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A Family Dinner

family dinner descriptive essay

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Essay on Family Dinner

Students are often asked to write an essay on Family Dinner in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Family Dinner

What is family dinner.

Family dinner is a time when everyone in the house sits together to eat. It is not just about food, but also about sharing stories and talking to each other. This meal helps family members feel close and spend quality time together.

Benefits of Eating Together

Eating together is good for everyone. It makes family bonds stronger. Kids can learn manners and how to talk to others. Families can talk about their day and make plans together. It’s a time for laughter and joy.

Challenges Families Face

Sometimes, it’s hard to have family dinner because everyone is busy. Parents work, and kids have homework or sports. But trying to eat together even once a week can make a big difference in a family’s life.

Making Family Dinners Fun

To make family dinners fun, everyone can help cook or set the table. You can have theme nights or talk about fun topics. The key is to make everyone feel included and happy to be together at the table.

250 Words Essay on Family Dinner

What is a family dinner.

A family dinner is a meal where all the family members sit and eat together. It is a time when everyone can share their day’s stories and enjoy home-cooked food. This meal is special because it brings the family close and allows them to spend quality time with each other.

Eating together has many good points. It helps family members feel like they belong and are loved. Kids often do better in school when they have regular family dinners. It’s also a chance for parents to teach their children about healthy eating habits. Sharing a meal can make everyone feel happier and more connected.

What Happens at Family Dinners?

At family dinners, people talk, laugh, and sometimes even argue in a friendly way. It’s normal because this is how families solve problems and understand each other better. Parents might talk about their work, while kids might talk about their friends or what they learned in school.

Keeping the Tradition Alive

In today’s busy world, it can be hard to have family dinners. But trying to have them even a few times a week can make a big difference. It doesn’t have to be a fancy meal. What’s important is being together. Some families have rules like no phones at the table, so everyone can focus on the conversation.

In conclusion, family dinners are a wonderful tradition that keeps families connected. They are good for everyone’s heart and mind. By sharing a simple meal, families create memories and bonds that last a lifetime.

500 Words Essay on Family Dinner

A family dinner is a meal where all the members of a family sit and eat together. This meal is often eaten at the end of the day when everyone has finished their work, school, or other activities. The food can be anything from simple dishes to special recipes that the family enjoys. The important part is that everyone is together.

The Food We Eat

At family dinners, the food on the table can be very different from one house to another. Some families might eat pizza, while others might have rice, vegetables, and chicken. Sometimes, families have a special dish that they make only on certain days, like tacos on Tuesdays or fish on Fridays. The type of food is not as important as the act of sharing it with each other.

Talking and Sharing

One of the best things about family dinners is the chance to talk. Parents and children can share what happened during their day. They can tell funny stories, talk about something they learned, or discuss plans for the weekend. This talking helps family members understand each other better and feel close to one another.

Learning Good Manners

Family dinners are also a time for kids to learn good manners. They learn to wait for their turn to get food, say “please” and “thank you,” and not talk with their mouth full. These manners are important for when they eat with other people outside their home, like at a friend’s house or a restaurant.

Helping Out

Everyone in the family can help with dinner. Younger kids can set the table or mix a salad. Older kids might help cook some of the food. After eating, everyone can help clean up. Doing these jobs together makes the work faster and can even be fun.

Problems with Missing Family Dinners

Sometimes, it can be hard to have family dinners. People might be too busy with work, school, or other things. Missing these meals can make family members feel less connected to each other. That is why it is good to try to have family dinners as often as possible.

Solutions for Busy Families

For families that are very busy, there are ways to still have family dinners. One way is to pick a day of the week that is less busy and make sure everyone knows that is the day for family dinner. Another way is to make the dinner simple, so it does not take a lot of time to prepare. Even sitting together for a quick meal is better than not eating together at all.

Family dinners are a special time for everyone in the family. They are a chance to eat good food, talk about the day, and learn important manners. Even when life is busy, finding time to eat together can make a family stronger and happier. It is a simple thing that can make a big difference in everyone’s life.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

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family dinner descriptive essay

The Benefit of Family Mealtime

  • Posted April 1, 2020
  • By Jill Anderson

A father having dinner with his daughter

Despite family mealtimes being hugely beneficial to kids, only about 30% of families manage to eat together regularly. Anne Fishel , executive director of the Family Dinner Project , knows it's not always easy to find that time but it also doesn't have to be so hard. Through her work, she helps families find fun, creative, and easy ways to make meals a reality. As many families adjust to stay-at-home orders from the Coronavirus, there is a silver lining in that now there is time to enjoy a family meal or two.

Jill Anderson: I am Jill Anderson. This is the Harvard EdCast. With so many families staying home right now, that means there's also more opportunities for families to eat meals together. Family therapist Anne Fishel says only about 30% of families regularly eat dinner together, despite family meal time being hugely beneficial for kids. She's the executive director of the Family Dinner Project, a nonprofit that helps families find their way back to the dinner table with fun, easy conversations and meals. Before the coronavirus outbreak, I spoke to Anne, and asked her how we wound up being a country full of families that just don't eat together very often.

Anne Fishel

 I mean the numbers certainly have gone down over the last 30 to 40 years. Although it's interesting in affluent families the numbers have gone up, and in low income families they've gone down, which I think speaks to the extra stressors of having to work extra jobs, having unpredictable schedules, not having as much access to healthy food. I think this accounts for why low income families struggle more with it.

But whether families are high income or low income, or live in the Midwest or on either coast, the obstacles to family dinner are pretty much the same all over. We hear that families are too busy, it's too much work to make dinner night after night, once they make it their kids or their partners are too picky. So what's the point? There's too much conflict at the table, families are distracted by technology, teenagers seem not to want to eat with their parents, although the research really flies in the face of that. Teenagers rank family dinner pretty high on their list of things they like to do, and 80% of teenagers say that family dinner is the time of the day they're most likely to talk to their parents.

Jill Anderson: Wow. Tell me a little bit more about what are some of the benefits of having dinner together?

Anne Fishel: Yes.

Jill Anderson: And why it's important?

Anne Fishel: Yes. I'm a family therapist, and I sort of half joke that I could be out of business if more families had regular family dinners, because so many of the things that I try to do in family therapy actually get accomplished by regular dinners. There have been more than 20 years of dozens of studies that document that family dinners are great for the body, the physical health, the brains and academic performance, and the spirit or the mental health, and in terms nutrition, cardiovascular health is better in teens, there's lower fat and sugar and salt in home cooked meals even if you don't try that hard, there's more fruit, and fiber, and vegetables, and protein in home cooked meals, and lower calories. Kids who grow up having family dinners, when they're on their own tend to eat more healthily and to have lower rates of obesity.

Then the mental health benefits are just incredible. Regular family dinners are associated with lower rates of depression, and anxiety, and substance abuse, and eating disorders, and tobacco use, and early teenage pregnancy, and higher rates of resilience and higher self esteem.

Jill Anderson: The Family Dinner Project has worked with, I think I read 1 million families on this issue.

Anne Fishel: Yes, we've had close to 2 million unique visitors on our website.

Jill Anderson: Wow.

Anne Fishel: We have tons of free online resources of recipes that take less than 30 minutes, and games to play at the table that promote conversation and conversation starters. Then we've worked with thousands of families through our community programs. We host community dinners at schools, and afterschool programs, and military bases, and homeless shelters, and firehouses, and we bring together a lot of families, and we have a great dinner together, we cook together, we eat, we play games, we have conversation, and then the kids will go off with a team member to make dessert for everybody, and one of us will meet with the parents and we'll ask them what are they doing well when it comes to making dinner happen, and what are their obstacles? Then we'll ask the parents to brainstorm their own solutions to these common problems.

Over 10 years, we've kind of collected some of those great work arounds, those real life hacks and collected them in this new book that we wrote called Eat, Laugh, Talk, The Family Dinner Playbook . It's really kind of a celebration of the incredible innovation that families demonstrate when they try to make family dinner happen. It's organized around the main obstacles. If I could just give you an example to show you how innovative families can be.

Jill Anderson: Oh sure.

Anne Fishel: There's a father in the book, a divorced father who has his three sons every weekend, and he very much would like to have dinner with them over the weekend, and they're really not that interested, so they scarf down their dinner and off they go to their screens. One night he said to himself, if you can't beat them, join them. And he said, boys, come to the kitchen, humor me, we're going to make ratatouille over pasta. They did that, and then he had them watch the movie Ratatouille while they ate the dinner, and they would discuss how their ratatouille compared to the movie version. Then sometimes he would turn off the sound, and have them guess what the actors were saying on the screen, and sometimes he would have them be critics, stop the movie and have them critique the different scenes. He used technology to engage them around the table, and that kick-started their practice of having weekend dinners with one another, and he didn't have to show a movie each time.

Jill Anderson: Right. I mean that's not even something I had even thought about, you have so many different family structures, kids moving from maybe one home to a different home-

Jill Anderson:   - or different parents' home, and just very different situations.

Anne Fishel: Yes, you have three generational families-

Jill Anderson: Yes.

Anne Fishel: - single parents, you could have a family dinner with friends, or college kids in a dorm who regularly have dinner with one another, I think of that as a kind of family dinner.

Jill Anderson: Really runs the gamut.

