One thing you can do to make your meals more personal and welcoming is to set your table according to the occasion or the season. Adding a centerpiece including either fresh or silk flowers, along with some candles, natural items, or baskets can really bring a family together.

Using cloth napkins, tablecloths, and the appropriate place settings invites your family to sit and enjoy the meal and the ensuing conversations. Too often busy family grab-n-go when it comes to mealtimes. They are nearly strangers living under the same roof. Set aside a few nights a week when your whole family can gather ’round the dinner table and catch up on what happened that day or earlier in the week. Serve the food on the table instead of from the stove top, so that folks don’t have to be constantly getting up and down for seconds and the traffic from the kitchen to the dining room isn’t distracting.

Use the same dinnerware you would use if you had company over. After all, isn’t your family more important than any guests who might come to dinner?

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