A table full of friends

It’s a wonderful time when you sit down around the table for dinner and discuss life. No matter where you are, it gives the semblance of normalcy to my crazy world. — Melina Kanakaredes

Do you entertain? I mean, invite friends over? Hold a party once in a while? Yes? No? At a recent gathering of our book club that topic came up and I was surprised that nearly everyone in the room said, “No way.” “Not anymore.” And I was the only one who said, “Oh yes.” Their responses surprised me because we’re a gaggle of social and friendly women. I would have thought most of them ‘entertained’ ‘gathered’ or otherwise had friends over for dinner, or lunch or something at least once in a while.

Perhaps I shouldn’t use the term “entertain.” For me, what it’s about is hospitality and not about the show. It’s about the soul of gathering with friends.

breakfast on the patio with neighbours

we often do buffet-style

I’m a social person. I love to gather with friends. I prefer smaller gatherings to big parties, but a party once in a while is a nice thing. We’ve held two parties in the past month. One was for a group of my husband’s bridge friends. The other was for our delightful neighbours from the community where we just moved from. In the past month we’ve also had friends over for brunch, two or three dinner parties (usually two other couples), and some old and dear friends over for lunch. That’s probably a bit more than we usually do, mostly because of fitting in those two parties. But, the time we spend with friends in that way — breaking bread — is a special time.

I generally unwind by having dinner with close friends. — Nelson DeMille

Hosting a dinner party, or brunch, or lunch, or happy hour is a magical thing. It brings you closer to those whose company you enjoy. It enriches you. It likely enriches them too. I get such pleasure cooking for others. It’s a drag cooking day to day but when I’m prepping for friends coming over, everything changes, everything brightens. I get excited. I plan what I’ll serve. I set the table nicely. I put flowers in the washroom. Sometimes I write little quotes on the backs of cards and leave one at each place setting. It doesn’t have to be fancy either; simple works well.

I get to know what people like, or don’t like. Sure, it’s a bit of work. But that’s part of nurturing friendships. The time we spend ‘at table’ with friends or family are special in a way that Facebook just simply cannot compete. Sometimes meals can be a bit messy (try serving tacos or lettuce wraps). They can sometimes get a little noisy – – but fun. These times spent breaking bread with friends make me burst with joy.

Don’t misunderstand. I don’t always fuss. I’m just as happy to keep it so simple that I don’t even set the table. The point isn’t to have time to make a Pinterest-worthy table setting or Pinterest-worthy styled food dishes. Heck no. What’s more important is sitting at that messy table with special friends gathered about, making memories together. Those connections over a meal truly fill my heart with joy.

A friend’s patio table set for lunch (above)

Remember that book club gathering? Here’s what she had prepared when we arrived. And then she served dessert!

When I look back on my childhood, my fondest memories are those surrounding the dinner table. — Katie Lee

And yes, we DO get invited over to friends for dinner or lunches as well. In fact, one of the best gatherings we’ve had recently at someone else’s home was so simple (and a hit) that I plan on borrowing their idea. There were six of us including the hosts — my favourite number. They asked if we like sushi — but of course. I love how they did it. They made two refreshing and tasty summer salads with a definite Asian influence to get us started. We had a few drinks, some casual conversation, and then they served dinner. They had simply ordered a bunch of their favourite sushi, sashimi, etc from their favourite Japanese restaurant and had it on their own platters, sitting in the fridge ready to go. It was fantastic — for the guests and for the hosts. Minimal prep and minimal clean up too. And we all enjoyed ourselves so much. Lots of interesting conversation and laughter well into the evening. I think we all hated to go home. You can’t beat good times like that.

Those connections over a meal truly fill my heart with joy. What’s better than a table full of friends.

all cleaned up and ready for the next one

My favorite thing is to have a big dinner with friends and talk about life. –Carla Gugino