Jill Anderson: It's not what you traditionally would think of as a family.

Anne Fishel: Exactly. It doesn't even have to be dinner, some families find it so much easier to have breakfast together, or weekend brunches, or even a late night snack, where you push away from work and meet in the kitchen for cheese and crackers and hot chocolate.

Jill Anderson: Yeah.

Anne Fishel: That would count too. I mean if you think of it, there's 16 opportunities for a family to eat together in a week, seven breakfasts, seven dinners, and two weekend lunches, and any of those would count towards the benefits.

Jill Anderson: Right. If you know you're going to have a day where dinner is going to be impossible on a weekend together, maybe you can try to do a breakfast or some other time.

Anne Fishel: Sure.

Jill Anderson: I imagine doing this every day would be the dream, but is there a goal?

Anne Fishel: Yeah, I think it's really up to each individual family to find their way. The research has focused on five meals a week as being kind of the tipping point for a lot of these benefits, but I'm not sure that they've carefully calibrated it, I mean some researchers have looked to see, do you get the same benefits with two meals a week? Some of the academic benefits seem to really count on five meals or more, and the goal is to have at least one good enough meal together a week. If a family can make that happen, often more will follow.

The idea that has to be five or more can become an obstacle. It can kind of a tyranny of perfection. I think we really want to get away from that in all regards. It doesn't have to be a perfect number, it doesn't have to be perfectly cooked, doesn't have to be perfect manners, the secret sauce of dinner is really not about the food at all. The secret sauce is, is it enjoyable? Do kids feel that when they speak, somebody wants to listen to what they have to say? Is there not much criticism, or anger, or conflict at the table? These are the things that I think families really should focus on.

Jill Anderson: I want to talk more about that. It's not so much the act of eating together as much as it is about that connection, and making it quality time together, which I know myself as a parent is hard to do, especially with a young child.

Anne Fishel: There are developmental challenges when the kids are young, and then again when they're teenagers, but I think when they're young you want to set kind of realistic expectations-

Jill Anderson: Right.

Anne Fishel: - and some kids, if you can get them to sit for five or 10 minutes, I think that's something you can build on as the years go on. Sometimes if parents put a little bit more thought into how they're going to engage their kids at the table, and less focus on the foods that that can make for a more enjoyable dinner.

Jill Anderson: Oh yeah.

Anne Fishel: Maybe picking a game that you want to play that will really delight a child, and help a child talk more fully about their day than just asking them what did you do in school? Or how was your day? But instead maybe everybody goes around the table and says a rose, a thorn, and a bud. Rose is something funny or positive, a thorn is something difficult or challenging, and a bud is something you hope will happen tomorrow.

Jill Anderson: That's great.

Anne Fishel: Yeah.

Jill Anderson: I'll have to try that tonight, because I definitely am a parent guilty of saying how was your day and getting nothing because my child is so young.

Anne Fishel: Yes, there are 52 weeks of recipes and games to play at the table, and conversation starters for all different ages, and I think it can be fun as a parent just to go through, and kind of pick and choose what you think might work at your table with your family.

Jill Anderson: Can we talk about the conversation with teenagers, or when they get a little bit older, I would assume, and I'm sure a lot of parents would assume, their teenagers want nothing to do with them at the dinner table, and then it turns out that's not really true.

Anne Fishel: It's not true. No, when kids are given the choice, or when they're asked in a survey, would you rather eat with your parents than by yourself in front of a screen or with your peers? 80% choose their families. It's because teens know that it's the most reliable time of the day to have time with their parents, and adolescents still need that and want that. In a funny way adolescents have the most to gain from family dinner when you think of the reduction in high risk teen behavior that comes with regular family dinner.

I think it's kind of a question of accommodating, making some changes, engaging teenagers more in choosing the menu, or maybe cooking one meal a week, or cooking a course, or finding out a country that they're interested in and picking some menus from or some dishes from that country and making that, or asking a teenager to make a playlist of favorite songs to play during dinner and talking about that, and maybe not talking about things that you know really upset your teenage kid. Maybe not talking about that D they got on their math quiz, or how messy their room is, or the missed curfew over the weekend. Maybe waiting for those conversations until everyone's eaten, and maybe having it one-on-one instead of at the dinner table.

Jill Anderson: Wait, I want to go back to something you mentioned earlier, which was there's academic benefits to eating together-

Jill Anderson: - and I don't know that people would necessarily equate eating together as having some sort of benefit academically.

Anne Fishel: Yes, these are very dramatic benefits, with young kids, preschoolers, the organic language that happens at the dinner table turns out to have 10 times as many rare or uncommon words sort of embedded in those conversations, as parents talk about being late because they hit a lot of traffic and they were so upset they wanted to tear their hair out, whatever, there are a lot of words that kids don't pick up in their picture books or on the playground, and kids who have a larger vocabulary learn to read earlier and more easily. This was a study done at the Harvard Ed school actually, a kind of a longitudinal literacy study done by Snow and Beals.

Then moving along the age continuum, kids who eat regular family dinners in elementary school and in high school get better grades, and the effect is stronger than even doing homework, or doing art, or sports.

Jill Anderson: Have you looked at all at the college student population? They're sort of transient, sometimes they move home for a month or two.

Anne Fishel: Yes. The dinner table is in some ways the the microcosm of what's going on in the family in general. It's the place where parents first feel maybe the emptiness of the empty nest, as they night after night sit at the same kitchen table and they have two empty seats where their children would be seated. I think there's something like that that happens when young adult kids come home, and maybe they weren't expected. Maybe the parents, the single parent, or two parents, they're sitting in different seats now that it's just the two of them, and they notice they have to rearrange their seating to accommodate a young adult, or maybe they've gotten in the habit of eating much later than they used to, or maybe the college student has become a vegetarian and wants to change the way the parents eat.

So you see some of these developmental frictions, or changes, or adaptations at the dinner table, and as a family therapist, it's kind of a fruitful place to work out some of the changes, who's going to accommodate, and how's that going to happen? Are you going to keep eating at nine o'clock the way you've been doing since your college kid has been away? Are you going to reach some understanding?

Jill Anderson: It's just renegotiating?

Anne Fishel: I think often college kids come back with some new ideas about food that they may want to introduce their families to, and I think one of the kind of earmarks of families who do the best, making the transition from teenage to young adulthood happens when parents really welcome the adventures and journeys that their kids take outside the family, and those journeys might be in exploring new cuisines, new ways of eating. It's sort of an opportunity I think, for parents to say, teach us, make something you've learned, or let us adapt to things that are important to you now that you've had a new experience in college.

Jill Anderson: I hear a little bit about parents, they want to get their kid to bed earlier, and both parents are not home at the same time, and so then I becomes this what time to eat issue.

Anne Fishel: Right. Yeah, it's like which ritual is going to get privileged? Is it going to be the bedtime ritual or the dinnertime ritual? Couple things come to mind, one is a family dinner doesn't have to be everybody.

Anne Fishel: Family dinner is one parent and a child, it could still be a family dinner, and then if there's another parent and he or she comes home late, then the child at least still had a family dinner. But maybe on the nights when the whole family can't eat together, there's more focus on breakfast.

Few years ago, Cheerios came to us and said, we know you have the Family Dinner Project, but how about the family breakfast project? We created games, and food, and conversation starters for breakfast, building it around a seven minute breakfast, because that's how long it is when you press your snooze alarm before it goes off again. We thought even busy families could fit in a seven minute breakfast, so they're conversation starters and games that sort of tilt towards anticipating the day rather than reflecting back on it.

Jill Anderson: I'm still a little bit taken aback by that statistic you mentioned earlier, that only 30% or 40%-

Anne Fishel: Have dinner.

Jill Anderson: - have dinner together, and while that's not the worst number you could ever hear.

Anne Fishel: And that's regular.

Anne Fishel: There more families who have it one time a week, or twice a week. It's not that the other 60% are never having family dinner.

Jill Anderson: Right, it's still surprising to hear that. What would you say if there was one thing for families to think about doing? How do you start?

Anne Fishel: I think I would start with making a commitment to having it once a week, and then I would ask a family, what would you like to work on? If you were to make one small change, where would it be? Would it be in trying a new food? Would it be having more fun at the table? Would it be finding out more what goes on in each other's days? Would it be talking about the news? Or talking about who we are as a family, and what our identity is, and what we value as a family? I would ask a family, if you were to make one small shift, small addition to family dinner, in what realm would you want to do it?

Jill Anderson: Do you find that if you approached this to big, thinking let's do this every night, it's just-

Anne Fishel: It doesn't work.

Jill Anderson: It doesn't work.

Anne Fishel: Yeah. Yeah, I think that can be overwhelming, and can make families just want to give up on it. Some families, nobody likes to cook. I remember a family like that who nobody liked to cook, but they wanted to have dinner together, and so they decided to have one dinner out a week, and I made them a conversation jar, it was a jar stuffed with whimsical, thought provoking, funny questions on little slips of paper, you can download them on our website, because they wanted to have a sustained conversation at the restaurant for 45 minutes, and so they brought the conversation jar to the restaurant. Just said, forget about cooking at home, maybe later on we'll tackle that, but for now we just want to have a good conversation with the three kids and the two parents.

Jill Anderson: That's what this is all really about.

