The Family Dinner Project’s mission is to inspire families to enjoy food, fun and conversation together. It need not be fancy; the point, in fact, is to return to a simpler and more meaningful way of being. And what better way to celebrate #GivingTuesday (December 2) and the holiday season in general than to inspire dinner-oriented acts of giving?

Between December 2-16, join us to kick off #familydinnerforward, an initiative (and fun contest!) to inspire families to give – whether within the family to one another, or to others outside of the family. To participate, simply snap a dinner/giving related photo and share it via Twitter and/or Instagram using the hashtag #familydinnerforward. We welcome your creativity, but if you need a starting point, here are some examples of dinner-oriented acts of giving you’re welcome to use:

• Cook (or buy) a meal for a neighbor or someone in need
• Invite someone for family dinner
• Collect and donate items to a food pantry
• Help deliver meals via a community organization
• Cook a meal together at home, where everybody has a job (this is a gift to the person who primarily does the cooking!)
• Give the gift of meaningful conversation (check out our conversation starters about #GivingTuesday!)
• Talk about giving as a family and show us what you decide to give this season

Now, about the contest.
You can share as many photos as you like. All photos shared on Twitter or Instagram tagged #familydinnerforward between December 2-16 will be entered to win prizes from our generous friends at Lenox! Two winners will be drawn at random and will each receive four 4-piece place settings of the Lenox Entertain 365 pattern of their choice (estimated value of $344-$400, depending on the pattern chosen)! US Entrants only.

Amazing, right? We can’t wait to see how you are giving dinner forward this holiday season!