What Does Family Dinner Mean to You?

“When I think of family dinner, I think of…”

How would you finish that sentence? With a memory about a favorite food? A funny story about a dinner disaster? Some sweet moment that brings a smile to your face years after it happened? We want to hear from you! 

As you know, the mission of The Family Dinner Project is to give families all the tools they need to enjoy meaningful meals — the food, fun and conversation that are so good for the body, brain and spirit of all family members. An important part of providing those tools and resources has always been sharing the thoughts and solutions that come from real families like yours. We’re hoping that you’ll take a moment this month to help us with a fun social media campaign that will give families everywhere the chance to share with the world the memories and traditions that make family meals important to them!

Between November 7-17, we’re asking people to share about family dinner on social media via a quick captioned photo or video share (nothing fancy, just shot on your smartphone). It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes of your time, and if you choose to participate, you’ll be entered in a drawing to win a copy of our new book, Eat, Laugh, Talk: The Family Dinner Playbook.

How to Participate

• Snap a photo or shoot a short (60 seconds or less!) video on your smartphone, responding to the prompt “When I think about family dinner I think of ____________.” There are no wrong answers; here are some examples to inspire your thinking:
  • “When I think about family dinner I think of frozen dinners and TV trays. My family didn’t do sit-downs together during the weekdays but we did all try to come together on Sundays.”
  • “When I think about family dinner I think of my first attempt to make roasted chicken. I never saw my mother spend more than 30 minutes in the kitchen so when I roasted my first chicken, I brought it to the table after only a half hour in the oven. No one ever forgot that raw, red mess.”
  • “When I think about family dinner I think of the time I tried to bake a family birthday cake but it came out like a brick. My family teased me but then we ate it anyway…chocolate is chocolate!”
  • “When I think about family dinner I think of make your own pizza nights. It always resulted in a giant mess but I loved being able to make my own creation… it worked well with my control-freak tendencies. LOL!”
  • “When I think about family dinner I think of how much I love holiday potluck. Once my family discovered the power of potluck–shared responsibility, the fun of trying other people’s favorite dishes, the conversation that emerges from those dishes–we never looked back!”
•  Share your captioned photo or video on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter between November 7 and 17, 2019. Make sure to use the hashtag #eatlaughtalkbook and tag The Family Dinner Project on Facebook (@thefamilydinnerproject), Instagram (@thefamilydinnerproject), or Twitter (@fdp_tweets).

Thank you in advance for helping us spread the word about the power of family dinners! If you have any questions, please contact us.