The Simple Things

I decided to devote my posts this week to family. Yesterday I wrote about the impact of our attitudes as mothers on our family and home. I'd also like to share my thoughts on ways that we as mothers can make our family members and home life feel important and special.

Have you ever heard the song "How You Live" by Point of Grace? If not, you can see the video and listen to the song here. The song basically talks about how you shouldn't wait for the "right" time to make life special and to really live life. It's a very inspirational song.

Today I'd like to discuss dinnertime. Dinner is such an important part of the day at our home. It's when Brad gets home, and we finally get to sit down and eat together. Our children are still young so we rarely have a dinner when we're not all together. I try to make it a point to be at home with dinner ready when Brad gets home. Sounds pretty old-fashioned, huh? Well, I'm not saying that everyone needs to do this, but I know that when Brad arrives home to dinner on the table (or at least close to it) it makes him feel appreciated.

What are some things we can do to make dinnertime special?

Saturday night, we had a candlelight dinner. Not Brad and I alone. Rather, Brad, Ian, Lily and I. I've done this in the past and the kids love it. It was still light out at dinner time, so we pulled all the blinds shut and lit the candles. Then we enjoyed a warm, cozy special dinner together. It was so simple. There wasn't any particular event to celebrate, just the desire to make our dinner feel special.

I didn't even put the spaghetti and meatballs on a nice dish (although I could have.) The candlelit dinner was a last minute decision (the food was literally already on the table when I decided to pull out the candles) so I didn't fuss with the details. No one noticed.

But... You could make dinner special by using your special dinnerware. Why save it for just the holidays? Now, I personally only pull mine out for Christmas dinner, because I have to store it wrapped up in the basement. However, if you have easy access to your China or special dinnerware, why not get it out once a month?

I've also been on the lookout for a special plate to commemorate special events or days. For example, this "special" plate could be used on birthdays. The birthday boy/girl would get to use the plate. Or if someone accomplished something, they would get to eat dinner from the "special" plate.

What about having sparkling cider with your dinner? You could buy those plastic champagne glasses if you have young children so you don't have to worry about broken glass. Sparkling cider is so yummy and it's something that most people don't drink everyday. My mom always served it on New Year's Eve, and I always loved that part of the night. Why wait for a special night? Why not tomorrow?

These are just a few ideas. I'm sure that you all have ideas of your own, and I'd love to hear them. So feel free to share. And have fun making your family's dinner time special!