would like to make together, but added in a comment beneath that if they couldn't agree, or someone fought over a particular dish, they drew names out of a hat instead.
They had also implemented a "flex kitchen" system, which she explained was a timetable where different family members could earn points by staying in the kitchen for an hour at a time. During that period they were expected to take care of tasks like loading and unloading the dishwasher, helping whoever was cooking, and keeping the space tidy, to help things run smoothly.
In a follow-up video, she went into further detail on the perks of this system as "cleaning after Thanksgiving can feel very insurmountable." The person on duty also wears a special apron which "kind of makes it fun," she added.
At the end of the original upload, she shared a list of each family member's total number of points, which came to an exact eight per person, suggesting the planning had gone smoothly.
The TikTok blew up with 659,000 views and over 600 comments, many of which praised both the organization involved and the cooperation of the entire family.
Multiple viewers wrote they admired the idea but felt it wouldn't work for their own families who were a little more dysfunctional, or that they wouldn't trust everyone to be able to cook something edible. However, one commenter pointed out that those who lacked culinary skills could simply hop on extra "flex kitchen" duties to make up their score.
Others jokingly questioned what must have happened at previous Thanksgivings to get to a stage where they needed such a carefully thought-out plan.
In response, the TikToker posted a further video where she said she was the middle sibling of five, and they initially had a different system where the older siblings did all the cooking and the younger siblings were left with the cleaning. She said this was her solution to smooth things out and create a better balance of work.
TikTokers' meticulous holiday planning is very popular on the app. For the past two years, an American chef living in Sweden has shared the intricate and intense level of prep that went into hosting over 16 people for her annual Friendsgiving event, which racked up millions of views.