Hospitality and fitting everyone at the table

[lisamarie]

If you are having several families over and you can't all sit at the dining room table so you have to spill over to the kitchen table, how would you split people up? Specifically for tonight, I have 6 adults and 6 kids. 1 of the kids is in high school, the rest are 8 and under. DH says we should put the 3 girls at the kitchen table (they are 3, 5, and 5) and put the adults and boys at the dining room table (boys are 7, 8, and 15). I am thinking we should do adults at one table, all the kids at the other with letting the teen decide where he wants to sit.

 

Just curious how other people handle where everyone should sit. I am never sure if my way is normal or if some would consider it rude to put the kids at their own table. The rooms are right next to each other so we can see and hear each other. (Our dining table holds 8 comfortably, 10 if we squish. Kitchen table holds 6 as it is, 8 is we open it up which we rarely do)

[Mergath]

Not sure if the 3yo is yours or not, but would her parents be comfortable with her eating in the next room without an adult there? My 2 and a half yo dd still needs quite a bit of help with a large dinner, so I know that wouldn't work for us. I like your DH's idea.

[NanceXToo]

We always put kids at a separate table when we need two tables like that. I think your way of putting the kids together and letting the teen decide where he wants to sit is fine! That's probably what I'd do.

 

ETA: Although I'd let the 3 y/o's parents decide if the 3 y/o needs more supervision and should sit with the parents or if they'd do okay in with the kids.

[gardenmom5]

If you are having several families over and you can't all sit at the dining room table so you have to spill over to the kitchen table, how would you split people up? , I have 6 adults and 6 kids. 1 of the kids is in high school, the rest are 8 and under. I am thinking we should do adults at one table, all the kids at the other with letting the teen decide where he wants to sit.

:iagree:

 

besdies, little kids "like" doing things away from mom and dad. The 3yo's plate can be prepared, so cutting and serving are not issues.

[specialmama]

I've done both ways before with success, but my favourite way is to let the kids eat first at the kitchen table while the parents stand around and chat, help the littles, set the dining table for our turn, etc. Kids typically eat earlier than adults anyhow, then they can play while the adults eat. Again, I'd give the teen the choice, possibly sweetening the first timeslot by proposing a nice babysitter's pay to watch them after dinner so the adults can chat as undisturbed as possible.

[Tabrett]

Adults and teen in dining room and kids at kitchen table. If the 3yr old needs to sit by mom, you still have the room.

[Dawn in OH]

Adults and teen in dining room and kids at kitchen table. If the 3yr old needs to sit by mom, you still have the room.

 

 

This is what I would do. Or give the teen the choice, but I'm pretty sure he would choose the adult table.

 

I know my 3 year old would need to eat with the adults. If not, he would talk and hardly eat, and possibly make a bigger mess than when he sits with us.

[QueenCat]

I am thinking we should do adults at one table, all the kids at the other with letting the teen decide where he wants to sit.

 

I would do this, no way I'd make the 15 year old sit with the youngers unless he wanted to. Especially if he is not your own child.

[lisamarie]

The 3 year old is mine, the 15 year old is not. My 3 year old is fine on her own--yes, she does make a bigger mess on her own, but she's a messy eater even on a good day. I will go with the littler kids in the kitchen, the adults and teen in the dining room. When we have people over with younger kids who need assistance, I do set the younger kids up in the dining room with the adults. One day I am going to have a giant dining room with a table that can handle 12 people. It would make life a lot easier.:D

[Harriet Vane]

This happens to us all the time because there are a LOT of young cousins in the family. We usually put the kids at one table, adults at another, and let the teens decide what they prefer to do. Usually that means the teens are at the adult table. I'd even put the littlest at the kids' table--in our family the older kids are usually fine with assisting the little one as needed, and the moms will usually check in a time or two. The littlest ones are always thrilled to be eating alone with the big kids, and the kids are thrilled to be goofing off at their own table, and the teens are feeling grown-up and above all that at the adult table.:)

[KidsHappen]

I have always seen adult and kids tables at any events that requires seperate tables. If a child is too young to feed themselves they usually sit on one of their parents' laps. If there is enough room a teen would sit with the adults. When we are at my dd's house and there are too many people to fit at the 10 person dining table then we just kind of group ouselves in the dining room vs. kitchen in no particular order. Usually we end up with two or three couples in the kitchen or perhaps my hubby & I in the kitchen with out youngest two. We are pretty informal though.

[Veritaserum]

If you are having several families over and you can't all sit at the dining room table so you have to spill over to the kitchen table, how would you split people up? Specifically for tonight, I have 6 adults and 6 kids. 1 of the kids is in high school, the rest are 8 and under. DH says we should put the 3 girls at the kitchen table (they are 3, 5, and 5) and put the adults and boys at the dining room table (boys are 7, 8, and 15). I am thinking we should do adults at one table, all the kids at the other with letting the teen decide where he wants to sit.

 

That's what we do. Half of the adults in the dining room can see the kids in the kitchen, so they are reasonably supervised. :)

[silliness7]

I would have an adult table and a kid table and put the teen with the adults. That is what is "normal" in my circle.

 

ETA: O.K. I realize this is kind of what your dh wants to do as well, he just wants to put the older kids at the adult table and keep the younger ones at a separate table. I think if you have to go to 2 groups you should divide them a little more equally so that each table has a nice little "party" at it. I wouldn't fit as many as I could at the adult table and say "too bad" to the 3 "left-overs" who didn't fit. Yes, the older kids could learn much from being with the adults but they can also help/entertain much being with the littles which would probably thrill the littles and make them feel like they had a "dinner party" too.

Edited November 13, 2010 by silliness7