Anne Fishel: Yeah, it really is. There's just so few opportunities each day for families to be together, and to connect, and relax, and have a good time.

Jill Anderson: And get rid of your phones.

Anne Fishel: And well, get rid of your phone, that's one option that many families take to have a technology free time of the day. Other families I know take a slightly different stance where you can bring a phone if you want to share something with the family, a photo you took, or a funny text, that's okay. Or sometimes families say, we'll just use our phones to resolve factual debates, do fish sleep? Who won the world series in 1990? That kind of thing.

Jill Anderson: I mean, it sounds like there really is no wrong way to do this-

Jill Anderson: - other than just not trying to do this at all.

Anne Fishel: Yes, it's a very flexible format, the family dinner. We're not trying to make this a nostalgia project, or kind of bring back a fantasy from the 1950s with a spotless kitchen and one parent, usually the mother home slow roasting a pot roast. The idea really is to try to involve as many people as possible to make the work a little bit lighter, and to focus more on what happens around the table then the food, I mean, everyone loves food too.

Jill Anderson: Anne Fishel is the executive director and co-founder of the Family Dinner Project. She is also a family therapist, clinical psychologist, and associate clinical professor of psychology at the Harvard Medical School. She is director of the family and couples therapy program at Massachusetts General Hospital. The Family Dinner Project just recently released the Eat, Laugh, Talk, the Family Dinner Playbook .

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Importance of Eating Dinner as a Family, Essay Example

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Introduction

The family unit often struggles with its ability to communicate and to spend time together in today’s busy society. Families are torn in many different directions: mothers and fathers must work to keep food on the table, children must attend school and then extracurricular activities, and errands must be run to purchase items for the household to use. These challenges play a significant role in families where both parents work because there is often not enough time to cook dinner and sit down together and eat as a family. This is a serious concern in many families because it breeds a culture where fast food and restaurant takeout become acceptable and appropriate within the family unit. This is a difficult circumstance because it often leads to weight and other health challenges for children and adults. Therefore, the emphasis must be refocused on the family and dinner together not only as an opportunity to eat healthier meals, but also to openly communicate to ensure that the quality of family time is optimized. These efforts are instrumental in supporting positive outcomes for families and in influencing participation in family discussions and other matters. Therefore, the family dinner must serve as an opportunity to explore the different dimensions of the family dynamic and the ability of this unit to communicate, thrive, and grow through regular family dinners. This opportunity will have a positive impact on all family members, but in particular, young children and adolescents in order to promote greater bonding and communication with other family members. The following discussion will address the importance of family dinners as a strong basis for communication and interaction between family members in order to accomplish effective outcomes and to strengthen the family unit in many different ways to support success.

Prior studies have demonstrated that the family unit is often challenged by the many pressures of modern life, including work, school, social activities, financial matters, and limited interaction due to time constraints. Therefore, it is important to recognize these limitations and to find ways to promote togetherness and to encourage families to share time together and to communicate more effectively (Ochs et.al). Family dinners are not formulaic by any means, as each family has different routine and focus during this time; however, the consistent belief is that family dinners promote discussion, stimulate bonding, and demonstrate the value of basic togetherness (Ochs et.al). Therefore, family dinners must be encouraged as a means of promoting positive outcomes for all family members. These elements are critical to the success of different alternatives to promote a greater number of family dinners during the week and throughout the year (Ochs et.al).

In some families, there are considerable challenges associated with communication between parents and adolescent youth, and this is often exacerbated by busy schedules and difficulties finding time to spend together (Fulkerson et.al 261). Therefore, it is important to recognize the value of family dinners in this regard, as they support the expansion of much-needed communication between parents and their children (Fulkerson et.al 261). In many families, basic communication is very difficult to accomplish; therefore, the family dinner should be used as a vehicle to support these objectives and to demonstrate the value of interacting over food at the same table (Fulkerson et.al 261). These efforts are critical because they demonstrate the importance of specific factors associated with enhancing communication through family dinners, particularly between parents and their adolescent children, who might not otherwise communicate effectively under other circumstances (Fulkerson et.al 261). Therefore, families must prioritize dinner time in order to make this a focal point of their weekly schedules and activities and determine how to best move towards a regular time to have dinner together on a weekly basis (Fulkerson et.al 261).

The family dinner serves as a symbol of togetherness and camaraderie; however, many families simply do not take the time that is necessary to coordinate this activity into their busy daily lives. Furthermore, when families are split by divorce or other circumstances, dinnertime is often more challenging because there are fewer influences or incentives to engage in dinner conversations, particularly when one parent is absent (Stewart and Menning 193). There are several explanations regarding absent parents, such as fathers, including the following: “A poor-quality relationship with a nonresident father may also cause stress for the child, which may lead to unhealthy eating habits and obesity…An alternative hypothesis is that involvement with a nonresident father improves children’s eating habits. Through frequent visitation, nonresident fathers can help monitor and support their children’s mothers’ food procurement habits, resulting in more nutritious and regular meals” (Stewart and Menning 194). In either case, there are challenges to consider that play a role in shaping outcomes for children; therefore, family dinners, even if one parent is absent from the home, must play an important role in supporting communication and improved nutrition for children (Stewart and Menning 194). When families communicate regarding nutritional choices, mothers and fathers must explore their options in order to provide their children with important information in an interesting way so that they will take these discussions to heart (Stewart and Menning 194).

Parents must continue to address the challenges of family communication by using the family dinner as a guide. This is accomplished through the creation of an environment whereby children develop respect for their parents and behave in a manner that is respectful and appropriate (Sen 2). However, adolescents often experience different concerns that may impact their behaviors in different ways; therefore, family interaction may play an important role in enabling adolescents to voice their concerns and frustrations regarding issues in their lives (Sen 2). Therefore, family meals may play an important role in facilitating communication for adolescents to address problems and other concerns at the dinner table (Sen 2). When adolescents experience more family meals, they are likely to be more engaged in the family unit and in conversation that may promote positive behaviors and decision-making in the home environment and beyond (Sen 3). Also, these efforts are likely to be effective in reducing feelings of animosity, anger, frustration, and even depression in some adolescents (Sen 3). After a period of time, the efforts made at the family dinner table may contribute to the overall effectiveness of interactions between adolescents and their parents in some situations (Sen 3). Adolescents have an advantage in eating meals with their families, as they are likely to experience greater camaraderie and other feelings of support in the home environment and from their families in this manner (Sen 3).

In many ways, the family meal goes above and beyond the sharing of food and drink, as this time is also beneficial in promoting sound nutrition, improved decision-making, expanded communication, and other efforts that are designed to facilitate growth of the family unit (Fruh et.al 18). However, nutrition remains a significant component of this process and supports the demand for improved nutrition and healthier eating habits using the family dinner as a guide (Fruh et.al 18). From this perspective, it is of critical importance that nutritional habits are recognized and understood in the familial setting in order to expand options and to utilize the benefits of home cooking as best as possible (Fruh et.al 18). In this context, it is observed that the family unit provides an opportunity to convey the importance of different appraoches to cooking and to determine how to improve nutrition through healthier food choices and cooking habits (Fruh et.al 19). However, other benefits are also derived from family dinners, as children and adolescents are likely to improve their overall knowledge and vocabularies based upon interactions at the dinner table (Fruh et.al 19). Some studies have demonstrated that there is a significant impact of family dinners on academic achievement and expanding achild’s vocabulary over time (Fruh et.al 19). These efforts are important because theyallow children to interact with adults and to discuss broad topics that have wide range appeal (Fruh et.al 19). These elements are critical in contributing to the effectivenes fo fmaily dinners in stimulating conversation and positive behaviors in children and adolescents (Fruh et.al 19). Family meals also support the development of new perspectives regarding family unity and bonding because food often serves the sole purpose of bringing people together to have conversation and to share meals (Fruh et.al 20). These elements are important within the family unit because they may ease tension between individual family members and support a greater understanding of the issues that are most important to families, including sharing problems and discussing issues of importance (Fruh et.al 20). Family meals often convey the challenges of different perspectives regarding matters of improtance, as well as the opportunities that are available to promote growth and support within the family unit (Fruh et.al 21).

The ability to use family dinners as a driving force in supporting successful outcomes for families is not a novel concept. However, it is important to recognize the value of healthy alternatives so that children grow up with stronger nutritional values and a focus on healthy foods (Fulkerson et.al 189). These issues are relevant because eating meals as a family provides a greater opportunity to share nutritional knowledge and insight in the development of new perspectives to expand nutrition an d positive health for children and adults (Fulkerson et.al 189). However, one of the critical issues is the limited amount of time that is available to sit down and eat a family dinner together, as schedules and conflicts often interrupt these activities (Fulkerson et.al 189). Therefore, it is important to identify circumstances that may facilitate positive interactions between family members using the family dinner enviornment as a guide in this process to stimulate family discussion, bonding, and greater health and wellbeing (Fulkerson et.al 189). When the family unit thrives, it is likely that they will also be healthier, experience less stress, and develop opportunities to grow and thrive within the family unit and beyond (Fulkerson et.al 189).

