Sadie Trombetta

Yes, even dark kitchens with little to no natural light!

I grew up in a busy house that was the go-to gathering place for my friends and family, so it’s not surprising that I find myself the perpetual hostess in my adult life. Whether it’s Friendsgiving or the Super Bowl, game night or an intimate dinner party, I’m the first to volunteer my home (and my time) up to the group, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love every minute of it.

I was 23 and living in New York City when my new roommate invited me to spend Greek Easter with her family on Staten Island. At first, I declined the invitation, telling her I had to work the brunch shift at my restaurant gig because Easter was one of the busiest shifts of the year. That’s when I got the first of many lessons about the holiday: Greek Easter usually falls on a different date than Western Easter.

No one likes getting sick. Whether you’re hit with the common cold or knocked out by the flu, dealing with an illness is a complete pain. Not only do you feel physically sick, but you also find yourself mentally exhausted and incapable of going to work, cleaning the house, or cooking. It seems like, no matter how hard you try to avoid people who are sick, you’re bound to come down with something. But this year, things are going to change.

Going home for the holidays is like going to the Upside Down, back in time to when the world still felt strange and new. Welcome to Stranger Thanksgiving, inspired by Netflix’s hit Stranger Things and the Thanksgivings of our childhoods. My mother, a hard-working mom of three, believes in one thing over all else: family. She always expected her kids to show up at the dinner table; to her, every Sunday was an occasion to get together around a meal.

I love playing hostess any night of the week, but my favorite party to throw is, hands-down, a game night. An entertaining and relaxing way to spend time with friends and family, game nights are the perfect opportunity to get together, unwind, and have fun without the pressures of a formal dinner or cocktail party. Related: A Friday Board Game Night with Friends, Dinner, Snacks & Sangria All you really need for a successful game night? Games, yes. And some friends. The last thing? Drinks!

Ever since learning the three R’s in elementary school, I have worked hard at reducing my carbon footprint, especially in my kitchen. I love Meatless Mondays, I use plastic-free storage containers for leftovers, and I gave up bottled water in favor of a Brita tap. With all the negative things going on in the world, though, I decided I needed to try something even more radical to connect me with what I feel is most important.

Whether it’s out to dinner with friends or at home around the table with family, on a romantic date with a partner or at a cocktail hour with coworkers, we have all experienced phubbing. In case you haven’t heard of the term before, phubbing (phone snubbing) is when someone ignores their real-life companions in favor of their phones or devices. A 2015 study found that 46.3 percent of its participants admitted to being regularly phone snubbed by their loved ones.

I’d be lying if I said I’ve never gotten drunk or that I’ve never been hungover. I’ve done my fair share of partying — hey, everything in moderation, right? — but I’ve always seen my relationship with alcohol as a healthy one, and that’s because of one simple thing: my family. Every family has their own dynamic, but if I could describe mine in one word it would be, simply, close.

Social drinking is a pretty normal part of American culture, so whenever we meet someone who doesn’t drink, it may seem a little strange at first. We instantly become curious about their lives, their choices, and their ultimate decision to pass on beer, wine, cocktails, and all the other alcoholic beverages we regularly enjoy.

A cook might decide to cook for an entire day for many excellent reasons — stocking her freezer, baking a wedding cake, canning an entire summer’s worth of tomatoes — but no matter the good cause and victorious reward, an entire day of cooking is bound to make you feel like you’re riding a roller coaster of emotions. There are highs, and there are lows. Here are the 12 emotional stages we experience in an all-day stint in the kitchen — can you relate?