Eileen Loveman Daily Posting

  I’ve written before about the switching of holidays to accommodate family members who can’t make it on the traditional day (read Mother’s Day Monday), and to make room for those who have to travel to get here.   It also means I have my family with me for the entire day, and not have to deal with cooking at a particular time or they rushing through dinner to get on to the next ‘party.’
 
It’s almost become expected the actual day of the holiday or birthday will be spent either alone or with very few close relatives.  It may seem strange to others, but it works for us.
 
So it was with this holiday that it was deemed our Christmas Dinner would be spent together on the Saturday before Christmas.  The explanation of the gifts under the tree already left by Santa Claus was answered with “Nana and Gobbie’s (his own name for Grandpa) Special Santa” had come by early, and weren’t you so lucky!
 
There are now in-laws and out-laws to deal with, and the family of my beloved also expressing their own “day”, so each day was organized and planned. 
 

With menu mapped and food cooking on the stove, I set out the night before, our own ‘Christmas Eve’, to lay out the table arrangements and making sure I had enough serving dishes and plates.

Which brought to light a new realization.  We now had a “Childrens' Table.”
 

In my own memory of Christmas passed, The Childrens’ Table was usually set in the kitchen away from the adults in the dining room – sometimes thought as an oasis by some, and a judgment by others.  A rite of passage for a 12 year old would be the welcoming acceptance of the aunts and uncles to allow admittance to sit at the Big Table.    The younger ones always wondered if the food was better at the Big Table, because there certainly seemed to be an abundance of it.  The gravy bowls were no where to be found on the Childrens’ Table, nor was there any evidence of butter or salt and pepper to be found.   There would be a constant foray from the kitchen into the dining room and back again, thus creating the air of mystery of wondering what else was back there?  Wine and spirits were set out on the table, with only soft drinks or juice evident on the smaller table. 

Even the lighting was different – the soft hues of the candles on the big oak table were so different than the harsher florescent glow of the kitchen bulbs.

So it was intentional as well as with purpose that I set up the “Childrens’ Table” just a few feet away from the Big Table, and the newest addition of a high chair, all in the Family Room.  I also renamed it the “Cousin’s Table” – because although we are not all united by marriage, we are a family.
 
Which is what Christmas is really all about.  Not how many gifts you received or who got the latest must have item.
 
Christmas is about love for one another, peace and good will towards those who don’t wish the same for you – it is those whom need it the most.   Even if they are not sitting at your table.
 
Merry Christmas, and celebrate it whenever you can.