One of the most unique opportunities that is available with family meals is the ability to be effective in promoting positive nutritional outcomes for children and adolescents (Hammons and Fiese e1565). In essence, it is possible for family dinners to promote greater nutrition and wellbeing for children when parents cook meals and are in control of the meal planning for the household (Hammons and Fiese e1565). These efforts are significant because they influence the time at which children eat, their interactions with family members, and the food that they consume during the meal (Hammons and Fiese e1565). These issues demonstrate that children who are required to eat with their families may experience greater health and wellbeing because they are required to consume foods that their parents prepare for them, rather than relying upon fast foods or other pre-prepared foods that have less nutritional value (Hammons and Fiese e1565). Under these conditions, it is necessary to develop strategies that will encourage families to eat healthier foods together and at the same time, in the same room (Hammons and Fiese e1565). It is advantageous to recognize these alternatives and to provide children with a means of obtaining nutrition in the home environment and in the company of different family members (Hammons and Fiese e1565).

Family dinners also represent an opportunity to develop associations between family members that will encourage adolescents to experience positive wellbeing at home, at school, and in social situations (Musick and Meier 476). It is known that “Children thrive on routine and stability…and meals are an important part of what organizes a child’s daily activities. But more than just routine, mealtime may entail patterned, symbolic practices for many families, including favorite foods, structured roles, and expressions of gratitude. These rituals may be comforting, promoting feelings of closeness and belonging and providing a break from daily stressors” (Musick and Meier 476). These considerations are important because they provide a greater understanding of the issues and challenges that many children face that could be positively influenced by family meals and togetherness (Musick and Meier 476). These issues are instrumental because they have a significant impact on family growth and development when they communicate and share meals together at the same location (Musick and Meier 476). One study that was conducted demonstrates that when families do not engage in regular dinners together, there is a potentially greater risk of negative adolescent behaviors, such as smoking, low academic performance, and drinking (Musick and Meier 476). These concerns are significant and play an important role in efforts to shift the tide towards increased numbers of family dinners because they play an important role in supporting positive outcomes, particularly for children who might face challenges inside and/or outside of the home environment that may limit their physical and intellectual growth and progress as they grow and thrive (Musick and Meier 476).

Family dinners are a critical component of modern family living. Some might argue that family dinners are a thing of the past and that they are not necessary in today’s busy environments. However, this is not the case, as family dinners continue to serve as the cornerstone for family togetherness, communication, and bonding in different ways. These efforts support a greater opportunity for families to share ideas, discuss problems, and to express emotions in the comfort of the familial environment. However, family dinners are also effective in expanding opportunities for home cooking and to make smart food choices to promote healthier nutrition. It is important for families to prepare meals that are healthy and satisfying so that children are able to obtain adequate nutrition, including fruits, vegetables, and proteins in the suggested manner and without excess fats, oils, and other negative ingredients that could interfere with quality. The family dinner serves as the glue that brings many families together and therefore, should be an important component of the family dynamic and overall household support system, regardless of a family’s size or makeup. These options are important because they convey the challenges of encouraging families to communicate more consistently and more effectively to reduce tension, stress, and other concerns, while also healing any wounds that exist and sharing information and providing insight that might be helpful to the family as a whole. In basing these alternatives around food, there is a greater opportunity to explore the dimensions of family bonding at all levels that will have a positive impact on all family members, but in particular, children and adolescents, perhaps with parents as well as brothers and sisters in and out of the house.

Works Cited

Fruh, Sharon M., Jayne A. Fulkerson, Madhuri S. Mulekar, Lee Ann J. Kendrick, and Clista Clanton. “The surprising benefits of the family meal.” The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 7.1(2011): 18-22.

Fulkerson, Jayne A., Martha Y. Kubik, and Bonnie Dudovitz. “Focus groups with working parents of school-age children: what’s needed to improve family meals?” Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 43.3(2011): 189-193.

Fulkerson, Jayne A., Martha Y. Kubik, Sarah Rydell, Kerri N. Boutelle, Ann Garwick, Mary Story, Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, and Bonnie Dudovitz. “Focus groups with working parents of school-age children: what’s needed to improve family meals?” Journal of Nutrition and Educational Behavior, 43.3(2011): 189-193.

Fulkerson, Jayne A., Keryn E. Pasch, and Kelli A. Komro. “Longitudinal associations between family dinner and adolescent perceptions of parent-child communication among racially diverse urban youth.” Journal of Family Psychology, 24.3(2010): 261-270.

Hammons, Amber J., and Barbara H. Fiese. “Is frequency of shared family meals related to the nutritional health of children and adolescents?” Pediatrics, 127.6(2011): e1565-e1574.

Musick, Kelly, and Ann Meier. “Assessing causality and persistence in associations between family dinners and adolescent well-being.” Journal of Marriage and Family, 74.3 (2012): 476-493.

Ochs, Elinor, Merav Shohet, Belinda Campos, and Margaret Beck. “Coming together at dinner: a study of working families.” UCLA Sloan Center on Everyday Lives of Families, 15 November 2013: http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/celf/pages/view_abstract.php?AID=80

Sen, Bisakha. “The relationship between frequency of family dinner and adolescent problem behaviors after adjusting for other family characteristics” Munich Personal RePEc Archive, 15 November 2013: http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/24329/1/MPRA_paper_24329.pdf

Stewart, Susan D., and Chadwick L. Menning. “Family structure, nonresident father involvement, and adolescent eating patterns.” Journal of Adolescent Health, 45(2009):193-201.

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Family dinners have been an important factor in people's lives for along time now. But, over time how people has changed drastically. Just comparing how I ate ate as a family, to when my grandpa ate as a family as a child had changed a lot. Family dinner has been where people come together as a family and have conversation, and catch up with each other. In my family, all us children are grown up and we do not eat together as a family every night. We do eat together as a family on sundays though every week. My grandpa told me that his family ate together every night at the same time, six PM. His dad got home from work everyday at the same time, so his mother already knew when to have dinner ready for him when he got home. My family eats anywhere …show more content…

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A Family Dinner

Essay by Rkrosebud ,  University, Bachelor's ,  October 2004

download word file , 2 pages download word file , 2 pages 3.9 11 votes 3 reviews

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of a family dinner is unity as family members gather together to share a meal and their day's events. In the spacious kitchen, while Mom prepares dinner, she listens to her children chatting and laughing as they do their homework at the large mahogany table by the picture window that faces the bucolic back yard. They wait anxiously for their father to return home from work so they can eat their mother's savory dinner. This reminds Mom of herself as a blooming child sitting at the kitchen table smelling all her mother's delectable food and anxiously waiting her father's arrival while chatting and laughing with her siblings.

The kitchen has the essence of a gourmet restaurant at the height of the dinner hour. Aromas are sprinkling the air and tickling the noses of everyone it touches. It brings a sense of warmth and safety that envelops each child as if it were a blanket on a snowy day.

The sound of sizzling meat and steaming bright colored vegetables pulls them in as if they were dogs being called by their master. The tantalizing aroma and sounds entrances the children's father as he greets Mom in the kitchen who is by now dancing to some funny song on the radio. The children are so excited to see him. They begin to bounce up and down like bunny rabbits yelling, "Dad is home! It is time to eat!" Their words ring like a bell in the Mom's memory bank. She remembers reciting the same phrases when her father finally came home. She was so excited not only to eat her mother's delicious meal but to also share with her father her day's events.

Finally, the family sits at the table together...

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Reviews of: "A Family Dinner" :

Remembernig english from earlier years of school.....

The first and last sentences of your first paragraph need to be split into two. "The children rattle off with such exuberance and enthusiasm all the horrendous and exciting stuff" The words "rattle off" and "stuff" are not appropriate here and ruin the tone. Excuberance and enthusiasm, nice idea but not really too suitable a pair of words. Being picky, the words "sizzling meat" don't seem too appropriate... but then maybe I just despise them as I am a vegetarian. Very nice though, it brings some good imagery to the mind good job.

6 out of 6 people found this comment useful.

There are some mistakes in your essay otterwise it is quite good. One mistake is 'their hands flying every which way as they speak' also some of your wording isn't good.

3 out of 5 people found this comment useful.

Adjective abuse

2 out of 4 people found this comment useful.

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How Should I Go About Writing My Family Essay?: Examples and Tips

How Should I Go About Writing My Family Essay?: Examples and Tips

Family is an integral part of every individual's life. Delving into the intricate layers of family relationships and dynamics can yield a captivating essay. Here's a comprehensive guide with examples and tips to guide you through the process.

What Topics Should I Write About for My Family Essay?

Choosing the right topic is essential. Here are some suggestions:

Writing a Family Tree Dive into your roots! A family tree can be more than names and dates; it can narrate stories of ancestors, their challenges, achievements, and legacies. For instance, "When I looked into our family tree, I discovered that my great-grandfather was a sailor who traveled the world and had countless tales of adventures, some of which have become legendary bedtime stories in our family."

Describing My Family in My Essay Discuss each family member in detail. "My sister, with her fiery red hair and matching temper, is the exact opposite of my calm and analytical brother. Yet, when they come together, they create the most amazing music, with him on the piano and her singing."

Writing About a Personal Memory Share a poignant memory. "I remember the time when our cat, Whiskers, went missing. The entire family turned detectives overnight, searching for clues, putting up posters, and even setting up a 'cat trap' with her favorite treats. The adventure ended with Whiskers found sleeping peacefully in the neighbor's shed, unaware of the chaos she had caused."

