Today’s Dylan Dreyer Has a Thanksgiving ‘Rehearsal’ Because Her Husband ‘Gets Very Anxious’ About the Big Meal

Dylan Dreyer puts a lot of effort into her family’s Thanksgiving dinner.

While speaking to Today.com, the NBC News meteorologist and co-host of Today‘s third hour explained that prepping for the holiday has changed since her son Calvin, 7, was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2023.

“Thanksgiving is my husband [Brian Fichera] and my favorite holiday. Like, I just love everything about getting the family together and cooking a big meal that everyone gets to enjoy,” said Dreyer, 43. “My husband gets very anxious because he wants dinner to be perfect, because it’s his favorite meal of the year.”

Now that the meal has to be gluten-free, Fichera came up with the idea of doing a rehearsal so they can test recipes.

“Stuffing has to be a little different because you can’t use bread, and gravy has to be a little different because you can’t use flour. Rolls have to be a little different,” said Dreyer.

She added of Brian, “He always wants me to just do a rehearsal just to make sure the gravy is perfect, the stuffing is perfect, the mashed potatoes are just right.”

The practice round allows for some things to be adjusted if it doesn’t work out perfectly on the first try.

“The feedback on the gravy for rehearsal was it was a little too watery but the flavor was good. The stuffing was too dry, so I have to add more chicken broth. So, you know, I’m taking notes on what I need to fix,” she said.

Dreyer — who also shares sons Oliver “Ollie,” 4, and Russell “Rusty,” 3, with Brian — said Calvin “will eat everything,” but her two youngest kids “don’t really like anything about Thanksgiving” food-wise.

“Now I’m also thinking, what else could I make that they can at least have a nice meal without having to cook a whole separate thing for them?” she said.

Dreyer revealed Calvin’s celiac disease diagnosis to PEOPLE in May 2023. By July, she said he was doing a lot better.

Thanks to a gluten-free diet, Calvin “has no more pains, no more headaches, no more stomach aches. He’s just like a regular kid,” she said.

Before his diagnosis, Calvin had been “constantly complaining of stomach pain every day,” said Dreyer. The parents took him to the emergency room, and doctors eventually found a stomach ulcer.

Medics initially thought the ulcer was caused by bacteria and prescribed a strong antibiotic, but further results confirmed Calvin couldn’t eat gluten.

“We were very concerned because we thought it was something much more serious because of how some of the results came back. You start Googling and thinking the worst, so when we found out it was celiac, I could say, ‘Okay that’s an inconvenience, it’s a life change, but we can manage that.’ We were very grateful,” Dreyer previously told PEOPLE.