Taking The Stress Out Of Meal Times

Can anyone relate when I say that sometimes meal times with a large family can feel more like 'feeding time at the zoo' then it does a nice quiet family meal time?!

Kids up and down getting water, getting knives and forks etc and the whole process of getting ready for dinner taking about half an hour with mum wanting to pull out her hair before the meal even begins?! Well honestly, that's what was beginning to happen around here and far out, it just wasn't pleasant! So I knew that I had to change things up and get back to a simple system that actually works. Meal time rosters don't work for us, and I was wanting something that would foster 'co-operation' and working together as a team. Something that would hopefully lessen the 'but I set the table last night' response that I'm sure most of us have heard!

Enter the 'Dinner Servery' ... 

... this is not my original idea! I 'borrowed' it from a very good friend of mine who also has a large family and has one set up in her home! I knew that it would work so well for us, so I came home from time at her house and immediately set one up in our kitchen! Let me tell you, for something so simple, it's just made things so much easier and calmer at dinner time!

I also love that it gave me a reason to visit the op-shops again (does anyone really need a reason though!) so that I could find some glass jugs for our water. I already owned the one with the orange flowers, but I picked up the two clear ones for just $3.00 each. Now the kids just grab the jugs, fill them with water, and carry them to the table, along with everything else that's on the dinner servery!

Underneath the dinner servery is the cupboard for all of our plates and bowls etc. We have trivets permanently down the centre of our dining table with place mats out as well, so once everything is brought over from the servery, and the food is on the trivets, we grab our plates and sit down to our meal! Everyone does it all together and it's very quick and very enjoyable!

As the dishes get done (either by us or the kids), we need to make sure that we 're-stock' the servery with enough cutlery for the family, fill the napkin holder ($1.50 at op-shop), sometimes top up the salt and pepper, and wash and put the jugs back for the next meal. 

This really isn't anything fancy, and it's certainly nothing that's been expensive, but I would really recommend it to you if you are finding meals times a bit of a stress as well! 

Honestly, feeding the hungry hoard here has just gotten so much easier! 

Have a great week!