There’s a chair at family dinners that someday will be yours at the head of the table. Watch how it’s done well.

Roles in a family get handed over with no ceremony attached. Somebody right now makes sure everyone is fed, remembers who is not speaking to whom, and calls the relative who would otherwise be forgotten. That is a skill with moving parts, and it is only learnable by watching somebody do it.

At the next gathering, pay attention to whoever is running the thing instead of only enjoying the result. Notice who they check on and when they start cooking. Then take one piece of the job this year, while the person who does it well is still there to correct you.