By Denise K. James
If you keep up with home and design trends, you’ve likely seen that open-concept floorplans aren’t the final word anymore. We still love them, sure, but there’s something to be said for different rooms with different vibes. There’s the living room for snuggling with a blanket and a book. There’s the sunroom for drinking coffee and pondering the day ahead. And there’s the dining room for reviving the tradition of a family dinner.
But how? If you and your spouse stay busy with work, or you have distracted preteens and teens, it can be particularly difficult. So, we’ve come up with a list of pointers to help you negotiate one or two set dinners a week — or more if you choose!
Make the dining room a family space
Has your dining room become a place where stacks of mail and miscellany stay out of sight? Get everyone involved with refreshing the space with a weekend of organizing and decorating. Whether it’s a coat of paint, a set of new chairs, or just cleaning out household junk, let everyone in the family weigh in on what would make the space feel special.
Negotiate times like you would with your colleagues
We don’t assume the people we work with are free for a meeting, so give your spouse and kids the same courtesy. Pull out phones and calendars and talk about what night would work for everyone to have a sit-down meal. For busy families, you might want to start with one night a week.
Lure everyone with easy food
Does your family love pizza or Chinese takeout? Then grab some plates and forks, and let the meal be takeout. There’s no law (that we know of) insisting that a meal in the dining room has to be homemade, particularly when you’re trying to convince everyone that dining together can be easy and fun.
Keep the pressure low
You might need to have a conversation with your son or daughter about their grades but save it for another time. The trick is to have the entire family enjoy — and look forward to — dining together, so save the serious stuff for a one-on-one.
