Americans know all too well that Thanksgiving is a risky time of year.
Family members travel hundreds of miles to see each other and sit down to dinner with relatives they may only encounter once or twice a decade.
Add in some apple cider cocktails, long-standing feuds and sibling rivalry, and the results can be explosive.
As November 23rd approaches, the number of people typing “Thanksgiving battle” into their search bar has skyrocketed.
Social media users predict trouble on America’s national holiday.
How to Spoil a Delicious Meal: Don’t Debate Politics or Tricky Family Issues with Your Dad or Grandma
Fathers and grandfathers are among the riskiest characters at a Thanksgiving family gathering and polls
“What topic do you think would result in an argument with family members during Thanksgiving?” asked Jeff Dornik, an author, on X on Tuesday.
Those who responded suggested Covid-19 vaccines, pre-court-martial sex and whether Donald Trump would win the 2020 election, as the former president falsely claims.
“I’m with my in-laws,” a user known as Atom replied.
‘Anything to do with protecting children from pedophiles and the trans movement causes a nuclear reaction.’
A USA TODAY Blueprint survey shows they are right to be concerned.
The survey of 2,000 adults found that only 12 percent said their family never got into an argument.
More than half (51 percent) said ‘family problems’ were the most likely cause of the argument.
Politics came second. More than 48 percent of respondents said current issues pushed family members over the edge.
Social media users shared this comical image of politics derailing a Thanksgiving family dinner
That’s no surprise. Some families have rules against discussing politics during Thanksgiving.
America is heading towards elections that will most likely repeat the controversial confrontation between President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump in 2020.
If that doesn’t get the family members rowing, the war between Israel and Hamas might.
Other topics of conversation that are off-limits include money (identified by 47 percent of respondents), children and parenting techniques (37 percent), and religion (29 percent).
OnePoll researchers also found that within families, some characters are more likely to get into trouble than others.
“Whenever there is an argument, Dad is usually the center of attention,” said a report on the survey.
About 38 percent of respondents said their father was the most likely to argue.
Others chose grandmother (36 percent), grandfather (32 percent), an aunt (31 percent), their mother (27 percent) or an uncle (23 percent).
Even a well-cooked turkey doesn’t save every Thanksgiving dinner
This year’s holidays may be particularly tense due to the travel chaos.
A total of 55.4 million Americans will drive at least 50 miles to be with family this year, AAA predicts, and many of them will be stuck on congested highways on Wednesday, the busiest travel day.
Millions more are expected to be affected at airports, with bad weather and flight delays causing misery.
Experts offer plenty of tips to prevent a family gathering from turning into a fight.
Many suggest having ground rules against debating politics and establishing them before the holiday.
Others say it’s okay to tackle weighty issues, but do so with empathy, understanding and by listening to your conversation partner.
Most agree that using sarcasm or throwing insults around is not a good recipe for success come turkey season.
And if the conversation becomes tense or awkward, it may be best to pull the plug and move on from the desert.
The USA TODAY Blueprint survey was conducted online from Nov. 2 to 3 and has a margin of error of 2.2 percentage points.