Come Together. Right Now.

With the economy swinging high and low once again, the United States finds itself uncertain about which way the financial situation is going to go. The result? Much anxiety and increased stress.

These emotions can be traced back to one fundamental emotion: fear. Fear is amplified by isolation—keeping feelings inside, withdrawing from the people who love us and losing ourselves in our problems.

So, I think it’s time for us to take a cue from the Beatles. We need to come together. Right now.

The importance of coming together is nothing new. Those of you who follow my blog and collect Rosanna product know that I always have been a staunch advocate of coming together and creating community.

In this post, I want to suggest a few specific ways to come together that reveal the resources and community available right at your fingertips. 

Courtesy: John Granen Photography

Visit Popular Public Spaces

I don’t mean shopping malls or downtown centers. Find the place in your community that most closely resembles the Italian piazza—a place where people gather to visit with friends and neighbors and spend time in the company of each other.

In Seattle we have Greenlake, a green space constantly peopled by joggers, bikers, roller-bladers, strollers, and plenty of babies and dogs.

University campuses are also often lively, featuring free concerts, lectures, performances, and readings. The presence of students lounging on the lawns and playing Frisbee can be a heartening sight.

Attend summer concerts or plays in the parks; also look out for outdoor movies.

Take advantage of the warm weather and visit a local beach! Lakes, rivers, or the ocean are full of good feeling, places where people lounge, visit, swim, and play.

Create Community

Bringing friends and neighbors together doesn’t have to entail a full-blown dinner party. To create an impromptu get together, try hosting a low-pressure gathering—

                       

A glass of wine or beer and snacks at sunset

                        A bonfire after dinner

An ice cream party (which requires no cooking or prep work!)

If you do decide to host a meal—make it a BBQ. Encourage everyone to bring something to grill; with each guest pitching in, you’re more like a facilitator, freed from burdens of a full-blown host.

Carve Out Family Time

Come together with your family by starting a tradition. It could be something as simple as reading a chapter book to your children at bedtime. The longer story guarantees continuity. The activity can be just as soothing for parents as it can be for children.

It’s extraordinary how comforting a little bit of support can feel. All you have to do is ask for it, or offer it yourself. Be proactive about creating a space where connection can happen for yourself and others. Take the first steps and come together. We all feel better when we do. 

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Preparing An Independence Day To Remember

The USA has a birthday that’s just around the corner, and it’s time to think about how we’re going to celebrate.

Here are some tips to help create a delightful and delicious 4^th of July gathering.

Decorate with Vintage Americana

I like my 4^th of July decorations to make a statement. Over the years, I’ve acquired a collection of vintage flags and Americana, which I mix and match with newer decorations and dinnerware. I find that incorporating vintage and antique decorations into the mix adds some soul to the aesthetic of the event.

There are numerous inventive ways you can decorate with your flags—place smaller flags in a vase as a centerpiece on your table, or use an extra large flag as a tablecloth.

You can collect vintage flags and decorations at flea markets or your local vintage store. You can also find some gems online at sites like Etsy and even eBay.

Tablesetting

Always have a set of 12 white dinner plates and 12 white napkins.  This is one of my little secrets.   Doing this allows you to mix and match salad plates to create hundreds of possible tablescapes, depending on the occasion.  For Independence Day, choose a patriotic-looking or an Americana salad plate.  If you don’t have one, find red or blue---after all, you’ve already got the white in your dinner plates!

Coordinate Your Costumes

To create a more festive feel for the event, encourage your guests to wear red white and blue clothing. The sillier, more flamboyant, and outrageous the clothing, the better.

Make One Special Drink

Make sure to have all the usuals—juice, beer, wine, water, and soda—on hand. In addition, make one special, summer-themed punch. This one drink can bring a surprising amount of cohesion to your meal and the event as a whole. Drinks that feature a refreshing summer fruit like peach, watermelon, or strawberry are always well received on hot days.

American Food with a Twist

Because the 4^th of July is all about celebrating America, and America is famous for its cultural and ethnic diversity, take a truly American approach to the holiday by incorporating your family’s food heritage into traditional American dishes. Make hamburgers with the spices traditionally used in your ethnic background. The same thing goes for pies, ice cream toppings, and fruit salads. Prepare a traditional side dish unique to your family’s heritage.   Better yet, ask your guests to showcase their heritage through a side dish they prepare.

Honor US History

When my children were little, one of the things they loved most about the 4^th of July was putting on an annual play. In the play, we reenacted important moments in US history. We performed Paul Revere’s famous ride, a scene in which George Washington asks Betsy Ross to sew the American flag, and the Martin Luther King Jr I Have A Dream Speech. We interwove these important events with the story of our own family in America, starting with our ancestors’ arrival to Ellis Island. We always ended the show with a rousing rendition of “Yankee Doodle Dandy.” Putting on a play can start with a fun brainstorming activity in which you ask children to think of important events in America. Later you can turn these into the plot for the play. Pick up a few white wigs and tricorn hats at your local costume store to add to what you have at home, and costumes won’t be too hard to devise.

Good, Old-Fashioned Games

Organizing a few games throughout the day, like croquet, bocce ball, Frisbee, softball, or charades, brings guests together and creates a spirit of conviviality.  On those sweltering Independence Days, have a water balloon toss with the kids.

           

Fireworks

Every state has different laws when it comes to setting off fireworks, but no 4^th of July celebration is complete without a few flashes in the night. At the very least, make sure to have some sparklers.

Family Tradition

Whatever you decide to do, make sure to create family tradition.  Teach your children about their own heritage and how it plays a part of the American Dream.  As I mention in my book, Coming Home: A Seasonal Guide to Creating Family Traditions, celebrating any festive occasion is always richer when personal meaning is attached.

Note:  Photos by John Granen, for “Coming Home,” published by Stewart, Tabori & Chang

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Christmas Eve Traditions, New and Old

Christmas Day is for the traditional dishes, time with your relatives, and the hubbub of a full house. On Christmas Eve, you’re allowed to improvise. 

Make Christmas Eve a night for your family and about your family.  Make it about what you love. The Christmas Eve and dinner that night can be special without being over the top. This is an evening that should feel comfortable, relaxed, and casual. Plan a meal of your family’s favorite food that reflects your everyday family culture at its best. I know one family that makes hearty American chili on Christmas Eve. Another family that lived in the Southwest makes tacos and chiles rellenos. In my family, a few years ago we started making osso bucco, a stew-like Italian preparation of veal shanks my girls and husband love. 

This Christmas Eve, try a new recipe, break tradition, or start a new one. Be unconventional! Every Christmas Eve, my girls each get to open one gift each. I can’t remember how this tradition started, but it stuck and became part of our family. When the girls were little, it boosted their anticipation of Christmas Morning, which I loved to watch. As they grew, opening one present became an opportunity to savor a special gift on its own without the clutter and chaos of Christmas Morning. 

I encourage you to start a new tradition in your family this year. Invite over close friends, play a new game together, or transform your Christmas Eve dinner. 

Tonight, you can do whatever you want. 

www.rosannainc.com