When our kids were young, my wife and I decided to have special Sunday dinners.  A lot of times we would have Sunday dinners in the dining room to make them more formal. We also did this to teach the kids how to eat with the proper utensils and use proper manners, it was a mini etiquette class. There was one plate on the table however that was different than all the rest. You can see our special plate above. It has a little wear and tear on it.

We were at a store one time and there was a colorful plate that caught my eye.  I had an idea. This would be the “special plate”.  The special plate is a plate that only one person at the table gets.

The way the special plate works is one person gets the plate. During the meal the other people at the table go around and tell the person that has the special plate why they are special. The goal is for it to be something truly special and unique about that person, not something general. An example would be, “Aly is special because she has a huge heart and always sees the best in people”.

I will tell you this can be challenging with brothers and sisters, especially with the boys saying something nice about their sister.

If we had a guest, the special plate went to the guest. One time we had a guest over for dinner and we gave him the special plate. The family went around the table telling him why he was special. He was so moved that he started to tear up.

When it is someone’s birthday they always get the special plate.  One of their gifts is to hear from the family why they are special. This is a great gift for the person being told why they are special. It’s a safe time to really express what you think is unique about that family member in a genuine way.

Get a “special plate” for your family and test it out this week. If you don’t have children at home anymore, get one for the grandchildren.

Please share this with anyone you think would benefit. Thanks.

Be Great!