[JustJamie]

Not sure if this is the right place; please relocate if it's not.

For Thanksgiving, we will have a total of 4 adults and 2 toddlers in our home. The toddlers are aged 2 and 15 months.

Our kitchen table will comfortably accomodate the 4 adults; we could possibly squeeze in one of the toddlers, but not both.

I hate the idea of a separate kids table, and I feel like the kids are really too young to be expected to sit separately, and the only place I could possibly set up a table for them would be in a corner facing away from the room in general, which I hate even more than I hate the general concept of a "kids table".

My initial solution was to scrub the living room floor; we have a toybox and a coffee table that are similar dimensions; I thought I would push them together, and cover them with a tablecloth. We have a body pillow and 2 king-sized pillows that I could cover with material that matches the table cloth over the toybox/coffee table, and use those as cushions for tushies on a hardwood floor. I thought it was a clever and fun solution to a seating arrangement that also lets the two toddlers be involved with the meal and in arms-reach of parents. My DH, however, doesn't want to "eat off the floor like animals".

His solution is to put 3 people on the couch, one at my desk (also in the living room), one at his desk (also in the living room) and one person "floating" with nowhere to sit at all.

Does anyone have any other kind of solution?

 

[velochic]

I think your idea is perfect! The idea is that the family eats together and the solution you came up with allows that. My dh is from the Middle East... eating a meal on the floor with all those cushions and pillows is luxurious. I love it when we are back home and get to eat in these types of restaurants. You can tell your dh that my dh's family are not "animals" for eating on the floor.

Plus, we have one night a month where we "picnic" on the living room floor and watch a movie during supper. We're not animals, either.

It's a treat.

I think you should set up a table in the corner facing away from everyone and have your dh eat there and let the kids take his place.

 

[aja-belly]

maybe the 2 year old could sit in a booster ir high chair with a tray? then they could sit at the table with everyone else, but not taking up precious table space.

could you maybe move a kitchen chair to the living room for the floating person?

 

[oceanbaby]

I say just squeeze them in to the regular table, maybe even around the corners. If they're like my kids they're not going to be sitting there for very long anyhow.

Or maybe take the whole table out of the kitchen and stick it in the living room with a set up for the kids right next to it.

 

[becoming]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oceanbaby I say just squeeze them in to the regular table, maybe even around the corners. If they're like my kids they're not going to be sitting there for very long anyhow.

:

 

[momto l&a]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oceanbaby I say just squeeze them in to the regular table, maybe even around the corners. If they're like my kids they're not going to be sitting there for very long anyhow. Or maybe take the whole table out of the kitchen and stick it in the living room with a set up for the kids right next to it.

:

 

[JustJamie]

Unfortunately, they just can't be squeezed around the one table. There just isn't room. Unless my DD sat on my lap...or the other toddler sat on his mother's lap.

I wish we had the $$$ to just buy a new table, I've been asking for one for two years now.

I think we're going to go with my plan in the living room. It's really the only feasible solution I can pull off in the next day.

 

[lilysmom]

I think your plan is great! Who cares if you are sitting on the floor, all that matters is that you are all together. I also hate the idea of a "kids table", I think it makes them feel like outcasts and when I was little I always hated sitting at the "kids table"!

 

[Ann-Marita]

I always liked sitting at the "kids' table." It meant I didn't have to hear my uncle's bigoted "jokes".

 

[leafwood]

Personally, I love the idea of sitting on the floor to eat Thanksgiving dinner. How comfy! You can roll right into a nap afterwards

.

I hope it works out for you!

 

[Starr]

Depending on what time you eat is it possible to feed the toddlers first and then the adults eat once the children are asleep? I know its a rare occasion when DH and I can eat alone. Just a thought.

 

[MommaCrystal]

How about using a cheap folding table and butting it up against your regular dining table. That'll make room for everyone.

 

[JustJamie]

We don't have the space to put two tables together, unfortunately, in any room of the house. (Except maybe if we put the tables on top of our king-size bed, which might be kind've fun.)

Dinner is planned for 3 pm, because that's usually when my DD wakes up from her afternoon nap and is in the best mood. I don't know the 2 yo's schedule, I've never met him before. (It's a single mom from my DH's unit, her son, and her sister, I invited them after DH related a few conversations he'd had with her that he thought were inappropriate and I thought sounded like a lonely mom looking for a friend.)

Thanks for everyone's input thus far.

 

[NewCrunchyDaddy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by velochic Plus, we have one night a month where we "picnic" on the living room floor and watch a movie during supper. We're not animals, either. It's a treat.

Another vote for the "picnic" idea. And, depending on where you are and when you traditionally eat the meal, you may even be able to have it out on the lawn in the backyard or at a park. Just thinking out loud.