A few weeks ago we were challenged by Pepperidge Farm, explained in this post, to think of various ways to help and inspire families to enjoy an elevated experience when together around the dinner table. They offered a stipend for our time spent and we were intrigued by their Stone Baked Artisan Rolls, so channeling our love of bread, we got our thinking caps on.
How often do you feel like time goes too fast, days end before you felt like they even started and my personal favorite, worry that you actually said “hello” or “I love you” to your love ones – did you smile, hug or kiss them today or did you just let it all go by?
The dinner table or even the island in your kitchen, maybe even your coffee table (as in our case since we don’t have a dinner table or an island) can bring you and your love ones together.
Try adding some quick, but wholesome food to your weeknight dinner, just like we do with our often store-bought rotisserie chicken, cucumbers or carrots, hummus and rolls. Choose foods that are interactive to bring your family together, maybe some steamed peel-and-eat-shrimp or chicken drumsticks, lending to a few messy fingers, and a much more relaxed atmosphere. Or, you could really mix things up. For something special and out of the ordinary serve your kids dessert first or make breakfast for dinner, why not? It can be a surprise, they won’t expect it and while we don’t recommend doing it every night, it would certainly put a smile on my face.
We are all busy people these days, but here is our plea — make it work for you and your family. If your family time is on Saturday mornings over cartoons – great. Maybe, it is during a long commute to school or work, when you walk your dog at night or over a quick dinner in between homework, laundry and paying bills. Whatever it is, just make it work – it’s worth it.
Let us know how you elevate the time you have with your family, how do you make it work for your family?
~Joanne
You seem to have a niche for breadmaking. When I look at beautiful bread, I see art. I love to bake big rounds on my pizza stone, and Hubby loves eating it. I always catch him peeking at me in the kitchen, wanting to see how I do things. So cute, he is. Making it work for family isn’t difficult, here, since it’s only him and me. Both of us are professional creatives and we sleep opposite hours. All is copasetic on the homefront. There are few bummers that compare to living with a person who doesn’t respect your space, or share your interests, and seems to stand for the opposite of everything you believe in. Once upon a time, I was stuck with such an idiot. I guess that “making it work” depends a lot on compatibility and respect for eachother’s space. And there are ways of being together without the constant nagging for companionship. In our case, we don’t worry about it, so it isn’t a problem.