Dos and Don’ts When Writing a Family Stories Essay

  • Be authentic.
  • Use vivid descriptions and dialogues.
  • Respect privacy; ask permission if sharing personal details.
  • Avoid making generalizations.
  • Refrain from being overly negative or critical.
  • Don't plagiarize; every family's story is unique.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is a good hook for an essay on my family? As Tolstoy once said, 'All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.' Our family, though, has found its unique shade of happiness.
  • What should I include in an essay about me and my family? Descriptions of family members, memories, traditions, challenges, and lessons.
  • How should I start an essay all about my family? Every time I think of the word 'home,' an image of our old cottage, Sunday dinners, and loud family debates comes to mind.
  • How long should my essay about my family be? Length depends on the requirement; academic essays typically range from 500-1000 words, while personal essays can vary.
  • How do I make my family essay engaging? Incorporate stories, memories, and emotions.
  • Is it okay to discuss family challenges in my essay? Yes, but be sensitive and respectful.
  • Can I add humor to my family essay? Yes, as long as it's in good taste.

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Interested in partnering with the family dinner project, bring us to your community with workshops, partnership programs, and more   learn more, the familydinnerproject.org, on the path to college, reflecting on family dinner.

Note: This essay was originally written by teen Paul Clancy as part of the college application process. He included it in his Common Application as a response to the question “Describe a place or environment in which you are perfectly content, why is it meaningful to you?” Paul is currently studying at the University of Illinois — Champaign.

Dining table

I did not always appreciate our family dinner. When I was younger and more selfish I was not interested in spending that much time with my family. Now, I understand that my family is the cornerstone to my success and family dinner is the cornerstone to my family’s success. Family dinner creates a sense of community and stability. Even if everything in my life seems to be crumbling to pieces, I know that mahogany table set for dinner will stand tall among the rubble. I can always look forward to a beautifully prepared meal filled with laughter and conversation to glue me back together.

One of the best aspects of our family dinner is that it has morphed over time. It has seamlessly aged with the rest of my family. At first, dinner would last ten minutes. Conversation topics changed quicker than lightning could strike. It started with “how was your day?” and ended with “where is your shirt?” My parents struggled to control four children under the age of 6. The combined attention span of us kids was less than a nanosecond. None of us kids knew what we truly needed but we certainly knew what we liked. The room would echo with screams for dessert, television and story time. Inevitably a glass or two of milk would be spilled. Afterwards my dad worked to clean off all of our faces and my mom struggled to clean the dishes. We were a messy bunch, wearing each meal’s color on our faces.

As my brothers, sister, and I began to enter the tween and teenage years, the intensity of conversation was amped up by agreement and debate from across the table. Fights at a Clancy family dinner are unique because my mother is an attorney and my father is a judge. Pulling hair and throwing food was not tolerated, so we kids learned to use our words as weapons and as shields. My parents reinforced the notion that a well-placed adjective is just as powerful as a sucker punch. Synonyms of stupid and annoying were as plentiful as the creamy mashed potatoes, yet my parents always managed to exhibit a sense of control over dinner. Groundings were handed out not only for bad behavior but also for taboo language. Although the weekend of a 12-14 year old is nothing incredibly enticing, the reactions of a Saturday night quarantine rivaled those of capital punishment. However, by the end of dinner, tensions would usually fall and most problems could be soothed with some ice cream and words of wisdom.

Now with three kids in high school a 7 o’clock dinner time is hard to come by. However, everyone makes sacrifices to be present. I find that once I sit down I no longer want to leave. Family dinner creates this fulfilling energy that I cannot find anywhere else. I always leave that mahogany dining table feeling happier than when I sat down.

Family dinner has helped make me the young man I am today. It has taught me the importance of listening, but it has also showed me how to make my point heard. I have become more loyal, responsible, and accountable. Most importantly, I have created a unique bond with my family that will not be broken. Lee Iacocca summed it up best stating, “The only rock I know that stays steady, the only institution I know that works, is the family.” I could not agree more.

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Why eating family meals together is still important today, eating together as a family is more important than ever, because there are more competing distractions, more activity choices outside the home, and a constant bombardment of information from technology..

This article has been updated from its original text.

During the day most of us are out in the community mixing with all kinds of people. Our children are learning about the world from many sources, often without parental filters or input. Even when everyone is home, individuals do their own thing. Perhaps the only opportunity of the day to talk with each other is at the dinner table.

Children in today’s busy world need a shared, safe space to discuss ideas within the understanding company of family, and parents need a routine time to connect with kids.

The way it was

I would like to share what family dinners mean to me. When I was growing up in rural northern California, I could always count on meeting my parents and two sisters at the maple dinner table around 6:30. We all helped getting dinner ready and would sit down together. For at least half an hour we would discuss how our day had gone, talked about matters which concerned us, and made future family plans. After a busy day our evening meal was a chance to gather our little tribe around the table and reconnect with each other. This pleasant time seemed like a reward for the day’s hard work.

Dining was about “us”, rather than the “I” so many families have evolved to cater to. There wasn’t a separate menu for each person. Even the babies had whatever we adults ate, just pureed or minced. If someone didn’t like something they were given a dab, just in case this was the day it suddenly tasted good, which often happened. As kids, we were most enthusiastic about the dishes we had a part in producing.

Conversation was spontaneous and unpredictable, although negative topics were discouraged since they might impair our appetites. Discussion between bites was fun, and often interspersed with fits of giggling with my sisters, to my father’s constant chagrin.

This nightly gathering was a common scene in America in the ‘50’s and ‘60’s. People didn’t make plans around dinnertime and you were expected to be at your seat or sitting with your friend’s family at their table. Folks didn’t call during the dinner hour.

Why we don’t eat together as much today

In recent generations, Americans moved from cooking at home to eating out because they think they don’t have time to cook, says Sheryl Garrett, founder of the Garrett Planning Network. But that’s not a sound decision, she says.

“If you think about it, if you count packing the family into the car, driving to the Applebee’s, standing in line for 20 minutes, getting to your table, waiting for your food, checking out, paying the bill of 40 or 50 dollars, and then driving back home, have you saved any time at all? No, definitely not. And you’ve probably spent four times the money you would have at home.”

The variety and convenience of ‘fast food’ has certainly taken a bite out of family mealtimes. And with good reason. Food franchises have learned how to cater to our fast-paced lifestyles by delivering a wide range of food items ‘on the go’ at low cost. Today, with 19% of meals in the US being eaten in cars, we’ve come to depend on ready access to food. But while convenience foods have their place, especially for quick breakfasts and lunches for working people, they are no substitute for family dinners eaten together.

The benefits of eating family meals together

While our smart phones and devices have brought us closer to the rest of humanity, it is the family meal that brings us closer to our own clan. The fabric of family is woven by shared experiences and time spent together. Here are some things we gain when we share meals as a family:

Eating together is more efficient, less expensive and healthier

My mother planned well-balanced meals using few convenience foods because cooking from scratch was always more economical, healthful, and tasty. My dad had a garden and a few fruit trees which provided fresh produce. To supplement, in summer we would go to big farms to do the last picking of strawberries, peaches, plums, and corn. Then we would spend hours freezing or canning summer’s bounty to enjoy all winter.

In the fall my father would go deer hunting and we would have organic venison. Also there were local pasture-fed animals to source from farmers. We knew where our food came from, and it was almost always locally sourced.

When I became responsible for the care of my own children, I grew more interested in nutrition. Being a single adventurous woman in San Francisco I had explored spices, seasonings and ethnic foods, but returned to the idea that freshness was the key to flavor and nutrition. In Laurel’s Kitchen and Diet for a Small Planet , I learned why whole natural foods, minimally processed, improve our health.

Eating together teaches children food sustainability.

When our children were young, one of the common threads of table conversation was acknowledging where our food came from. Each item usually had a story, such as where bananas grew and what kind of trip they had coming to our home. By growing and raising much of our food, the children learned the basics of gardening and took more interest in meals. They might have picked the broccoli, helped make applesauce from apples they picked by climbing trees, or collected the eggs for the omelet.

Children need to learn how the cost of convenience foods goes beyond the purchase price. The environmental costs of individual portion packaging, for manufacturing and disposal, are significant. A major perpetrator of deforestation in the South is the fast food industry. With nearly 100 paper packaging mills in the US South and thousands of restaurants worldwide, major fast food retailers such as McDonald’s, Wendy’s, KFC and Taco Bell are leaders in paper consumption and subsequent waste.

Eating together builds closer relationships within the family

It goes without saying that communication is the key to understanding. Although we live as a family, each member is on a different track through life. Spending time together over meals lets us keep in touch with each other on a regular basis. To quote Joseph Califano, Jr, of Columbia University, “One of the simplest and most effective ways for parents to be engaged in their teens’ lives is by having frequent family dinners.”

Nights at the round table

When my husband Greg was a child, his family ate at a round table. The table was inherited from grandparents, and placing it in the dining room suited the shape of the room. But there was another benefit to the round table which was less apparent: because there was no “head” to the table, everyone in the family had an equal place. The ambience was very democratic – the children shared ideas with their parents as equals, and this encouraged the spontaneous and relaxed sharing of ideas.

