Afraid to come out of the 'vegan' closet.....?!

Afraid to come out of the 'vegan' closet.....?

I have been 'vegetarian' before and failed, but this time it is something totally different and spiritual for me. Not only do I want to save over 100 animals a year by not eating meat or dairy, but I would love to be healthier and help Mother Nature out. I know Christmas and Thanksgiving is coming up (just RIGHT around the corner) and you know how the typical family eats..... turkey, ham, and all kinds of dairy (mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, cream of mushrooms on the green beans). I don't want to force my beliefs on others by asking them to set aside for me a plain plate of veggies, but I don't want to offend by not eating ANYTHING at all... I also don't want to try anthing that MIGHT have animal products in them. So what should I do? Should I make my own meal and bring it or what? I know everyone is going to look at me like I'm trying to get attention, which I'm not. I'm 24 and married, so I really don't need any attention. Haha. Thank you all for your replies! Can't wait to hear!

3 hours ago
Mel, I see your point with hunting, but we don't hunt, we cage animals and force feed them hundreds of chemicals. If we grew at the rate a chicken in a slaughterhouse did, we'd be 389lbs by the time we were 2. Then the egg laying chickens have their beaks and talons seared of so they won't fight each other given their living conditions with NO pain killers. Then their throats are slit while still conscious and they are dipped in feather remover and boiled alive. This isn't hunting, where we have to sneak up on our prey to kill it and eat it, using ALL of it's parts, its mass murder where the poor souls don't even have a chance.

3 hours ago
Harry D, saving over 100 animals a year doesn't necessarily mean we eat them. Their products are used in broth, marshmallows, make-up, milk... and so on and so on. So we don't have to consume a 100 chickens, all we have to do is eat a candy bar that contains milk.

I was in the same situation. I became vegan right before a couple of birthday parties in my family. If I were you, I wouldn't tell my family I was vegan unless they were really open minded because most likely you'll just become ridiculed and criticized. I'd just bring like two vegan dishes over there to share with everyone else and not tell them that it's vegan either. Bring a main course and a dessert dish. When everyone starts eating, just fill your plate with what you brought and other vegan friendly things and eat those. If someone later tells you to try something, just say you're full since you already ate so much. When dessert time comes around, have some of what you brought or claim to be either full or dieting. That's what I usually do at parties, and no one ends up getting offended or giving me weird looks so it works.