Easter is second only to Thanksgiving for festive family dinners in the U.S., so right now is the time to start making your plans.The first thing to consider is the guest list:
- Can you get the whole family together in one place, at one time? If so, consider the possible locations. If there are too many people for anyone's dining room, you have other options, from renting a pavilion in the park to setting up a buffet and having everyone balance plates on their laps. Just figure it out now, so you won't have last-minute problems that interfere with the pleasure of the occasion.
- Do you have to divide up? Blended families, divorced families, unmarried couples whose families still expect them home for the holiday, and families with two sets of grandparents in distant cities all have to be prepared to compromise. Now, before anyone has baked anything, have those conversations. Maybe the kids can have breakfast and attend church with one family, and join the other for dinner. Maybe you can feast with one side of the family at 1:00 and the other at 6:00. Maybe brunch on Easter Saturday would work for one family just as well as Easter Sunday dinner. Planning ahead avoids hurt feelings.
- No family? Plan a gathering with friends on the big day, so none of you has to feel like you're missing out. If you're the only singleton in your set, or all your friends are leaving town to be with their families, tell someone -- chances are, one of the families you know would love to add you to their guest list, but they won't ask you if they figure you're going to be with your parents.
- And some people don't want to take part in a big family meal, either with their own families or with others. Make another plan right now, so you can tell all the well-meaning people inviting you that you can't join them, because you've made other plans. If those plans involve you, a Sweetique egg, and your cat, no one needs to know. It's the telltale deer in the headlights look and "Uhh.... I... uhh... I don't think I can..." response to invitations that gets you dragooned into social events you don't want to be part of.
