For the last 29 years, our tradition has been to drive from CT down to the in-laws in NJ. We always went down the night before and stayed over. The young wife would get up at 4:00 am to start cooking the big turkey, the stuffing (two different kinds), cranberry sauce (also two kinds - sweet and savory) and a green bean dish. The rest of the family, who all live in NJ or just across the Delaware River in Bucks County, PA, would arrive in the early afternoon with the remaining side dishes and desserts. The normal complement was 17-18 people around the table, and we would feast well into the night, when everyone would pack up and go home. We usually stayed for another two days to visit.
This year, however, things will be different. The mother in law sold the family home last month and nobody down there has a house big enough to handle the crowd. We do, and have invited everyone up to CT. I'm not sure how many will want to make the drive, particularly since we can only sleep a few. So far, I know of only two, but that could change as the young wife and her sisters confer by phone. I just do whatever I'm told (and go get the wine).