The neighbors across the street were a fun, vibrant Italian family. But dinnertime was a strict affair, with the father sitting at the head of the large rectangular table and the mother at the opposite end. The father held court during meals, and the kids were expected to “eat up and shut up.” Although Greg spent much of his time in their house, he never stayed for dinner. He seemed to think that the table seating arrangement, which mirrored the traditional family hierarchy, stifled open communication.

It may be a stretch to think that the shape of the table and the seating order can influence communication, but we also dine at a round table in our home, and it has been the center of countless happy times spent with family and friends.

How to change the family dynamic

What if you decide your goal is to gather everyone to the table and have quality meal time together? How do you change the dynamic in your home?

Try setting a modest goal of two times a week and build from there

Eating meals together as a family does not necessarily mean the experience will be wonderful. Even within families, it takes practice to get along. Researchers at the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University found essentially that family dinner gets better with practice; the less often a family eats together, the worse the experience is likely to be, the less healthy the food and the more meager the talk.

Simplify the food preparation

Probably the main reason we favor convenience food is the perception that home-cooked meals take more time to put together. This can certainly be the case. But there are shortcuts we can use to make food preparation fast and easy. Soups and stews can be made in quantities large enough to last two or three dinners. And when cooking rice or potatoes, make enough for a few meals. Recipes can be kept simple if you cook using fresh ingredients, and meals will still taste delicious.

Turn off cell phones and texting devices

The interruption of a phone call or text message is a sure way to break the conversation and remind everyone of events beyond the dinner table. It’s bad enough that tele-marketers call during the dinner hour. At our home we unplug the phone during mealtime; it makes our time together more relaxing and conducive to conversation.

Get the family involved in shopping and food preparation

Learning to shop wisely and to prepare food are useful life skills which are becoming more important with rising food prices and economic uncertainty. Young children can be helpful in the kitchen given a little guidance. We taught our kids how to roll out their own tortillas, which was messy, but they were proud to contribute to the meal. And they would eat just about anything if it were wrapped in one of their tortillas. When shopping, we practiced thrift. I remember preparing to order in a breakfast restaurant, and one of our kids asked the waitress for “bacon on sale”, thinking that was what you call “bacon”.

It is hard to fathom that 1/3 of America’s children eat fast food every day, according to Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Good quality food, simply prepared, should take less than 45 minutes to put on the table. With good organization and family participation, food can be prepared in advance on the weekend, with some frozen for future meals. Any recipe can be adapted to be more healthful, even just by reducing the oil or butter and substituting whole wheat for white flour.

“If it were just about food, we would squirt it into their mouths with a tube,” says Robin Fox, an anthropologist who teaches at Rutgers University in New Jersey, about the intangible benefits that family dinner bestows on us. “A meal is about civilizing children. It’s about teaching them to be a member of their culture.”

Being together daily at the table is an important chance to celebrate being a family: by staying in touch, learning about family culture, food, and practicing the social skills of dining and conversation. Family meals are for nourishment, comfort and support. And, food is better eaten with the people we love!

About the Author

Lindsay Seaman Lindsay Seaman is an avid reader and researcher who grew up in rural communities in northern California. In 2010 she retired from her school district career and is now following her passion for organic gardening while helping manage the Eartheasy homestead. She works with Greg in the “research” gardens and orchard, where she enjoys experimenting with new ideas in organic food production.

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150 Creative Ideas for Writing My Family Essay

Family Essay710x486

A family essay is about understanding all the ins and outs of what makes families tick, and you’ve got a ton of room to explore some dope topics. So, get ready to dive in and break down what family really means in today’s world!

  • What Is A Family Essay?

Alright, listen up, mate. A family essay dives into the concept of family from various angles – think social, cultural, historical, and personal vibes. You can explore how families have evolved over time, the roles each family member plays, and the different types of families out there – like the nuclear crew, extended fam, single-parent setups, or blended units.

Dig deeper into family dynamics, peep the relationships between members, and check out how family life ticks. Some topics to consider could be why family is crucial, how it shapes who you are, its impact on mental health, the significance of family traditions, and how it brings support and a sense of belonging.

  • Requirements for Writing An Essay About My Family

When it comes to penning down an essay about your fam, there are a few things you gotta keep in mind. First up, figure out why you’re writing this thing – what’s your goal? You aiming to inform, persuade, or reflect? Knowing this sets the tone for your essay and helps you shape it up.

  • Pick a topic that speaks to you from the list we got here – could be about your family history, traditions, relationships, or how they’ve influenced your life. Then, nail down a crisp thesis statement that sums up what your essay’s all about.
  • Do your homework. Depending on your topic, you might need to hit the books, browse articles, or even chat with family members for info.
  • Organize your thoughts. Sketch out an outline or a plan to give your essay some structure. Start with an intro that sets the stage, drops your thesis, and gets the ball rolling. Then, in the body, lay down your main points with evidence and examples. Finally, wrap it up with a conclusion that ties everything together, hitting home on your thesis.
  • Lastly, proofread like your grades depend on it! Check for grammar slip-ups, punctuation quirks, and typos. Make it shine.

Keep an eye out for any specific instructions your teacher might’ve given, and you’ll be all set to knock this essay outta the park!

  • It’s Time to Choose The Topic of The Essay About My Family

Okay, time to pick the topic for your family essay. Now that you’ve got the lowdown on what’s what, it’s time to choose the perfect theme for your piece, keeping in mind the option to pay for an essay . We’ve done some digging and pulled together a list of interesting titles for your essay. Check these out:

  • Topics About The Importance of Family
  • The Role Of Family In Shaping Our Identities
  • The Importance Of Family Bonding Time
  • The Impact Of Family Support On Mental Health
  • The Role Of Family In Providing A Sense Of Belonging
  • The Importance Of Family Traditions And Rituals
  • The Role Of Family In Providing A Supportive And Loving Environment
  • The Impact Of Family On Childhood Development
  • The Role Of Family In Teaching Values And Life Lessons
  • The Importance Of Family Communication And Connection
  • The Role Of Family In Providing A Strong Foundation For The Future
  • Family Tradition Essay Ideas
  • The Power of Family Traditions in Bringing People Together
  • The Role of Family Traditions in Providing a Sense of Identity
  • The Importance of Family Traditions in Passing Down Cultural Values
  • The Impact of Family Traditions on Building Stronger Bonds
  • The Role of Family Traditions in Providing a Sense of Belonging
  • The Importance of Family Traditions in Providing a Sense of Security
  • The Impact of Family Traditions on Childhood Development
  • The Role of Family Traditions in Teaching Life Lessons
  • The Importance of Family Traditions in Creating Lifelong Memories
  • The Role of Family Traditions in Preserving Family History and Heritage
  • Family History Titles Ideas
  • Exploring the Roots: The Importance of Knowing Your Family History
  • The Role of Family History in Shaping Our Identities
  • Discovering the Past: The Importance of Uncovering Your Family’s Story
  • The Impact of Family History on Our Sense of Belonging
  • The Role of Family History in Providing a Sense of Connection to Our Ancestors
  • Preserving Our Heritage: The Importance of Recording and Sharing Family History
  • The Impact of Family History on Our Understanding of Ourselves and Our Place in the World
  • The Role of Family History in Bridging Generational Gaps
  • The Importance of Family History in Providing a Sense of Continuity and Tradition
  • Exploring the Mysteries: The Role of Family History in Solving Family Mysteries and Uncovering Hidden Family Stories
  • Spending Time with My Family
  • The Value of Quality Time: The Importance of Spending Time with Family
  • The Role of Family Time in Building Stronger Bonds
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  • The Importance of Family Time in Providing a Supportive and Loving Environment
  • The Role of Family Time in Teaching Values and Life Lessons
  • The Impact of Family Time on Mental Health and Well-Being
  • The Value of Family Time in Creating Lifelong Memories
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  • The Importance of Family Time in Fostering Communication and Connection
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  • Essay About Travel with Family
  • The Joys of Family Travel: The Importance of Taking Family Trips
  • The Role of Family Trips in Building Stronger Bonds
  • The Impact of Family Trips on Childhood Development
  • The Importance of Family Trips in Providing a Sense of Adventure and Exploration
  • The Role of Family Trips in Teaching Life Lessons and Cultural Awareness
  • The Impact of Family Trips on Mental Health and Well-Being
  • The Value of Family Trips in Creating Lifelong Memories
  • The Role of Family Trips in Providing Quality Time Together
  • The Importance of Family Trips in Fostering Communication and Connection
  • The Role of Family Trips in Strengthening Family Relationships
  • Essay On Funny Family Stories
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  • The Role of Funny Family Stories in Teaching Life Lessons and Perspective
  • The Importance of Funny Family Stories in Preserving Family History and Heritage
  • The Impact of Funny Family Stories on Childhood Development and Socialization
  • The Role of Funny Family Stories in Fostering Communication and Connection
  • The Value of Funny Family Stories in Creating Lifelong Memories
  • Topics Related to Family Health
  • The Importance of Family Health: A Holistic Approach
  • The Role of Family Health in Promoting Well-Being and Longevity
  • The Impact of Family Health on Quality of Life
  • The Importance of Family Health in Providing Support and Encouragement
  • The Role of Family Health in Promoting Healthy Habits and Lifestyle Choices
  • The Impact of Family Health on Mental Health and Emotional Well-Being
  • The Importance of Family Health in Providing a Supportive and Loving Environment
  • The Role of Family Health in Fostering Communication and Connection
  • The Impact of Family Health on Childhood Development and Socialization
  • The Importance of Family Health in Strengthening Family Relationships
  • Topics About Large and Small Families
  • The Benefits of a Large Family: More Hands to Help and a Stronger Support System
  • The Advantages of a Small Family: More Individual Attention and Flexibility
  • Why Big Families are Better: The Joys of a Large Sibling Group
  • The Perks of Having a Small Family: More Time and Resources for Each Child
  • The Benefits of a Large Family: A Diverse and Inclusive Community
  • The Advantages of a Small Family: More One-on-One Parenting Time
  • Why Big Families are Better: The Opportunity for Stronger Bonds Between Siblings
  • The Perks of Having a Small Family: The Ability to Tailor Education and Experiences to Each Child
  • The Benefits of a Large Family: A Sense of Belonging and Togetherness
  • The Advantages of a Small Family: The Potential for Deeper Parent-Child Relationships
  • More Family Essay Titles by Type

Below you can see an additional list of titles for your paper. It is divided into types for easy selection.

