Our Stories

I had the pleasure of hosting an "etiquette" evening for a group of my teens' friends.  It was a really fun time, even the boys enjoyed it!, and I wanted to share what I did in case you need a step by step plan for hosting an evening of your own.  Our event was done as part of their homeschooling year with our homeschool group, and included the formal dinner and etiquette portion to begin, followed by a murder mystery game that was enjoyed by all!

I recommend working with a group of moms to share the load; one mom took care of communication, invitations and RSVPs; I planned and hosted the etiquette portion, with help serving and plating, and cleaning up from 2 moms.  Another mom planned and organized the game.  One of the teen's has a gluten allergy, so I asked their family to bring a dessert that she could eat, and they kindly did and it worked out great.  Other moms sent bread/rolls for our bread course, and sparkling grape juice for the "wine" glasses.  And another mom who is a photographer helped that evening and took these wonderful pictures for us.

That left me to set the table and make the salad and main course (see recipes below).  I also made decaf coffee to accompany dessert and the kids liked that.

We began the evening by sitting at the table before the meal, praying, and then I gave a quick little talk on "what is etiquette?" using my "Pocket" print-ables.  My hope is that the tactile, bite-size format of the Pockets will distill what I want the teens to know in a fun way that they can keep and use in future.  To that end, after we discussed the "Basic" etiquette pocket, I gathered them all and put them in their "goodie bags" so they would be sure to take them home.  The goodie bags also included the other Pockets printed and folded, as well as some dinner mints.

After our brief discussion, we passed the bread and butter, and salad was served!  The main course and dessert followed, and then we got on to the game.

Recipes

Make sure whatever food you make is hands-off so you can spend your time discussing or leading and interacting with the kids.

Chicken Marbella is what my mom always served to company, and it's the perfect make ahead, delicious, and pretty on the plate dish.  I served it with Basmati rice, and boiled carrots with butter and dill on the side.

The salad was chopped Romaine lettuce dressed with my simple vinaigrette, with goat cheese crumbles, sliced almonds, and pear slices.

Simple Vinaigrette:

1/3 cup olive oil

3 Tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard.  

Put these all in a jar and shake to combine.

Dessert was a perfect "teen friendly" dish; not too exotic and looked really pretty. 

The Winter is Cold, is Cold, by Madeleine L'Engle

The winter is cold, is cold.

All's spent in keeping warm.

Has joy been frozen, too?

I blow upon my hands

Stiff from the biting wind.

My heart beats slow, beats slow.

What has become of joy?

If joy's gone from my heart

Then it is closed to You Who made it, gave it life.

If I protect myself

I'm hiding, Lord, from you.

How we defend ourselves

In ancient suits of mail!

Protected from the sword,

Shrinking from the wound,

We look for happiness,

Small, safety-seeking, dulled,

Selfish, exclusive, in-turned.

Elusive, evasive, peace comes

Only when it's not sought.

Help me forget the cold

That grips the grasping world.

Let me stretch out my hands

To purifying fire,

Clutching fingers uncurled.

Look! Here is the melting joy.

My heart beats once again.