We Are Family
Add touches of your heritage to the Sunday dinner table…
For generations, Sunday dinner has been more than a simple meal. It was a chance to reconnect with immediate and extended family, celebrating traditions that helped hold the family together. Even today, it’s still common for relatives to reconvene over a lively meal after changing out of their Sunday best.
•Remember your family tree. Look at old albums and photos and try to find a picture of someone each member resembles. Copy the images and use those as place cards at your next Sunday dinner. You’ll have a ball while getting to know more about these relatives when you encourage family to share memories of them.
•Invite help to decorate the table. Ask family members to bring festive linens, table runners and other decorative items that have special meaning to them. Let your guests choose the item that will go on the table, but be sure that everyone who brings something has a chance to explain its place in their heart or history. “Table Magic” features more tips on beautifying the setting for your Sunday dinners.
•Jazz it up. Play jazz in the background during dinner as a tribute to this popular music created by African-Americans. Keep it as mood music with instrumentals from Miles Davis or Thelonius Monk or present-day artists like Jason Moran, Roy Hargrove, Wynton Marsalis and Stanley Jordan. Or include some of the great jazz vocalists, like Abbey Lincoln, Sarah Vaughn, Cassandra Wilson or Dianne Reeves. As each new song plays, give a brief explanation of the artist, mixing musical history with mealtime.
•Engage the kids. Adapt an idea from restaurants. Download coloring pages of famous African-Americans and use them as place mats at the children’s table. Kids can color and learn at the same time.
•Make it a teachable moment. After dinner, when everyone is enjoying dessert, play a trivia game on Black History. Plan ahead by making 3×5 cards of facts you pull off the internet, on history, science, politics, sports, pop culture and famous dates and names. Whoever answers the most can get out of clean-up or can win a small gift that you purchased in advance. The kids (and adults) will learn a lot, and everyone’s competitive spirit will be put to the test.
From: Publix Sunday Dinner
