Thoughts On Entertaining With Kinfolk Magazine

Last week I had some high school girls over for dinner.  John and Burl were gone, so it was just Fern, me, and four high school girls.  I made lasagna, salad, & bread.  I sat the table with candles and silverware and napkins and my grandmother's china.  The only reason that I have china is because she passed it down to me.  I've used it a few times, and always love when I do it simply because it reminds me of her.  I love my Grandma Polly.

I almost felt bad for using it with the girls.  Sometimes china and fancy stuff is not well received. It can make people feel uptight and formal and it can really swelter being ourselves.  If there is an option to be formal or casual I will always choose casual.  I feel like it's closer to the real thing and I always like real things.  I somewhat apologized to the girls for using china, "sorry girls, since the guys are gone, I took the chance to use my grandmother's china."  At first they sat down and were a bit stiff and they made comments about the cloth napkins.  Cloth napkins is not a formality in our house though, it's just how we roll.  Eventually, everything was normal and we had fun talking about normal high school things like colleges and that cute boy from The Vow, whatever his name is.  It was a great evening.  

I love entertaining and try to do it often.  The key for us is to keep things simple and easy and casual.  I recently read an article by Kinfolk Magazine that sums this up perfectly:

"Sharing food is a core element of the relationships we have with loved ones, and simplifying these meals means we’re likely to have them more often. Making time to sit down for regular meals is challenging for those of us who face busy schedules, missing ingredients, and cryptic recipes. But when we loosen the stiff idea of “entertaining” to include a variety of more casual activities, we find it’s quite easy to spend time together, and that the easiest ideas — winter walks, playing cards, reading together, meeting for coffee — are often most enjoyable!"

Does formality and expectations hinder us from sharing meals together and in turn sharing our lives together?  I think so.  I'm trying to lower my standards.  I'll let you in my house even if it's messy.  We can take my car even though it has 3 coats on the floor and an empty Starbucks cup in the holder.  I'll serve you lunch even if it's salad with only two toppings. (I'll make up for it with fresh bread.) I'll do this because it's about us spending time together.  Not about the other stuff.  

May our entertaining be as comforting and casual as slipping into yoga pants and enjoying a cup of tea.