This week's Family Dinner Table Talk, from HuffPost and The Family Dinner book:
The Royal Wedding, Oprah's last show, the day Occupy Wall Street started... these are three of the days Aol picked as the ones that most shaped 2011. And Moviefone.com included Breaking Dawn and Winnie the Pooh on their list of the year's best movies. As for us, at HuffPost Parents, we liked this batch of adorable kid videos on YouTube the most.
So, what's with all the lists? We think they're -- ahem! -- fun. Yes, some Grinchy people say it’s enough already... too many opinionated book reviewers and "Can you really name a best music video?"
But, go ahead and try it. Since it's the end of 2011, we went for top 11s instead of 10s and think you should too. Come up with your own topics and review what you personally enjoyed. How about the "Top 11 Dinners Mom or Dad Made" or the "Best Items In My Lunchbox"? Rankings are optional, but it might have some sway over what food you'll be digging into at lunchtime next year. Just saying.
Questions for discussion:
- What are other "Top 11" lists you can think of making?
- Are there other reasons to make lists besides the fun of it?
- How else can you recap and evaluate things at the end of the year?
This Week's Recipe:
Each week, we give you something to talk about at dinner time, and now, something to eat too! Tonight's recipe comes to us from The Naptime Chef: Baked Meyer Lemon Thyme Risotto.
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In her new cookbook, The Family Dinner, Laurie David talks about the importance of families making a ritual of sitting down to dinner together, and how family dinners offer a great opportunity for meaningful discussions about the day's news. "Dinner," she says, "is as much about digestible conversation as it is about delicious food."
We couldn't agree more. So HuffPost has joined with Laurie and every Friday afternoon, just in time for dinner, our editors highlight one of the most compelling news stories of the week -- stories that will spark a lively discussion among the whole family.
Subscribe to receive HuffPost Family Dinner Downloads by email every Friday afternoon.
For more tips and recipes, check out The Family Dinner: Great Ways to Connect with Your Kids, One Meal at a Time by Laurie David and Kirstin Uhrenholdt (thefamilydinnerbook.com).