Busy Parent's Guide to Dinner Table

Back to school night are BUSY...pickup homework, sports, practices, classes and somehow dinner, too.

We pulled together the easiest table upgrades for families who want mealtime to feel a little special without adding more work to your plate. Stylish, stress-free and totally parent-approved. We also share our secrets to meal planning and prepping so not every night is a meal in the car or takeout at 10pm.

First the fun stuff…. How to make the mundane weeknight hectic dinner feel special. Wipeable placemats and easy-to-care-for cloth napkins and tablecloths. About five years ago (maybe more — I can’t quite remember), I gave up paper napkins and switched to cloth only. I felt it was my small way of helping the environment. I keep a basket on the kitchen counter with fuss-free cloth napkins that get thrown in the washer and dryer with our regular laundry.

Placemat Heroes: I grew up eating dinner at a set table with the wipeable foamy material placemats. I am not sure what they were made of but they were easy to clean and made the table look “finished.” Fortunately, now there are many fuss-free options ranging from cork backed, to coated wood and acrylic. (I am not a fan of the ones that are woven plastic — I think gunk gets stuck to them.) Below are some styles that are pretty enough to keep on the table daily and special enough to be used for company (layer on a fun table cloth and create a pattern play experience).

Napkin Magic: Repeat after me, cloth napkins are EASY to care for! You just have to own the right ones. Our daily napkin rotation includes sturdy cotton napkins in a variety of finishes — chambray, seersucker and Indian cotton are the ones we use the most because they literally go from the table to the washer to the dryer. Fuss free!

Tablecloth Timesavers: Don't keep the cloths for special occasions, use them regularly. My personal tip — keep one on the table at all times as a design element in your kitchen. I get excited when the cloth gets dirty because it means I can use a different one and create a slightly different look. These cloths are all Indian cotton and fuss-free. They go from table to the washer and dryer. If say, red wine or tomato sauce find their way onto the cloth, just spray with stain removal and throw in the wash. Easy peasy.

Meal Prep: I took a cooking class based on family friendly weeknight meals and the chef told us her mantra for getting a nutritious and delicious weeknight meal on the table, “help your future self.” Little things like, wash the fresh herbs when you get home from the market so they are ready to go. Marinade the chicken in the morning, chop some veggies during or make a homemade salad dressing while the kids are at school. You get it — do what you can before the crazy begins and getting the actual meal cooked becomes simple.

Meal Ideas: The other piece that I have learned over the years is to plan the meals for the week. When I am on top of my game — and I still do this even though my kids are out of the house — I sit down on Sunday morning with a cup of coffee and a stack of cookbooks. I have my go-to’s that include delicious and easy dishes. I make a plan of what we will eat Sunday-Thursday and a grocery list. It can be as simple as grilled chicken, roasted potatoes and a salad but having it on the list with a marinade planned makes it actually happen. In the winter I often make a weekly soup on Sunday afternoons and sometimes also a batch of bolognese. I like to stock my freezer with things that can be easily defrosted for a night I know I won’t even have the time or energy to turn on the grill. Meal planning and ideas are a blog post of their own so stay tuned for more on that. After 23 years of raising boys, I have some tips and tricks that have worked — and I still implement so that we eat healthy meals after long days at work.