Dear Abby: Teen tasked with cooking Thanksgiving dinner alone

Dear Abby: I am a 17-year-old girl and somewhat spoiled. My mother delivers breakfast in bed to me daily. My dad eats a burger for dinner, but Mom cooks a ribeye steak with a loaded baked potato for me.

I don't know how to cook, but Dad says I must cook a complete Thanksgiving dinner with no assistance! My smartphone will help, but do you have any ideas?

— Worried About Turkeys

Dear Worried: Mastering the basics of cooking is an important skill you will need when you no longer live with your parents. Your father has the right idea, but he's going about it the wrong way. Expecting you to go from not knowing how to boil water to producing an entire Thanksgiving dinner without help is unrealistic, to say the least.

You and your mother should prepare the dinner together, and she should guide you as you prepare one or two of the dishes. This will ensure that there will BE a home-cooked feast rather than a disaster.

___

Dear Abby: Next year my boyfriend and I will have been together for 15 years. We are not married and feel no urge to do so. We plan on spending the rest of our lives together; we just don't plan on a wedding.

My question is, I'd like to have an anniversary party. Is it unheard of for a unmarried couple to have one? We love each other and would like to celebrate our relationship with friends and family. What do you think? And would it be wrong to have a dance to 'our song'? Any ideas would be appreciated.

— Unmarried in Michigan

Dear Unmarried: Fifteen years together is something to celebrate and there's no reason why you shouldn't. You can do anything you want at the party — including dance to 'your song.' An anniversary of the day you became a couple is fine. Advertise it that way and there should be no criticism.