If you're reading this, your blood pressure is likely already that of a kid's pump rocket (blasts 30 feet in the air!!!). Never fear. You will survive Turkey Day. Gobble-fricking-gobble. Now to the list. 1. Turkey: Buy a cook-in-the-bag turkey breast roast. Turn on the oven. Throw it in. If your guests or house pets don’t see you carve it, they will never know your dinner never gobbled (or, more precisely, that it is the unholy conglomeration of many separate gobblers). 2. Mashed Potatoes: Buy instant. Just add boiling water and enough butter and cream cheese to mask the slightly musty taste.3. Gravy: In the can.4. Cranberry Sauce: In the can. Be sure to actually place in dish and mash until the dog-food-esque shape is unrecognizable.

If you're reading this, your blood pressure is likely already that of a kid's pump rocket (blasts 30 feet in the air!!!). Never fear. You will survive Turkey Day. Gobble-fricking-gobble. Now to the list.

1. Turkey: Buy a cook-in-the-bag turkey breast roast. Turn on the oven. Throw it in. If your guests or house pets don’t see you carve it, they will never know your dinner never gobbled (or, more precisely, that it is the unholy conglomeration of many separate gobblers).

2. Mashed Potatoes: Buy instant. Just add boiling water and enough butter and cream cheese to mask the slightly musty taste.

3. Gravy: In the can.

4. Cranberry Sauce: In the can. Be sure to actually place in dish and mash until the dog-food-esque shape is unrecognizable.

5. Stuffing: Stove Top. Consider adding craisins.

6. Buttermilk Rolls: In the can. Look for Pillsbury or other similar rolls. Plop on baking sheet and set the timer.

7. Pumpkin Pie: Because pumpkin pie freezes so well, buying the Cadillac frozen model is almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

Important Suggestions/Refinements:
• If you start the evening with a bottle or three of good wine, by the time you serve dinner, your guests will be predisposed to expect quality and will be inebriated enough to overlook telltale signs of corner-cutting.

• Consider making one of the above dishes from scratch. Then, regale your guests with stories of the painstaking creation. They will assume you slaved over the other dishes, as well.

• Use your best dishes and silverware (or rent place settings from a party shop). Again, heighten guests’ expectations of quality.

• Be sure to dispose of all boxes and cans before guests’ arrival.

Join me every Monday morning for grandtastic goodies from The Geeks' Guide to World Domination. Or if you like your geekery delivered fresh, consider subscribing to my rss feed or joining my Facebook Fan Page.

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Garth Sundem

Garth Sundem is a Science, Math and general Geek Culture writer, TED speaker, and author of books including Brain Trust: 93 Top Scientists Dish the Lab-Tested Secrets of Surfing, Dating, Dieting, Gambling, Growing Man-Eating Plants and More (Three Rivers Press, March 2012). He's been featured on Good Morning America, the CBS Early Show, the Science Channel, BBC, PRI, CBC and has written for the New York Times, Esquire, Wired, Maxim, Congressional Quarterly, Publisher's Weekly and many, many others. He lives with his wife, two small kids, one large Labrador and one small Labrador in Boulder… Read more