Pinterest Pick Thursday

This past Sunday, we introduced this year's Guest at Your Table campaign.  There was a story for all ages, children made boxes out of recycled materials, and everyone was encouraged to donate their loose change (or cut a check) to help advance human rights worldwide.

Guest at Your Table logo

But, now I ask you, can you raise more money for Guest at Your Table?  I bet you, you could.  Here, I'll even give you a few suggestions on how to do just that...

Pinterest Pick of the Week

Guest at Your Table Dinner

Faith Formation Component

 Context / Calling

Time for Activity

1 - 2 hours Prep

2 - 3 hours for Activity

Recommended Age 

Kindergarten and Up

Materials

Dependent on Activity

Activities

If you visit the Guest at Your Table portion of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee website you'll see that this year, they are suggesting people host a dinner party in order to raise additional money for Guest at Your Table.  Their promo sure does make the suggestion seem appetizing (pun intended).

And, UUSC is great at offering tips and resources for your dinner party - they provide you with suggestions on how to plan your dinner party, a dinner party check list, recipes, and educational information for your guests (they even have placements!).  Really, the UUSC has done a lot of great work, but one thing they didn't provide - suggestions on how to make your dinner party family friendly.

So, here are three suggestions on how to do just that.  Three 'dinner' party ideas to make your Guest at Your Table dinner one that appeals to your family and family friends.

World Tour

Invite your family friends to join you in a world tour.  Give each family a country to investigate.  For your dinner party, ask each family to bring a dish from their country, dressed in their countries traditional garb (or as close as possible) and armed with a few facts about their country.  Then, spend the night enjoying diverse cuisine, and sharing about each other's countries.  Add an empty seat at your table for the 'guests' that could not join you - those working to promote human rights worldwide.  Place your Guest at Your Table box at the empty place setting and invite your real guests to 'feed' your invisible guests with their donations.

Stock photo: old world map.

Superheros: Dinner and a Movie

We all have the ability to be superheros because we all have the ability to help someone else - that is the central concept of this dinner idea.  Invite your family friends over for a superhero themed night.  Serve superhero food, such as Super Subs and Wonder Dogs.  Then, watch your favorite superhero movie.  Make superhero masks and don bed sheet capes for additional fun.  Finally, invite your guests to be superheros by donating to Guest at Your Table.

Stock Photo: Man pulls off his business suit to reveal his super-suit underneath.

Hot Chocolate Bar

If you don't have the time or energy to plan an entire dinner, then why don't you try a hot chocolate bar with some fair trade chocolate!  Provide graham crackers, marshmallows, peppermint sticks, whipped cream, vanilla / caramel / peanut butter flavoring - your imaginations the limit.  You could even provide additional 'adult' flavoring if you catch my drift (I think Kahlua would be particularly nice).  Educate your guests on the benefits of fair trade products and request people donate per cup.

Stock Photo:  Hands hold a cup of hot chocolate.

So, now you have a few ideas, what do you do next?

• Call a family meeting and decide which idea your family is going to run with.
• Set a date for your 'dinner' party.  It should be far enough in advance that your guests have time to prepare, but before November 23 (that's when we will collect all donations at church).
• Create invitations and pass them out to family friends.  You may want to focus on inviting friends from outside of church, since many church families are already collecting donations for Guest at Your Table.
• In the days leading up to your 'dinner' party, involve the entire family in prepare decorations.
• The day of the party, involve the entire family in preparing the food.
• Welcome your guests and enjoy your party!
• Bring all your donations to church November 23.

Original Sources

Inspiration for the family friendly 'dinner' parties come from Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, Disney Discussion Boards, and Kevin & Amanda.  All other sources sited above.

Happy fundraising!

- Ms. Meredith