Why I’m in Favor of Losing the Kids Table for the Holidays

It happens all the time during the holidays: you don’t have enough seats at the dining room table, so you take out the card table and put all the kids together. As a kid, I watched as my cousins “graduated” to the big table, and I waited for my turn to participate in the holiday festivities and conversation.

As much as kids like sitting with their peers and being goofy, it’s really not what the holidays are about (or at least exclusively). As Andrew Knowlton said in his recent article in Bon Appétit, having your kids at the table creates better dinners and memories in the long term. Don’t you think having your kids included is more important than ensuring adult conversation at the table?

The fact is, I’m still at the kids table for most holiday gatherings. I’m still one of the youngest people in my extended family (even though I’m in my mid-twenties), so I never graduated. And while it doesn’t bother me anymore, as a kid I always felt a little annoyed because all the good food sits on the “adult” table while the kids wait to be served.

So here’s to getting rid of the “kids” table!

Let’s just all eat turkey together and be merry!