I saw this in the Tribune and it got me thinking. How many of you allow the TV to be on (under normal circumstances) during dinnertime and how many have dinnertime as strictly a family time without distractions? If dinner is a no TV time - would you allow for exceptions such as this?
Football vs. dinner: Something has to give
Published December 23, 2005
Dear Amy: I look forward to the holidays as a meaningful time for family and friends, but this year everything's a mess. There's no church service to go to on Christmas Day, even though it is Sunday. The Bears-Packers football game starts at 4 p.m. -- right when we should be sitting down to our big traditional dinner. My husband and I are fighting over whether to allow the television to be on at all. I feel like all my cherished traditions are eroding.
-- The sad traditionalist
Dear Sad Traditionalist: First off, simmer down. It's Christmas! I'm going to offer an alternative way to think about this particular day. This Christmas could go down in your family's history as "The Unforgettable Football Christmas."
Think about it. Your kids and relatives could all look back on Christmas 2005 when, for just one year, Mom threw a real Holiday Hail Mary and tossed tradition to the wind.
I hope that you did your level best to celebrate the religious component to your holiday at your church's Christmas Eve service (Let's hope that nobody substituted the baby Jesus in your church's creche with a football).
Now do your best to work around this once-in-a-football-fan's-lifetime event. When you can't work around it, incorporate it into your day in a way that's fun and lively for everyone. (How often are the Bears still in contention at Christmas?)
You could perhaps change the timing of your meal to coincide with half-time (see chart) -- or time it for before or after the game. Or eat during and play a game -- whenever there's a flag on a play, you could raise your glasses in a toast.
Come on -- just this once trade in your Christmas apron for a referee's jersey.
At the end of the evening, you and your family can settle in for sweets and coffee and share your own post-game holiday highlights.
Game or Dinner?
Published December 23, 2005
Dear Amy: I look forward to the holidays as a meaningful time for family and friends, but this year everything's a mess. There's no church service to go to on Christmas Day, even though it is Sunday. The Bears-Packers football game starts at 4 p.m. -- right when we should be sitting down to our big traditional dinner. My husband and I are fighting over whether to allow the television to be on at all. I feel like all my cherished traditions are eroding.
-- The sad traditionalist
Dear Sad Traditionalist: First off, simmer down. It's Christmas! I'm going to offer an alternative way to think about this particular day. This Christmas could go down in your family's history as "The Unforgettable Football Christmas."
Think about it. Your kids and relatives could all look back on Christmas 2005 when, for just one year, Mom threw a real Holiday Hail Mary and tossed tradition to the wind.
I hope that you did your level best to celebrate the religious component to your holiday at your church's Christmas Eve service (Let's hope that nobody substituted the baby Jesus in your church's creche with a football).
Now do your best to work around this once-in-a-football-fan's-lifetime event. When you can't work around it, incorporate it into your day in a way that's fun and lively for everyone. (How often are the Bears still in contention at Christmas?)
You could perhaps change the timing of your meal to coincide with half-time (see chart) -- or time it for before or after the game. Or eat during and play a game -- whenever there's a flag on a play, you could raise your glasses in a toast.
Come on -- just this once trade in your Christmas apron for a referee's jersey.
At the end of the evening, you and your family can settle in for sweets and coffee and share your own post-game holiday highlights.
Game or Dinner?
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