Whenever possible, eat dinner as a family at the table, no distractions.
It's simple, yet effective. We have a rule about no toys at the table. Everyone eats the same meal. And a new tradition we started a few weeks back is that everyone has to talk about one thing they learned today.
I love our dinner conversations. Some are silly. Some are interesting. Some are life altering.
We had this tradition in my house when I was growing up and I recently made my fiance promise we will continue when we have kids. I can't even tell you how much those dinners together matter. We still do them when we visit our parents, and we're all in our twenties! This is such a great tradition!
Anyway, to answer your question: some rituals I've just started for meal time are using cloth napkins (because it makes the meal feel more special and it's better for the environment), and lighting a single candle (votive, candlestick, whatever) when we sit for dinner. The candlelight always makes the meals feel more intimate (even if it's just egg sandwiches or oven pizza). :)
We had this tradition in my house when I was growing up and I recently made my fiance promise we will continue when we have kids. I can't even tell you how much those dinners together matter. We still do them when we visit our parents, and we're all in our twenties! This is such a great tradition!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, to answer your question: some rituals I've just started for meal time are using cloth napkins (because it makes the meal feel more special and it's better for the environment), and lighting a single candle (votive, candlestick, whatever) when we sit for dinner. The candlelight always makes the meals feel more intimate (even if it's just egg sandwiches or oven pizza). :)
Ooh! I like the idea of cloth napkins. I might have to give that a try. Thanks for the idea... I'm yoinking it. ;)
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