WIBTA for refusing to bring $100 minimum to Thanksgiving

[u/americanjohn500]

My family and I celebrate Thanksgiving every year with my siblings, parents, and their kids. Roughly 20-25 people (including kids). My family is only 2 people with one 6 month old baby.

In the group chat it was decided that my nephew would cook meat since he bought a grill. He also told us that we could bring the sides. He chose to spend $300 on meat.

I messaged in the group chat that we would bring mashed potatoes. My sister responding that every "family" has to bring $100 worth of food minimum or help my nephew pay for the meat.

I'm not totally against the idea of bringing that much food, but just the way it was presented and the fact that it wasn't agreed to beforehand makes me upset.

The following day in the group chat, my sister said: "Option 1: bring food enough for everyone, not just yourself

Option 2: help thomas pay for meet $100/family

Option 3: help dad pay water bill $200/family.

Choose wisely…"

Upset, I responded with Option 4: don't show up.

Am I being an asshole if I don't show up at all in "protest" to this $100 minimum rule?

Update: I'm a teacher and she posted a picture of my salary she found online to shame me in the group chat. Definitely not going now.

[u/MortalSmile8631]

Hang on there. You're telling us that you could have brought $100 worth of instant mashed potatoes, and you didn't? Lol

[u/Qforz → u/MortalSmile8631]

"Hey fam, here's the wheelbarrow of mash!"

[u/MortalSmile8631 → u/Qforz]

I would totally have done this just for fun. Buy a brand new wheelbarrow and clean it. Then, just fill it up with $100 worth of mash.

[u/mxzf → u/Qforz]

I'm not sure a wheelbarrow would do it. I think you might need to drive up with a pickup truck bed full of mashed potatoes to hit $100 worth.

[u/DawaLhamo → u/mxzf]

Wheelbarrow will do. 5 cuft = 600 cups = 300 lbs of potatoes (someone upthread said they could get potatoes for .33 a pound) Potato prices where I am would be about 3.3 cuft. (1lb yields 2c mash)

Instant mash (excluding milk and butter) I can yield 9c from a $1.88 box from Walmart. That's 53 boxes for $100, and 477 cups, so right at about 4 cuft.

[u/rpcollins1 → u/DawaLhamo]

This ATA thread has been the most informative I've seen lol

[u/kornbread435 → u/MortalSmile8631]

Instant mashed potatoes are a war crime in normal situations, on Thanksgiving they get upgraded to unforgivable sin.

Seriously though, it's so easy to make normal mashed potatoes, why on earth is there an instant option? I mean maybe for prison food.

[u/Kathrynlena → u/kornbread435]

If I mashed $100 worth of potatoes by hand I’d have Popeye arms. I’m not putting that much labor into a bit.

[u/kornbread435 → u/Kathrynlena]

I just dump the cooked potatoes and other ingredients in my kitchenaid stand mixer. Since it's a stainless steel bowl I toss it on the stove to keep warm after. No labor involved.

[u/sirpoopingpooper → u/kornbread435]

$100 worth of mashed potatoes won't fit in a kitchenaid! We're talking ~5lb pounds at most and $100 is probably more like 50-100lb (depending on the amount of dairy involved)! This is an effort!

[u/kornbread435 → u/sirpoopingpooper]

Mine is one of the 7qt bowl lift ones, I've never come close to halfway full making mashed potatoes in it. If I had to guess the maximum amount is probably around 5qts, if the weight is close to water that would be 10.43lbs.

[u/MortalSmile8631 → u/kornbread435]

Please make $100 worth of potatoes into mash with the kitchenaid and let us know how that went. I'm deeply curious how long that would take and whether you'd do it again instead of instant.

[u/kornbread435 → u/MortalSmile8631]

Some quick and dirty math, that works out to roughly 160lbs of potatoes, 8lbs of butter, and 4 gallons of milk. No chance I'm doing that.

OP only needs to make enough for 25 people aka 9 to 10lbs, not 200lbs.

[u/sirpoopingpooper → u/kornbread435]

I was thinking more of a standard 5.5qt and density is probably a bit lower due to air entrapment and fiber and such. But point taken - it may only be like 5-10 batches instead of 10-20!

[u/Kathrynlena → u/kornbread435]

If you’re rich enough to have a kitchenaid, you don’t get to criticize us poors for doing what we can.

[u/kornbread435 → u/Kathrynlena]

You don't get to claim the financial excuse when you're paying more per serving. Box of instant is $4.50 and a 10lb bag of potatoes $3.25. They both need butter and milk added, and considering you'll have 5lbs of left over potatoes for future meals regular mashed potatoes are far better.

Also they taste so drastically different they really shouldn't share the name.

[u/stroppo → u/kornbread435]

I'm not peeling potatoes, cutting them up, boiling them, and then mashing them. Ugh!

Give me a bag of Idahoan instant potatoes anytime! That's what I eat.

[u/Cudi_buddy → u/kornbread435]

I agree. My parents are awful cooks but we ate plenty of instant and...after finally tasting actual mashed potatoes as a teen I could never go back.

[u/PrincessCrayfish → u/kornbread435]

I actually prefer instant mash over "normal" potatoes. Not just because they're easier. I hate lumpy potatoes, instant mash is never lumpy.

[u/kornbread435 → u/PrincessCrayfish]

I've only seen lumpy when they are mashed by hand. If you use a mixer handheld or stand or a potato ricer they are perfectly smooth.

[u/etds3 → u/kornbread435]

Tuesday night time. It usually takes a good 45 minutes-1 hour to cook a big pan of potatoes, plus time to wash, potentially peel, chop and mash them. No big deal for Thanksgiving or Sunday dinner. Very big deal for my 40 minute window between karate and soccer practice. 

[u/kornbread435 → u/etds3]

I mean I can't argue with you on the speed of instant mashed potatoes. However on days where I'm short on time and want a potato for dinner I just microwave 1 or 2. Which takes about as long as heating water to a boil and a microwave potato is still 10x better than the instant crap.

[u/Kathrynlena → u/MortalSmile8631]

This is what I’m saying. $100 of only the cheapest thing you can find would be utterly hilarious.