What is the best wine glass for couch seating during Thanksgiving?

A stemless wine glass. Wider base, fits in an armrest tray cup well, more stable through cushion shifts. Save stemmed glasses for the dining table seats.

Should I cover the couch for Thanksgiving?

Usually no. Couch covers slide off and make the whole setup feel temporary. Real cleanup the next day handles any small spills.

What about pets at Thanksgiving on the couch?

Pets get the floor or another room during the meal itself. The couch is people-only for two hours. After dinner, pets can rejoin.

The Thanksgiving living-room setup, simplified

The small-apartment Thanksgiving

Most American apartments cannot seat eight at a dining table. The overflow goes to the living room. The living room is good for couches and bad for plates. The fix is not more furniture. It is using the existing furniture more honestly.

The couch becomes the second dining surface. The coffee table is the buffet. The kitchen counter is the holding area. The living room makes it work.

The five fixes

Armrest trays on every couch seat. Each guest has a drink home. The wine glasses do not tip during the football game.
Low-sided bowls for the sides. Stuffing in a flat plate ends up in a cushion. Stuffing in a low-sided bowl does not.
A cleared coffee table as the buffet. Move every decoration off. One serving piece per dish.
Real plates, not paper. Paper plates blow off the couch when someone gets up. Real plates do not.
No soup. The risk of soup spilling on a couch is higher than the reward of having soup.

The wine glass problem specifically

Wine glasses on a couch are the single most common Thanksgiving spill scenario. The stem catches on a sleeve, the cushion shifts, the wine ends up on the upholstery. Red wine on a light couch is a small disaster.

Two fixes:

Use stemless wine glasses for couch seats. They fit in a standard armrest tray cup well and have a wider, more stable base.
Provide armrest trays with deep cup wells. The Sofa Sidekick’s well is 1.5 inches deep, which keeps a stemless wine glass stable through the inevitable cushion shifts.

Together, these reduce the wine-spill rate to near-zero, even with multiple guests on the couch through the meal and a football game.

The coffee table as buffet

Clearing the coffee table for the buffet is the most overlooked Thanksgiving fix. Most coffee tables hold decoration, books, and remotes. None of those belong on the buffet table.

Move everything off the coffee table before guests arrive. Wipe it down. Set the serving dishes there. People take plates from there and find a seat. Empty plates stack on the coffee table at the end.

After dinner, clear the coffee table again. Put the dessert there. Repeat.

What not to do

Do not bring in extra folding chairs that block walking paths. The couch and the floor are the seats.
Do not use a tablecloth on the couch. Couches and tablecloths fight each other.
Do not serve anything that requires two hands. The remote, the conversation, and the football game all need a hand.
Do not feel apologetic about hosting on the couch. It is the most honest version of small-apartment hosting.

The schedule

Two hours before guests arrive: clear the coffee table, set the armrest trays on the couch ends, move the throws to a basket, dim the lights to a warm 2700K. Vacuum if needed.

Thirty minutes before: set the buffet on the coffee table, put plates and napkins at the start. Pour drinks for early arrivals into stemless glasses placed in the armrest trays.

During the meal: monitor the drinks. The trays handle most of it. Refills happen at the natural pauses.

After: clear the coffee table. Set up dessert. Bring out the second round of drinks.

Thanksgiving in a small apartment is not a downgrade. It is the most New York version of the holiday. Plan for it. The couch rises to the occasion.