| Would you rent guests for Christmas dinner? Well, | | | | good times, and our bad, with meals. Special |
| maybe a beer guzzling brother-in-law comes to | | | | occasions are made special by dressing up for |
| mind for whom a replacement would be | | | | them and the table is the center of attention. |
| considered. But mostly the festive season is | | | | Table linen is a family heirloom, an investment in |
| about feasting before fasting, and rubbing elbows | | | | the memories of those who rested their elbows |
| with those who are related rather than rented. | | | | on it. The best of table linen comes by its |
| If goodwill and good company sets the tone for | | | | elegance as a result of being woven by hand in |
| formal Christmas dining, fine linen sets the table. | | | | Italy from extra-long staple cotton. The rich soil |
| Paper weight doesn't come close to genuine and | | | | of the Nile delta provides the perfect source for |
| you returning rented linen washes away | | | | this fiber. The quality of the fiber is related to the |
| memories. When you look back, years down the | | | | length of the strands. For linens to last generations |
| road, through albums (or jpegs!), the faces around | | | | requires it to be of very fine quality. |
| the table grow older, somehow more familiar and | | | | Basics are beautiful. White and ivory are always |
| unfamiliar with age. You don't rent stuff like this, | | | | stalwarts for any dining table. Against the plate it |
| you buy right into it. And that includes the table | | | | looks great. But any solid color will be suitable. |
| linen. | | | | Candlelight plays on the weave of napkins as well |
| Dressing up the dining table is ritualistic, almost like | | | | as the cutlery. Crisp white or deep rich colors can |
| adorning an alter precedes a ceremony. With the | | | | enhance modern or traditional settings. |
| smell of ham or turkey baking, the clink of ice in | | | | We collectively put on enough weight during |
| glasses and the familiarity of well-known faces, | | | | Christmas to keep the weight loss industry going |
| everyone feels at home. | | | | through the spring. Tis the season to be dining. |
| Over food, we mull over the past year. We share | | | | But New Year's Eve resolutions, religious rituals, |
| those victories that were so hard won, the | | | | even the Second Coming, all take a back burner |
| setbacks that snuck in out of nowhere. There is a | | | | to the Second Helping when good friends and |
| profound intimacy underlying it all. We mark our | | | | family gather around the dinner table. |
