Making Mealtimes Special with Your Grandchildren
Mealtime is memory time. An opportunity for fun, fellowship, and connection. I love festive dishes. Sadly, the lack of storage in my kitchen keeps my desire for fun tableware in check. Still, a pretty table adds to the dining experience. How can we spruce up the meals we share with our grandchildren?
Make Your Meal an Event
Luke 22:14-15 reads, “When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you. . .’” Now, not every meal is the Last Supper, but every meal can be special.
Dishes: Need a project to keep the littles busy while you cook dinner? Turn them loose with markers and some paper plates. Plain brown paper makes a great tablecloth they can personalize with place settings for each family member.
Candles: Turn the lights down and light some candles. Bring out some pretty candle holders or have the kids pull from candles stashed throughout the house. How does candlelight change the mealtime atmosphere?
Décor: Flowers, fall leaves picked up during an afternoon walk, pinecones. Use whatever is handy. Bonus points if it smells good too.
Bring in as many sensory elements as you can. Sight, taste, smell, touch. As the children age up, they can be trusted with breakables, cloth napkins, and cups without lids. But even casual meals can become an event with a little planning. You don’t need china and crystal. When the grandkids visit for the weekend, we use paper products for now and there are plenty of festive styles and patterns to choose from.
The Jesus Plate
This next idea I stole from my friend, Linda Goldfarb. At their family gatherings, they always set a place for Jesus.
Stop and think about that for a moment. If you knew Jesus was sitting at the table, would you behave differently? Would you watch your comments? Your tone of voice?
Yeah, my grandkids did too when I tried this with them.
What does the Jesus plate look like? It’s as easy as setting another place at the table. Or, with our crew, I had each of them decorate a paper plate for Jesus. We used a different one for every meal. Talk about what it means to have Jesus at the table—because you do. Matthew 18:20 says, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
What will you serve Jesus? Love? Kindness? Thoughtful words? Give the grandkids something to think about.
The Special Plate
When our kids were growing up, we had a special plate, or rather The Special Plate as it was called. The Special Plate was reserved for special things.
Achievements, birthdays, something noteworthy.
This was not an everybody gets a participation ribbon kind of plate, so when it was your night for The Special Plate, it was a big deal.
Because we used it sparingly, it conveyed high value. Our kids still talk about it. So much so, that one Christmas, I gifted each of our daughters-in-law with a Special Plate of their own.
Our daughter, not yet married, watched as they opened their gifts, then turned to the package beside her.
When she opened her gift, our three boys pointed. “That’s it! That’s it!”
Their wives just stared at them.
“That’s The Special Plate!”
Our daughter? She was speechless. It was a moment I will always treasure.
Now I’m thinking we need another Special Plate for when the grandkids visit. Here are some ideas I’m playing with:
- One special plate used for all
- A customized special plate for each grandchild
Either way, we’ll go with something non-breakable for now. The nicer one will come later. Maybe with a Bible verse on it or just “With love from GG and Granddad.” And maybe, when our grandchildren marry or have their first child, we’ll pass those special plates along too.
Why go to all the trouble? To bless. Numbers 6:22-27 reads,“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: ‘The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; The LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.’ So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”
Bottom line, when The Special Plate made an appearance, my kids knew they were celebrated and loved. And can’t we all use more of that?
Let’s pray. Father God, show us how to make our tables a place that blesses and honors You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
So, what will you do? How will you prepare your table for your grandchildren? Do you need to stock up on brown paper, paper plates, and markers? Do you need to bargain shop for candles and centerpiece ideas? Or do you need to dig your Special Plate out of storage? Let me know which resonated with you and if you have some fun ideas that will benefit our grandparent community, please share them in the comments.
Resources and Scripture to Help Grandparents:
Next week’s post: Putting Visuals to God’s Lavish Love for the Grandchildren.
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