Assigned Seating At Thanksgiving

[powellrj]

We don't have assigned seating because we only have 13. The only assigned part is my dad is a leafty and needs to be able to move!

 

[*BTMRR*]

This is another one of those things that I'd never heard of until I read about it on the DIS. I've been to countless holiday dinners, some much "fancier" than others, at the homes of family and/or friends--and never once have I see anyone do assigned seating.

 

[OceanAnnie]

I agree with 2 of the previous posters.

1--At my house, it's a free for all. Grab a plate, slap some food on it, find a seat and chow down. LOL

2--I would rather sit down and converse with people you don't see or talk to everyday. That way you get to catch up on things from other parts of the family.

While it looks nice to have the table all set and pretty and with the candles, flowers, place cards,etc.....I think some people do it for the look of it (looks like something they saw in a magazine or something) LOL But in reality, I don't think most people really enjoy being told where to sit. I think if Aunt Betty doesn't like cousin Billy Bob....they automatically won't sit near each other.

But everyone has their own way of doing things and that's why this world spins the way it does. IF everyone was exactly the same, it would stop on it's axis, I'm sure. LOL

We have a really laid back, large family and do that too. But there is also a really large table for everyone to sit, nice flowers, big spread of food, no assigned seating though. About half of the family sits at the table. The other half sits elsewhere, like the guys sit on the couches in another room and watch football while they eat. They are quite happy. We spend most of the day together and have plenty of time to talk.

 

[C.Ann]

The closest we ever came to that was my DH at the head of the table and me to his right.. Everyone else was free to sit wherever..

 

[aprilgail2]

I like to assign seating because I don't like my fil sitting at my dh's place at the head of the table.

That is actually the only thing we make sure to do- the grandparents get the head of the table no matter what house it is at.

 

[NMAmy]

I like to assign seating because I don't like my fil sitting at my dh's place at the head of the table. Also, I like to make sure I can sit next to my 1 yr old.

I can't imagine anyone choosing to sit next to the 1 year old instead of the child's mother.

Sorry but I think it is strange to have assigned seating at a family celebration like Thanksgiving or Christmas. I also don't see what the big deal is sitting by your spouse--I see him every day, I can talk to him every day I would rather sit by someone else to get caught up on news, events, etc. Same thing with the kids, they would rather sit by their cousins then mom and dad.

No assigned spots at our holidays, either. I usually end up sitting by my great-nephew and the little great nieces fight to sit on either side of dd. They think she's SO cool.

The only time I've been to a family meal that had a seating chart was for my MIL's birthday. My SIL was so stressed about the seating and asked for input a dozen times and constantly changed her mind about who should sit where. This was for a meal for 12 guests.

 

[Acklander]

No assigned seating in our family, but there are several of us lefties, so we're usually trying to find a spot on the same side of the table so we don't have to deal with the elbowing our neighbor problem.

 

[cntrygal]

I can't imagine anyone choosing to sit next to the 1 year old instead of the child's mother.



my 8 yr old daughter or any of her friends would rush to sit near the baby, grandparents aunts....to me that would be the most popular spot!


it was just me and the kids so no assigned seats here.....

 

[Buckalew11]

My saint of a SIL changed places and sat next to the one I wasn't excited about sitting next to. What a sweetie. I am thankful for her. lol

I'd rather sit with all the kids in my family. (their teens now though). I learn a lot about all of them when I do that.