| By :
Mark Etinger
Dinnerware is typically dictated by the situation, and one would appear right in assuming the formality of the situation should be what decides whether formal dinnerware is used or not. For example, if the meal is proper and formal and those in attendance are wearing tuxedos and long, gorgeous gowns, then you should probably pull out the Arthur Court formal dinnerware. However, I've found that the situation does dictate what silverware we use, the formality of the dinnerware does not always reflect how "nice" the meal actually is. For instance, every Sunday night my family and I order Chinese food take-out for dinner. It has become a weekly-tradition in my house, one that I wouldn't imagine giving up. It gives my entire family a moment, once a week, to sit down together as a family and enjoy a wonderful meal before the hectic busy week begins. Some of the best moments our family has occur during those weekly Chinese take-out dinners. And despite the fact that it's an important meeting that I wouldn't miss in a thousand years, we always use plastic silverware and paper plates, items that could hardly be described as formal dinnerware. Not to mention, our Chinese take-out place isn't even that good. There is literally nothing formal or "nice" about it, yet it's something I always have and will continue to look forward to. On the flip side, about once a month we have my wife's parents over for dinner. I'm afraid to admit it, but these are NOT enjoyable experiences, mostly because my wife and my mother-in-law do not get along. Yet every time, without fail, my wife will spend literally HOURS preparing the meal, controlling and perfecting every detail from the main course to the desserts to the number of Spode dinnerware pieces we use. And yet, all of us HATE these dinners. There's always this elephant-in-the-room-style tension filling everyone, and nobody has a good time. If I can get out of these dinners, I almost always do, and I've seen all of my kids try to weasel their way out of it from time to time as well. But if you were to look at a photo of all of us at the table for one of these dinners, you would think to yourself "what a nice occasion. Look at all the fancy formal dinnerware. Look at the nice, intricate meal. How nice." When the truth is, it's nothing like that at all. I guess it's just your typical "Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover" Scenario.
|
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.articlesbacklink.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
