I always smile when I remember my friend Fannie. She was my dorm mate in college. When we were working already, the two of us with a couple of our friends started our dinner group. Even with both of us married, our friendship and dinner group continued. The day she was assigned to cook was always a delight for us because she would sometimes include thoughtful notes, or a bunch of flowers or a gift for one of our kids who may be having a tough time or about to face something such as the results of the audition in the drama club. I have somehow adapted her ways even though we don’t belong to the same dinner group anymore. Here are some of my tips on how you can make your dinner group members feel extra special:
1. Talk about the kids. One of the primary reasons parents join dinner groups is because of their kids. Getting to know what’s happening in their kids’ lives can give you ideas on what to give on a special day just like what Fannie did for my kids.
2. Cook extra intentionally for them. It’s not good to give leftovers of course. So the next time you bake those mouth watering cookies, make sure to bake an extra batch. It’s not about the quantity you give, so don’t worry about the extra expenses. It’s about the creative touch you put in.
3. Serve soup. Invite your dinner group members to join in the soup kitchen every 3 months or so depending on your agreement. It would be a good time for you to bond plus you also get to help a lot of people.
4. Include a note in your dish. It could be a trivia about the recipe or it could be something encouraging or a compliment to what they cooked for you during their turn.
What makes these things extra special is that you do it randomly and not always. Don’t expect rewards for what you do of course because you would already feel rewarded in doing these. More often than not, your dinner group mates end up doing the same for you anyway. Most importantly, make sure that you love what you’re doing and enjoy doing it!