  • Definition Essay About My Family
  • What is a Family? A Definition and Exploration of the Concept
  • The Modern Family: A Reexamination of Traditional Family Structures
  • The Importance of Family in Society
  • The Role of Family in Personal and Social Development
  • Defining Family Values and How They Shape Our Lives
  • The Evolution of the Family Unit Throughout History
  • Dysfunctional Families: Causes and Effects
  • The Role of Culture and Tradition in Family Dynamics
  • Blended Families: Navigating the Challenges and Rewards
  • The Role of Communication in Maintaining Strong Family Relationships
  • Argumentative Essay Topics About Family
  • Is the Nuclear Family Still the Best Family Structure?
  • The Benefits of Single Parenting: Debunking the Stereotypes
  • The Legalization of Polyamorous Relationships and the Future of the Family
  • The Negative Impact of Technology on Family Dynamics
  • The Case for Same-Sex Marriage and the Recognition of Alternative Family Structures
  • The Dangers of Overprotective Parenting: The Case for Giving Children More Independence
  • The Advantages of Multigenerational Households
  • The Role of the Extended Family in Providing Support and Connection
  • The Pros and Cons of Traditional Gender Roles Within the Family
  • The Effect of Parental Involvement on Children’s Academic and Social Success
  • Illustration Essay About Family
  • The Rewards of Volunteering as a Family
  • The Impact of Divorce on the Family Dynamic
  • The Power of Forgiveness in Strengthening Family Relationships
  • The Role of Family Meals in Building Strong Bonds
  • The Importance of Quality Time in Nurturing Family Relationships
  • The Benefits of Family Vacations on Mental Health and Well-Being
  • The Challenges and Rewards of Raising Children in a Multicultural Family
  • The Impact of Military Deployment on Family Dynamics
  • The Role of Extended Family in Providing Support and Connection
  • The Positive Impact of Family Therapy on Mental Health and Relationship Dynamics
  • Descriptive Essay About My Family
  • My Ideal Family: A Descriptive Portrait
  • A Day in the Life of a Busy Family
  • The Unique Traditions of My Family
  • The Special Bond Between Siblings
  • The Role of Grandparents in Our Family
  • A Typical Family Dinner at Our House
  • The Importance of Family Gatherings
  • The Dynamic of a Large Family
  • The Role of Pets in Our Family
  • The Memories We’ve Made as a Family
  • Narrative Essay About Family
  • The Day My Family Fell Apart: A Personal Narrative
  • My Journey to Building a Strong Relationship with My Parents
  • The Role of Family in Overcoming Adversity
  • The Impact of a Family Move on My Life
  • The Lessons I’ve Learned from My Siblings
  • The Role of Family in My Personal and Professional Success
  • The Meaning of Family: A Reflection on My Childhood
  • The Special Bond Between Cousins
  • The Influence of My Grandparents on My Life
  • The Love and Support of My Aunt and Uncle: A Personal Narrative
  • Good Topics for A Persuasive Essay About My Family
  • The Importance of Quality Time with Family: A Persuasive Argument
  • Why Strong Family Bonds are Essential for Childhood Development
  • The Case for Prioritizing Family Over Career
  • The Benefits of Eating Dinner as a Family: A Persuasive Argument
  • The Case for Flexible Work Schedules to Promote Work-Life Balance
  • The Importance of Maintaining Strong Family Relationships
  • Why Parents Should Limit Technology Use for Their Children
  • Why It’s Important to Foster a Strong Sense of Community Within the Family
  • The Case for Encouraging Outdoor Activities and Family Adventure
  • Compare and Contrast Essay About Family and Friends
  • The Similarities and Differences Between Family and Friend Relationships
  • Comparing and Contrasting the Role of Communication in Maintaining Strong Family and Friend Bonds
  • The Comparison of Support and Loyalty in Family and Friend Relationships
  • Comparing and Contrasting the Impact of Conflict on Family and Friend Dynamics
  • The Differences Between the Loyalty Expected in Family and Friend Relationships
  • Comparing and Contrasting the Role of Tradition in Family and Friend Gatherings
  • The Comparison of the Importance of Quality Time in Family and Friend Relationships
  • Comparing and Contrasting the Role of Forgiveness in Maintaining Strong Family and Friend Bonds
  • The Differences Between the Role of Boundaries in Family and Friend Relationships
  • Comparing and Contrasting the Impact of Distance on Family and Friend Dynamics
  • Family Essay Examples

Alright, if you’re looking to peep some solid family essay examples, swing by our website’s Essay Examples section. We’ve got a bunch sorted out for you there. Use the filter to narrow down your search and find the ones that catch your eye. We’ve got a mix of short and long essays covering different angles of the family vibe. And hey, here’s the kicker – no need to fork out cash to get your hands on these examples. It’s all there for you to dive into and get inspired.

Scroll through, check out the styles and topics, and you might just find something that sparks your creativity. Sometimes seeing how others tackle the family essay game can give you some fresh ideas or a killer approach for your own piece. So, don’t be shy, take a peek, and let those examples fuel your essay-writing mojo. Happy hunting!

  • Final Words

So you’ve picked your essay title and you’re all set to dive in. With the knowledge you’ve gained, I’m sure you’ll succeed. But hey, if time’s playing hardball and you’re feeling the crunch, don’t sweat it. We’ve got a squad of seasoned writers ready to step up and help out. Whether it’s you powering through or reaching out for a little assist, just know you’ve got options. Good luck with your essay – knock it out of the park!

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Descriptive Essay About A Dinner Party

I was having a dinner party because it was my birthday. It was at a magic mansion I rented for the party. I also rented an enchanted dinner table for the party. It made the room appeal to anyone. One person could smell lavender and another could smell cookies. The table changed material, lights, floor, smell, texture and sound (music). The french doors I would open for my guests were in a short hall that lead into a big room. The big room was circular and was I was inviting famous people only to my dinner party. There was a velvet carpet on the floor and 2 curved stairs leading up to a balcony where one can stand. The roof was concave and at the highest point was a magnificent glass chandelier. The floor was made out of marble. Paintings decorated the walls and the paintings moved and spoke just like the ones at Hogwarts . The food will be whatever they wish and the food will appear on the enchanted table. I am inviting JK Rowling, Percy Jackson, Dumbledore and Harry Potter . I am inviting JK Rowling because she will want to talk to the people she wrote about. I am inviting Percy Jackson because he will want to talk about the magic sea creatures that live in the magic world. I am inviting Dumbledore because he is slightly crazy but a powerful wizard. I am inviting Harry Potter because he is a main character in JK Rowling’s books. She will want to talk to him. “Welcome, welcome!” I exclaimed, “Come on in.” The first guest to my dinner party was JK Rowling. “Well this

Quinceañer My Family Tradition

My quinceañera dress was a aqua puffy cloud. The music was blasting it could be heard international. My family members were having coversations. One of the tables was filled with presents that were big and small. There was a lot of people that you could fill a baseball stadium.

Essay on If Could Invite Three People to Dinner

"If I were invited to a dinner party with my characters, I wouldn't show up." But if I had the oppurnity to invite three people over for dinner I would invite Lauren Hill because she is my favorite musian and writer, the second person that I would invite is Twiggy because she is a legend in the modeling industry she was the first teen supermodel the third person I would invite to have dinner with would be Paul Lawrence Dumber because he was a great poet and an ascent to the Harlem Renssiances. This paper will explain why I would choose to invite these three people to my house for dinner.

Dinner Party

If I could host a dinner party and I could invite anyone. I would invite Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Huey P. Newton. Martin Luther King Jr. led the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and also in the 1960s Malcolm X was a national minister and spokesman of the Nation of Islam and Huey P. Newton led Black Panther Party in 1966 through 1987. I would invite these three men because they led different organizations to gain equal rights for African-Americans in the 1960s. They had different views on getting equal rights. For example, Martin Luther King Jr. believed in peaceful protesting and turning the other cheek but Malcolm X and Huey P. Newton believed by any means necessary that means they will do anything and everything to get equality. I would ask questions about how did they organization’s start and how they overcome all of the naysayers. I would serve roasted chicken and water served as a drink. We would talk about their deaths and did they felt they could have done more before they died. Also, we would talk about the current situations with African-Americans. I feel like we could use different tactics to get the job done. I think they will be upset how blacks are treated by society today. They probably thought after their deaths African Americans will be treated with more

Descriptive Essay On Thanksgiving

Heavenly smells in the air, footballs on T.V, family is gathered around, and a comfortable homey feel of my grandmother’s house makes Thanksgiving one of my favorite meals of the year. I will always have memories of thanksgiving at my grandmothers. The smell that rushes your nose as you walk in to the house. So many mouthwatering smells go through the air at my grandmother’s thanksgiving. Her Thanksgiving dinner never fails to fulfill my expectations. With the whole family gathered and the dinner table full of delicious food, I can’t help but feel content.

Descriptive Essay About Thanksgiving

It 's a tradition that my moms side of the family come to my grandmas house for Thanksgiving. The cool air and falling leaves is a sign of fall and Thanksgiving is my least favorite holiday. I don’t like my cousins very much and I 'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual. Thanksgiving is not that cheerful for me. Years ago at Thanksgiving, I was not excited for it, just like every other year. My grandmas basement is very much underground and quite dark without the lights on. My cousins were running around the basement playing around. I started to try to scare them by hiding and popping out saying "Boo!". Evening approached and the moon starts to come out of hiding and the night starts to set in. It’s a cool night outside and the sun starts to

Texas Party Meeting Essay

Any qualified Texas voter can be participates in the formulation of state and national platform, and in picking the

Summary Of Dinner Party Economics Written By Eveline

In this report, we will be taking a look in Dinner Party Economics written by Eveline Adomait and Richard Maranta. Specifically, we will be looking at Chapters eleven and twelve; Macroeconomic policy and inevitable political debate. Hello its me gka d shk gd h gd hj gusg Let us first dive into chapter eleven about macroeconomic policy. The big picture in this

Controversy: The Sexual Politics Of The Dinner Party

The article “The Sexual Politics of the Dinner Party” talks about the symbolic history of woman in Western civilization. “Female body is that which must remain outside the realm of high art.” A woman is always seemed as a sex object no matter what culture you are from. This quote to me means that woman are more than just a body. Woman have been belittled for centuries. This dinner party is all about stopping that, and embracing the beautiful and unique piece of art that a woman is.

Judy Chicago Dinner Party Essay

In the fifteenth century, Christine de Pisan dreamt of building an ideal city for eminent and virtuous women, and with the help of her three "muses," the sisters Reason, Rectitude, and Justice, she reflected on the many women in history and mythology who might live together in this Cité des Dames. Almost exactly four centuries later, the American sculptor and feminist Harriet Hosmer envisioned a beautiful temple dedicated to the achievements of women. Now such a grand idea has been realized.

Descriptive Essay On Being A Waitress

It’s always nice to go out to eat, order a nice meal that you do not have to cook and be served everything you want. When going out to eat, have you ever thought about the person that is serving you food, getting you drinks, and making sure you have a pleasant experience at the restaurant of your choice? That person is a server. He or she is a waiter or waitress. I’ve gone out to eat a lot, and I’ve always been a little curious what is like to be the person serving the food and not eating it.

The Kitchen Table Essay

Never have I taken the time to think of the significance of the kitchen table in my life, but I have come to realize that my kitchen table has always been a place to unwind and share with my family members. From childhood to my adult hood, I have always come to the kitchen table in celebration, conference, in search of security, and enjoyment. The kitchen table of the past always brought my family together, and the table in my present brings focus to my school work and an occasional “catch up” conversation with my family, and in the future I hope to have a similar kitchen table setting as I did in my childhood, but with my own style.

How to Plan the Perfect Party Essay

When you decide to have a party, you must realize that the people you invite are there to have a good time. If you do not plan the party correctly and your guests do not enjoy themselves, they may never come back to one of your get-togethers. Take this into consideration when planning the event even if making the necessary arrangements becomes time consuming and tedious. No matter what, remember how important it is to take the time to plan your party step by step. The steps you must take in order to plan the perfect party are to first identify the theme, second calculate your budget, and lastly make the final touches in order to successfully plan and have the perfect

Planning a Party Essay

     The process of planning a party takes a lot of time and focus to get every detail covered. First of all, you must decide where you will have the party, maybe a club house or your own home. When you have that decided then there are several other steps you must take in order for your party to be successful.

Essay about My Mother’s Dining Room

The center of the room is what draws your attention. It leaves your mouth open in amazement. The long rectangle table is made of strong mahogany solid wood, trimmed in a thin layer of gold. The top of the table is filled with brownish marble. The long back and tall legged chairs are also made of mahogany wood. The cushion on the chairs are soft like down alternative pillows. The square crystal clear dinner plate, trimmed in platinum, sit in front of the 30 chairs that surround the table. A fresh mixed green centerpiece is in the center of the

Descriptive Essay About Restaurant

There is no doubt that the Phoenix is one of the biggest city in the United States. It has the rich resources and good populations. We can always have fun here during my free time. Being an international student who is studying here, the food here is always the most important thing I worried about. Since I came here, I had tried so many foods here and I think each food own their independent style. Whatever what kind of food they from, I think they both good. But the food I always like best is Chinese food.

Related Topics

  • Harry Potter
  • Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
  • Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
  • Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

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A Family Dinner

essay

  • Word count: 417
  • Category: Family Food Parent

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The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of a family dinner is unity as family members gather together to share a meal and their day’s events. In the spacious kitchen, while Mom prepares dinner, she listens to her children chatting and laughing as they do their homework at the large mahogany table by the picture window that faces the bucolic back yard. They wait anxiously for their father to return home from work so they can eat their mother’s savory dinner. This reminds Mom of herself as a blooming child sitting at the kitchen table smelling all her mother’s delectable food and anxiously waiting her father’s arrival while chatting and laughing with her siblings.

The kitchen has the essence of a gourmet restaurant at the height of the dinner hour. Aromas are sprinkling the air and tickling the noses of everyone it touches. It brings a sense of warmth and safety that envelops each child as if it were a blanket on a snowy day. The sound of sizzling meat and steaming bright colored vegetables pulls them in as if they were dogs being called by their master. The tantalizing aroma and sounds entrances the children’s father as he greets Mom in the kitchen who is by now dancing to some funny song on the radio. The children are so excited to see him. They begin to bounce up and down like bunny rabbits yelling, “Dad is home! It is time to eat!” Their words ring like a bell in the Mom’s memory bank. She remembers reciting the same phrases when her father finally came home. She was so excited not only to eat her mother’s delicious meal but to also share with her father her day’s events.

Finally, the family sits at the table together to enjoy the deliciously prepared meal and talk about the events of their day. The children rattle off with such exuberance and enthusiasm all the horrendous and exciting stuff they did at school that day with their hands flying every which way as they speak. Their description of the mean old math teacher with his crooked eyeglasses, untamed hair and specks of food in his yellow stained teeth reminds Mom of all the stuff she told her parents at the dinner table. What a breathtaking memory for her to remember the abundance of togetherness at each night’s dinner table when she was a child. She is touched that her family dinners today are the same.

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Descriptive Essay: Christmas Traditions in My Family

Despite how the modern message may have been diluted down the years, each Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus with traditions drawn from Christianity as well as other ones personal to our own family. Each family I know follows many of the same traditions as we do, however each put their own spin on it and make it their own. My Christmas is special because of these very traditions which we have formed as a family.

The 1st of December is my favorite day in the year because it marks the beginning of my Christmas. On the 1st of December my family and I go to the shops and buy a special new tree decoration. My parents have been collecting Christmas decorations for years and nothing matches on purpose. Christmas spirit is everywhere on the 1st of December, the shops play festive music and are usually decorated down to the last detail. It is this date for me that marks the beginning of the season.

We all put the tree up together the weekend after. We play Christmas music in the background, wear the Santa hats we dug out of the loft and have a drink. After the tree is up, the excessive amount of food has been brought, then the family all come down for the big day. We live all over now so the traditions have had to be adapted slightly. Christmas is the time when we all make the effort to come down at the same time. We go on the 24th of December and play family games all day. We have a buffet dinner which we call an ‘itsy bitsy’ then make our way to midnight mass at the local church.

On Christmas day we wake up early, around 8 a.m. and have breakfast together. We don’t open our presents as soon as we get up as we all agree that we love the anticipation. When we do get round to opening our gifts, after dinner has been put on and the vegetables have been peeled, one of us hands each present out, one at a time.

After presents we all help to get the dinner dished up and the table laid. For dinner we have a turkey with all of the trimmings, we say grace before dinner and then pull our crackers. We have a competition to see who can keep their hat on for the whole day.

After dinner comes the washing up, which we all help with. Then we enjoy family games which we either got that day or we dig out the old classics. The games are my favorite part of the day. It is something which everyone gets involved in and has a great laugh over.

Our family traditions at Christmas have been adapted since people have moved away however, we always make the effort to be together and play games together. Our traditions are much the same as any family; we eat, we give gifts and be merry.

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Home / Essay Samples / Life / Family Values / Chinese Reunion Dinner: Celebrating Family and Tradition

Chinese Reunion Dinner: Celebrating Family and Tradition

  • Category: Culture , Life
  • Topic: Chinese New Year , Family Values , Tradition

Pages: 1 (447 words)

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